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 During the festival, Paulie is tested for prostate cancer because of an elevated PSA. With his uncertain parentage, there is no way of knowing if he was genetically predisposed to the disease or not. During a restless night awaiting his results, Paulie awakes at 3 a.m. and goes to the Bada Bing. There, he has a striking vision of the Virgin Mary hovering above the stage. Paulie later visits Nucci at Green Grove, and they have a silent reconciliation. In "Moe N' Joe," Paulie tells Tony that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The disease was apparently caught in