| “ | I'm Don Pianta! I make cryin' babies weep!” | „ |
| ~ Don Pianta boasting about his reputation. |
Don Pianta is a minor character in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. He is the notorious head of the Pianta Syndicate that operates and rules over Rogueport's West Side and are bitter enemies of the Robbo Thieves. A merciless and ruthless crime lord, he is despite these traits a very loving father. He is the father of Francessca and the archenemy of Ishnail. He is also the owner of the wildly successful Pianta Parlor.
Biography[]
It isn't known of Don Pianta is the founder of the Pianta Syndicate or if he rose to the position of power on his own. With their territory in Rogueport's West Side, it is possible he used his power and wealth to improve the infrastructure and quality of life of those living in his turf, as the West Side is notably much nicer than the rest of the crime hub. He and his gang would eventually come into direct conflict with Ishnail and his Robbo Thieves, starting a turf war that has lasted a long time, with violent encounters between the two gangs being a common occurence in Rogueport.
When Mario arrives in Rogueport, this conflict is one of the very first things seen unfolding, as during his first talk with Goombella members of the Pianta Syndicate are seen assaulting members of the Robbo Thieves. Mario eventually comes to require a ticket for the Cheep Blimp. In exchange for giving him the tickets, the Don asks Mario to locate his daughter and her boyfriend for him. Originally intending to run away from him without a word out of fear of provoking his wrath, for Frankie is a member of the crime family, the two eventually confront him and Don Pianta openly gives the couple his blessing and the two depart from Rogueport.
Later, once again needing tickets for travel, Mario returns to the syndicate's headquarters to find the Don very ill. Stricken with grief and missing her very much, he once again offers said tickets to Mario in exchange for another favor, this time, to have his daughter brought back home. When they return, he makes a full recovery, but comes to the realization that the life of a Crime Lord is starting to take its toll on him. He then passes leadership of the Pianta Syndicate to his son-in-law and retires.
Personality[]
While openly an extremely vicious and ruthless man, to the point where his reputation makes infants cry in his presence, Don Pianta is still a very loving father and worries over his daughter Francessca constantly. He is also sympathetic to her desires, giving Frankie his blessing to marry her despite the fact that such a thing would otherwise be frowned upon in their organization. He cares for his daughter to the point of falling very ill in her absence by being sick with worry.
That being said, it does not change the fact that he is an incredibly dangerous individual prior to his retirement. Bitter enemies of the Robbo Thieves, Don Pianta has been actively warring with them for a considerable amount of time and is constantly ordering his men to attack the opposing gang in broad daylight, showing he cares little of how this may effect innocent bystanders, or perhaps, is all the more for it, to increase the fear of his name and his gang. Despite this, he does look out for those in that live in his territory, as West Side Rogueport is drastically safer than the rest of the city for no one would dare provoke the wrath of the Mafia Don.
Trivia[]
- Like all other gang members in the game, Don Pianta speaks with a Brooklyn accent.
