Ziggy Sobotka

Ziggy Sobotka
First appearance	"Ebb Tide" (episode 2.01)
Last appearance	"Port in a Storm" (episode 2.12)
Created by	David Simon
Portrayed by	James Ransone
Information
Aliases	Ziggy
Gender	Male
Occupation	Dock worker/prisoner
Family	Frank Sobotka (father)
Relatives	Nick Sobotka (cousin)

Chester Karol "Ziggy" Sobotka is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor James Ransone. Though his father Frank Sobotka was a well-respected stevedore union leader, Ziggy's thoughtless and immature behavior gained him little respect among other members of the union and The Greek's crime organization.

Plot

Ziggy is Frank Sobotka's son and Nick's cousin. He is a Baltimore dock worker and involved his father's stevedores union, but is also involved in criminal activity. Like most of the dock workers, Ziggy frequents Delores' bar, where he amuses the other customers with his drunken antics, such as publicly exposing himself. His work on the docks is often poor, resulting in him regularly being fired and reinstated by his father. Due to his lack of seniority, Ziggy receives little work. He is often portrayed as a clumsy and inept beneficiary of his father's position and is more interested in goofing off. He is close to Nick, who often bails him out when his various money-making schemes backfire. Despite his shortcomings, however, he has a better understanding of technology than many of his colleagues. He uses his computer research skills to assist Nick in his dealings with the Greeks.

When thirteen dead women are discovered in one of Sobotka's shipping containers, Ziggy is dealing drugs supplied by "White Mike" McArdle. He tries unsuccessfully to convince the more streetwise Nick to join him. He sells the drugs at street level using an East Baltimore dealer known as Frog. When Frog lies about being robbed and keeps the money, White Mike severs ties with Ziggy. He turns to smuggling with his cousin, starting with a container of digital cameras. During a meeting with George "Double G" Glekas, a front man for an international smuggling operation, Ziggy's knowledge of the product helps to secure a better deal. However, when Glekas sees Ziggy taking pictures, he angrily smashes the camera. When Ziggy uses his share of the money to buy a new leather coat, Nick chastises him for flashing his newfound wealth. This also earns him the disdain of Maui.

Turning to a drug dealer named Cheese for a fresh supply, Ziggy finds himself ripped off again. Cheese's group steals his car, delivers a beating and threatens to kill him if he does not pay within a week. The debt is ultimately cancelled when Nick enlists the help of the Greeks, since they are shown to supply the entire operation. The two of them smuggle chemicals that the Greeks use to process cocaine. When offered payment in the form of drugs, Nick opts for cash instead to stop Ziggy from failing at another scheme. Ziggy accepts regular installments from Nick until he decides that his pride as been hurt too much and dramatically throws a pile of bills away in refusal.

After losing a fight with Maui, in response to a fake paternity suit prank, Ziggy buys a duck and takes it to Delores' bar. He feeds the duck too much alcohol and becomes upset when it dies. In an attempt to prove his smuggling skills, Ziggy begins stealing cars with Johnny Fifty. He announces this to Glekas, who reluctantly agrees to participate. Upon delivery, Glekas refuses to part with the agreed sum, sending Ziggy into a rage. He returns with a gun and kills Glekas with a barrage of gunshots. He also wounds a boy working in the warehouse. Ziggy breaks down in tears when he comes to his senses and confesses to the police when they arrive. While being interviewed at the Homicide unit by Sergeant Jay Landsman, he however seems concerned with the wording error and corrects it verbally telling the sergeant that Double G begged for his life. Indicating that he draws a bit of pleasure from killing Glekas and that his remorse is not for the death of the frontman rather for shooting the boy who worked for him. Frank visits Ziggy in jail and apologizes for not doing more to help his son. Ziggy tells Frank that the union had always come before him, harkening back towards the memories they had shared previously on the docks. Ziggy is convicted of the murder and is last seen walking to his cell in a prison, serving out his sentence.^[1]

Origins

The actor who portrays Ziggy, James Ransone, is a Baltimore native and has described the character as representative of the difficulties people face just trying to get by in Baltimore. The character's creators have deemed him "the angry prince of goofs."^[2]

In an online interview, David Simon stated that Ziggy is loosely based on a real stevedore named Pinkie Bannion whose antics have become a local legend around the docks. According to Simon, Bannion "used to take his duck to the bar and repeatedly expose 'pretty boy' and all else. As they said in Bawlmer about Pinkie: 'That boy ain't right.'"^[3]

References