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:
The Sopranos of the New York City Columbus Day Parade won an injunction preventing Mayor Michael Bloomberg from inviting cast members of "The Sopranos" to participate in the parade. Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind conducted a national survey in August 2001 which polled 800 people. 37% said that they watched the show regularly, and 65% of this group (192 people, or 24% of the total) disagreed that the show portrayed Italian Americans in a negative way. Professor William Roberts was associated with the poll, and is the author of several books on modern Italian history; he commented that: "The show's inflated image of