The Sopranos to "going straight" (to Tony's dismay), but also has an intense violent streak. Those in Tony's closest circle within the DiMeo crime family include Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt). Silvio is Tony's consigliere and best friend. He runs the family's strip club headquarters, and other businesses. Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri (Tony Sirico), a tough, short-tempered, aging soldier who is fiercely loyal to Tony and Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero (Vincent Pastore), a veteran gangster who runs an automotive body shop. Paulie "Walnuts" and "Big Pussy" (often called just, "Pussy") have worked with Tony and his father. Also in Tony's criminal organization are:
Paulie Gualtieri paranoid at times. One of the older active gangsters in the family, Paulie strictly adheres to traditional mob customs and generally displays fierce loyalty and deference to his boss Tony, often showing a childlike dependence on his approval. Other character traits include his competitiveness, miserly nature, germaphobia, and indifference to violence. Despite his seniority and successful earning, Paulie is one of the more eccentric and reckless of Tony's associates and is arguably the most ruthless. In the first season finale, "I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano," Tony tells his crew that he had been in therapy for almost a year, when