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 them. It is Paulie who tells Johnny Sack that Ralph Cifaretto made a very insensitive joke regarding Ginny Sack's weight, which compels an infuriated Johnny to sanction a hit on Ralph that is called off at the last minute. A party is thrown at the Bada Bing when Paulie is released, but his wavering loyalty only serves to accelerate his marginalization. Paulie, however, by the end of the season, realizes he had been duped by Johnny Sack and that Carmine Lupertazzi had never even heard of him, much less offered him a place in his New York family. Following this