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
Frances Esemplare Frances Esemplare Frances Esemplare, professionally credited as Frances Ensemplare, (September 3, 1934 – December 9, 2017) was an American actress best known for her multi-episode recurring role as Marianucci "Nucci" Gualtieri, mother of Paulie Gualtieri (played by Tony Sirico) on "The Sopranos" from 2001 until 2007. Esemplare, a resident of Staten Island, New York, was born Frances Spalluto. Beginning in 2001, she was cast as Nucci Gualtieri, mother of mobster Paulie Gualtieri, on the HBO television series, "The Sopranos". First introduced as Paulie Gualtieri's elderly mother, it is later revealed in the series that she is actually Gualtieri's aunt, who