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 Paulie reveals that he too had seen a therapist, from whom he "learned some coping skills." Nevertheless, despite his personality flaws Paulie is recognized throughout the series as one of the top earners and one of Tony's most trusted friends in his "inner circle". Paulie has no children and remains single, devoting almost his entire life to being a gangster. In the first season, Paulie is a central member of Tony's crew. He executes a Colombian drug dealer and steals a large quantity of drugs and cash from his hotel room. Other tasks he performs are retrieving a stolen car