Paulie Gualtieri Signal Corps, where he was eventually drummed out through Section 8 (discharged because of psychiatric reasons). Afterwards, he spent more time in and out of prison on various criminal charges. He eventually was inducted into the DiMeo crime family, becoming a close associate of Johnny Soprano and helping to mentor his son Tony. Paulie got his nickname "Paulie Walnuts" after hijacking a truck in the early 1990s which he believed was filled with television-sets, but only contained walnuts. His surname is taken from real life DeCavalcante crime family mobster Frank Gualtieri, who served under Vincent Palermo. In the episode "From
Paulie Gualtieri out of juvenile correctional facilities during his early youth. When he was seventeen, he officially became an enforcer/bodyguard for Johnny Soprano, Tony's father and captain in the DiMeo crime family. His mother, later discovered to be his aunt, worked at a Kresge's department store during Paulie's childhood and early adulthood, but has since retired. Paulie's grandfather, who emigrated to the United States in 1910, is from Ariano Irpino, a municipality in the province of Avellino, in Italy's Campania region. Paulie's grandfather and Tony's paternal grandparents were from the same province in Italy. Paulie spent four years in the U.S. Army