Paulie Gualtieri 2009. Paulie Gualtieri Peter Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri is a fictional character portrayed by Tony Sirico on the HBO series "The Sopranos". Paulie begins the series as a soldier, and later becomes a caporegime and eventually underboss of the DiMeo crime family. According to "The Sopranos: A Family History", Peter Paul "Paulie" Gualtieri, son of Gennaro Gualtieri (although Paulie's biological father was later revealed to be a World War II soldier named "Russ"), has been a troubled street kid in Roseville, Newark from the age of nine. He dropped out of school after the ninth grade and spent time in
Paulie Gualtieri Paving Union, extorting drug dealers, the pump and dump scams, charging HMOs for fake MRI expenditures, fencing stolen cars, a phone card scam, gambling, loan sharking and the crew's front businesses: Barone Sanitation and Massarone Construction. Throughout the series, other aspects of the crew's criminal activities develop or are revealed. These include control of the Joint Fitters Union, credit card hijacking, betting shops, cigarette smuggling, and protection rackets. Legitimate businesses include Pussy's auto body shop (now run by his wife Angie), silent partner in a lawn care business, and the Feast of St. Elisario. Paulie soon becomes Tony's biggest earner.