Rudy Giuliani vs. The Mob

Rudy Giuliani's office prosecuted a number of high-profile cases during his time as U.S. attorney in Manhattan in the 1980s:

THE MOB

Three of five leaders accused of being the "ruling body" of New York's five organized crime families were each sentenced in a single day to 100 years in prison after a prosecution that Giuliani said would help dismantle the mob. A fourth leader was later convicted and imprisoned. The fifth mob boss, was acquitted at three trials in Brooklyn and Manhattan before he was convicted of racketeering in federal court in Manhattan in 1992. He died in prison a decade later.

PIZZA CONNECTION

The "pizza connection" trial resulted in the conviction of 18 defendants for participating in a Mafia-backed drug racket operated through pizza parlors. The ring imported an estimated $1.6 billion worth of heroin into the United States. The case began Sept. 30, 1985, and ended 17 months later with 18 convictions and one acquittal. It was one of the longest criminal cases in federal court history.

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Broadway Partners with "The Sopranos"

Friends of ours: Soprano Crime Family

Broadway stars Julianna Margulies, Tim Daly, David Margulies and Ken Leung will be among guest stars to appear in the new season of "The Sopranos."

HBO kicked off its final eight episodes of the mob family drama April 8 (with additional airings playing throughout the week). The David Chase-created New Jersey-set drama returned last March for the first part of its sixth and final season and airs Sunday evenings at 9 PM (ET). Check local listings.

The show features series regulars (and stage veterans) James Gandolfini (A Streetcar Named Desire), Edie Falco ('night, Mother), Lorraine Bracco (The Graduate), Michael Imperioli (Ponies), Dominic Chianese (A Second Hand Memory) and Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Beauty and the Beast).

Actors Julianna Margulies (Festen), Tim Daly (The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial), David Margulies (Wonderful Town, The Accomplices) and Ken Leung (Thoroughly Modern Millie) will be featured as guest stars on the series.

Past seasons have included such theatre folk as Tom Aldredge, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Blum, David Strathairn, Robert LuPone, Linda Emond, Annabella Sciorra, Linda Lavin, Steve Buscemi, Mary Louise Wilson, Laila Robins, Ron Leibman, Frank Wood, Rae Allen, Peter Riegert, Ari Graynor, Capathia Jenkins, Yul Vazquez, Will McCormack, Phyllis Somerville, Lewis J. Stadlen, Christine Pedi, Jordan Gelber and Remy Auberjonois.

Thanks to Ernio Hernandez

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Former Mob Lawyer to Skip Family Secrets Trial

Friends of ours: James "Little Jimmy" Marcello, Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo
Friends of mine: Robert Cooley

Over the years, the court testimony of former Chicago mob lawyer Robert Cooley has put away mobsters, lawyers and judges. But the prized federal informant won’t be testifying at what could be the biggest mob trial in Chicago history — the Operation Family Secrets trial.

A host of informants, “stool pigeons” and ex-mobsters will be taking the stand starting in mid-May to tell jurors about the Outfit’s structure and deadly doings.

Some of Chicago’s top mobsters are standing trial, including reputed mob leader James “Little Jimmy” Marcello and Joseph “Joey the Clown” Lombardo.

Cooley has testified in several previous mob trials, and his ability on the stand has met with praise. But this time, he won’t be part of the trial.

In an interview late last week, Cooley, who these days lives out of state under a different name, said he clashed with federal prosecutors when he was debriefed more than a year ago.

Cooley said he disagrees with the prosecution’s theory over how the Chicago mob was structured since the 1970s, and he is disappointed that another top mobster wasn’t charged in the case for two murders that Cooley said he has told the feds about.

Cooley calls Marcello — who the feds says is the top mob leader — “a flunky.”

“He was never more of a mob boss than I was,” Cooley scoffs. (MANY Chicago Syndicate readers have emailed me to say the same thing.)

In his years as an informant, Cooley was never known to be reluctant to tell federal agents and prosecutors where he believed they were falling short or screwing up.

While Cooley says he won’t be helping the feds this time around, he won’t be helping the defense team, either. “I would not do anything to hurt the case,” Cooley said. “I would never do anything to help the bad guys.”

Cooley is best known for his seminal work in taking apart the Outfit’s political power structure in the 1st Ward, which he saw as marking the true end of the Chicago mob. “They’re just cleaning up our scraps,” Cooley said of the current case.

Federal prosecutors had no comment on Cooley’s statements.

Thanks to Steve Warmbir

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"The Sopranos" in 7 Minutes

Like mob bosses of legend, “The Sopranos” is pensive, brooding and austere. Heavy silences, broken by spells of rage, pervade David Chase’s masterpiece, which enters its final season on Sunday. “The Sopranos” is not glib. It does not have truck with glibness. But lately, as viewers wait for the final run of this HBO drama to start, a “Sopranos” with a very different pace has been making the rounds. This “Sopranos” is not by Mr. Chase; it does not appear on HBO and cannot be described as pensive, brooding or austere. Instead it is hyperglib, antic and rendered at an auctioneer’s pace. And where “The Sopranos” has so far taken around 77 hours to deliver the dark saga of family and crime in New Jersey, this other “Sopranos,” which tells the same story, lasts only 7 minutes 36 seconds.

Paul Gulyas and Joe Sabia, recent college graduates living in Los Angeles, first posted their video “Seven Minute Sopranos” to YouTube on March 29. It is an audacious effort by two of Mr. Chase’s fans eager to prove their loyalty to his creation. But, as they know, it is also an act of violence.

“We included what stood out, what flowed better or images that people would like to see,” Mr. Gulyas said. “But we kind of adapted the story to our own taste. It’s so reductionist to what David Chase has done.”

What will Mr. Chase think, then, of the video Cliffs Notes to his Iliad? “The show’s really about Tony’s psyche,” Mr. Gulyas, who is 23, said, naming the show’s central character, the glowering crime boss who is riven by desire, fury and doubt. “But this video boils things down to one premise. I’m not sure Chase would like that.”

According to a publicist for HBO, Mr. Chase does in fact like it. His assistant showed him the video on the set of the series finale, and he laughed all the way through it, said the publicist, Quentin Schaffer. “It reminded him how much has happened during the run of the series,” Mr. Schaffer said.

Having seen each episode of “The Sopranos” from three to seven times, Mr. Gulyas composed the staccato script from memory, hitting every plot point that seemed relevant. He also proposed complementary clips, estimating their places on his DVDs from memory.

Mr. Sabia, a childhood friend of Mr. Gulyas from Connecticut, then edited the video using Final Cut Pro. The process took the friends 100 hours, longer than a marathon of all six seasons of “The Sopranos.”

To date “Seven Minute Sopranos” has attracted around 80,000 views and counting. Ilene S. Landress, an executive producer of “The Sopranos,” loves the video and insists that it stay on YouTube. (Some companies, citing copyright concerns, have pulled material off this video-sharing site.)

Another “Sopranos” executive producer, Matthew Weiner, said, “The guys really understand not only what happened in the show, but they displayed their knowledge with humor and love.”

On Tuesday “Seven Minute Sopranos” was featured on the home page of iFilm, a video-sharing site owned by Viacom. (In a twist that wasn’t lost on HBO this meant that Viacom, which also owns HBO’s cable competitor Showtime, highlighted what amounts to a trailer for an HBO show.) Almost immediately “Seven Minute Sopranos” has gained Mr. Gulyas and Mr. Sabia respect on “Sopranos” fan sites, as well as with YouTube commenters. “That was amazing,” wrote nicoleredbaron218, “you didn’t miss a single Detail.”

“Seven Minute Sopranos” is indeed a sizable feat. Virtually everything from the series seems to have been crammed in, from the giant plot tectonics — the twists that determine who lives and who dies — to the intricate subplots and even the comic relief.

In addition to the most indelible story lines, fans can also fleetingly revisit the attempt to consign Livia to a nursing home, the arson at Artie’s, Meadow’s indiscreet soccer coach, Christopher’s near-damnation, Janice’s theft of the Russian’s prosthesis, Ralph’s son’s deadly arrow game, Junior’s tumble down the courthouse steps, A. J.’s attempt to kill Junior and Paulie’s discovery that his aunt is his mother.

Nor are significant visual moments omitted. Ginny’s secret Twix stash gets a close-up, as do the ducks, the bear, Paulie’s shoe and the pillow Tony tries to use to smother his mother. These indelible images, combined with a multilayered soundtrack — which often plays simultaneously the show’s score, its dialogue, its sound effects and Mr. Sabia’s tongue-twisting voice-over — allow “Seven Minute Sopranos” to convey information with extreme efficiency.

In an inspired flourish the dialogue and the voice-over periodically line up exactly. When Mr. Sabia, who is also 23, summarizing Carmela Soprano’s reaction to the news that her husband is seeing a therapist, says, “She thinks that’s great,” Mr. Sabia, who edited the piece, synched his voice up with that of Edie Falco, as Carmela. He says “thinks that’s great” just as she says “think that’s great.” The brief duet makes the point. And that point — the duet in a major key, followed by a breath — is especially affecting when Carmela reverses her enthusiasm for therapy in the next scene, having learned that Tony’s therapist is a woman. Standing on a balcony she rains a half-dozen black valises down on her husband and curses at him to leave the house. This is the first of several times Mr. Sabia and Mr. Gulyas use this scene. It becomes shorthand for Carmela’s indignation.

The repetition of this stagecraft has become many commenters’ favorite part of “Seven Minute Sopranos.” But it’s also where Mr. Gulyas and Mr. Sabia make clear that they bring a critic’s eye to the action of the show. But what statement are they making with the repetition? Something about the redundancy of Ms. Falco’s performance? Or perhaps the cyclical nature of Tony and Carmela’s marriage?

The more you study “Seven Minute Sopranos,” the more mischievous it seems. It’s an intensive work of the imagination. And it’s far from sycophantic to “The Sopranos.” Some of the video’s greatest fans on YouTube are not fans of the show at all. A user named underb0ss especially appreciated the glibness of the script: “that was amazing! tho it made the sopranos look so stupid ... i love that part in season 6 ‘tonys shot, goes in a coma. Get slapped by monk. Comes out of coma’ lol.”

So far Mr. Chase and “The Sopranos” crew seem not to realize that, for some, the video can be interpreted this way. They spent this week working long days wrapping their series. But what would happen if Mr. Chase were to discover that some people take “Seven Minute Sopranos” as a sendup of his show, and not a homage?

Mr. Sabia and Mr. Gulyas can be forgiven for being on edge about that. They may seem like made men now, but even a little joke at the capo’s expense is never a good thing. And in the “Sopranos” world, you can lose your favored status as quickly as you get it. No one knows that plotline better than they do.

Thanks to Virginia Heffernan

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Soprano Whackees

Livia Soprano, played by Nancy Marchand

Tony Soprano's mother Livia, a primary topic in her son's therapy sessions, had a poor upbringing and spent her adult life projecting her unhappiness onto others. Her husband, Johnny Boy, provided for the family but did not live up to her standards. She pressured him to make more money, but when an opportunity to move to Reno to pursue business interests arose, she eschewed the plan. When Tony placed Livia in a nursing home in an attempt to help her, she convinced Uncle Junior to put a hit on him. The hit was unsuccessful and Livia was never implicated in the crime. A year later, she died in her sleep.

Adriana La Cerva, played by Drea de Matteo

Christopher Moltisanti's fiancée Adriana had been enmeshed in the crime family lifestyle until the Feds caught up with her and she became an informant. The FBI pressured Adriana to get Christopher to turn and give up Tony, or she and her future husband would serve a five-year sentence for drug charges. With the pressure mounting, Adriana confessed to Christopher, who nearly choked her to death. For a fleeting moment, he seemed to forgive her, but in the end, he gave her up. The crew tricked Adriana into thinking she was being taken to the hospital to see Christopher after a failed suicide attempt; in fact, Silvio took her to the woods and shot her. Friends and family were led to believe Adriana skipped town, but her mother suspects foul play.

Tony B., played by Steve Buscemi

Tony Blundetto was Tony Soprano's first cousin and close childhood friend. Tony B. had had a thriving career as a mobster until he was 28, when he was locked up for 15 years. Tony S. was supposed to be with Tony B. the night he got arrested, but he was incapacitated by a panic attack.

After his release, the Leotardo family killed his former cell mate, Angela Garepe, and Tony B. retaliated by killing Billy Leotardo while Billy's brother Phil watched. Tony Soprano, knowing Phil Leotardo would savagely kill Tony B. for Billy's murder, took matters into his own hands and killed Tony B.

Ralph Cifaretto, played by Joe Pantoliano

With his inappropriate comments, misogynistic attitude and tactless behavior, Ralph Cifaretto becomes Tony Soprano's least favorite business associate. A low point for Ralph occurred when, high on cocaine, he beat a young Bada Bing dancer -- pregnant with his baby -- to death. Tony and Ralph found common ground when Ralph bought a racehorse Tony named Pie-O-My, that Tony grew to like. But when Ralph needed money and the highly insured horse died in a suspicious stable fire, Tony killed Ralph, recruiting Christopher to help dismember and bury the body.

Big Pussy, played by Vincent Pastore

According to rumor, Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero earned his nickname because he was once a cat-burglar. Big Pussy was a family man and close friend to Tony Soprano.

The Feds caught up with Pussy for smuggling heroin and threatened him with life in state prison unless he became an informant. Fearing for his children's future, Pussy agreed to get wired. When Tony, Silvio and Paulie confronted him during a boat ride, Pussy tried to talk his way out of it, but to no avail; he was shot to death. Silvio wrapped Pussy's body in chains and pushed it overboard.

Gloria Trillo, played by Annabella Sciorra

Tony Soprano and Gloria met in the waiting room of Dr. Melfi's office; the psychiatrist was treating Gloria for severe depression, which was worsened by a series of failed relationships. Gloria and Tony had an intense affair, but Gloria became jealous and threatened to call Carmela. This infuriated Tony, who nearly strangled his girlfriend while she spat on him and begged him to follow through. Several months after they broke up, Gloria hanged herself from a chandelier. She did not leave a suicide note.

Richie Aprile, played by David Proval

Richie seemed relatively mild-mannered considering his criminal lifestyle, but he was a ruthless mobster. He had been in prison for 10 years and was unhappy with the changes in the family, especially Tony's rise to the top, during his time served. Richie wanted to whack Tony and told Uncle Junior, who in turn tipped off Tony. Tony had intended to kill Richie Aprile but Tony's sister Janice beat him to it. Richie and Janice were engaged and one night an argument escalated into Richie hitting his fiancée in the face. Janice retaliated by shooting Richie dead.

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