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 organized crime casts a shadow over both the state and its Italian American community." At the end of the series, the PublicMind conducted a second national survey on "The Sopranos". In this poll, 41% of the 776 people polled said that they watched the show regularly, and 61% of this group (194 people, or 25% of the total) disagreed with the idea that the show portrayed Italian Americans in a negative light. Professor Roberts stated: "The show helped to perpetuate one of the more problematic and stereotypical images of Italian Americans. Both Italian and Italian American cultures have much more