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:
FBI on The Sopranos risking getting too close to Bonpensiero himself. He believes that Bonpensiero is starting to suffer from "one of the worst cases of Stockholm syndrome since Patricia Hearst, the worst he's ever seen". He repeatedly tells Sal that he is not an FBI employee but a cooperating witness. During a meeting at a party store, Sal coincidentally is seen by mob associate 'Jimmy Bones' and introduces Skip as "Joe from Dover, Delaware" without much success in holding up the story. This later leads to Bonpensiero murdering Jimmy to cover up his connection with the FBI. Sal tries to trap Christopher in