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
Pine Barrens (The Sopranos) up severely injured with a cracked wind pipe. Panicked, Paulie and Chris wrap him in a carpet and wheel him out to their car. While trying to figure out what to do with him, Paulie suggests that they dump him somewhere along the Garden State Parkway in the Pine Barrens. Chris wants to stop for breakfast at a Roy Rogers Restaurant first, but Paulie insists that business must come first. In the woods, Paulie and Chris open the trunk to find that Valery is still alive and has chewed through the duct tape. They lift him out of the car,