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| “ | Teddy, right? | „ |
| ~ Gene Pontecorvo before murdering Teddy Spirodakis. |
| “ | Do me a favor, huh? Hold this! | „ |
| ~ Eugene Pontecorvo just before smashing a bottle on Paulie Germani's head. |
Eugene "Gene" Pontecorvo is a supporting character in the HBO Television Series The Sopranos.
He is a middle-aged soldier in the New Jersey DiMeo Crime Family, who works alongside Tony Soprano and is a part of the Aprile Crew. While being known for his quiet and aggressive personality he is more well known for his depressing arc during the final season.
He was portrayed by Robert Funaro, who also voiced Anthony Corrado in Grand Theft Auto IV.
Biography[]
Background[]
Eugene Pontecorvo was born on August 11, 1959 in Northen New Jersey to an unnamed father and mother. According to Gene, his father committed suicide at the age of fifty-two, which caused Gene to grow up with some emotional turmoil. This also caused Gene to grow close to his aunt Edie. As a teen, Gene played CYO basketball with Tony Soprano and by 1995, Gene became an associate of the DiMeo Crime Family that also had Tony as a Capo, with him also working as a bodyguard at the Aprile Social Club.
Season 3[]
Gene first appears in the episode "Proshai, Livushka", where he and Bobby Zanone beat up a man who works in sanitation for threatening to have Ralph Cifaretto arrested. Soon Gene becomes a made man alongside Christopher Moltisanti in the episode "Fortunate Son" and becomes a member of the Aprile Crew run by Gigi Cestone. On a late night while playing cards with Vito Spatafore and Donny K, the three barge into the bathroom after a defecating Gigi is not responding to their questions. After entering the bathroom, they find Gigi, dead on the toilet, with him dying from a heart attack caused by the stress in his life.
Season 4[]
Gene shows off more of his psychotic side when he is seen committing jury tampering with an associate of his, with the juror having to be a part of the trial of Junior Soprano. Gene does this by intimidating and stalking the juror by following him around and confronting him and paying for his candy bar and drink at a convenience store. He also tells him that he knows he'll "do the right thing", implying that he will be murdered if Junior is found guilty.
Season 5[]
In the episode "Unidentified Black Males", Gene is seen sitting and chatting at the Esplanade Construction Site alongside Vito Spatafore, Patsy Parisi, Benny Fazio, "Little" Paulie Germani and Peter LaRosa. After Patsy and Paulie are talking about buying jewelry for their wives, Gene brings up Paulie's comare having a "mustache" as a joke. To come back at this, Paulie jokingly tells Gene that he would know what it would be like, while speaking in a stereotypical homosexual accent and lisp. After the rest of the mobsters laugh at Paulie's joke, Gene sits there in anger due to Paulie disrespecting his masculinity. In return, Gene gets up from his chair and claims to be going to the bathroom, but just before he does he smashes his glass bottle onto Paulie's head, creating a huge gash. Gene then starts kicking his body on the floor, to which the other mobsters stop him and plan to blame Paulie's injuries on two "unidentified black men".
Season 6[]
| “ | Okay. | „ |
| ~ Eugene Pontecorvo's last words. |
In the first episode, Gene is seen inheriting two million dollars after his aunt Edie died. Gene, feeling stressed from being a part of the criminal life and under a lot of pressure from his drug-addicted son, confronts Tony by asking him if he can retire and move to Florida with the money. Gene also reveals the pain he has suffered through his life at this point and the horrible luck that has happened to him recently. Tony declines this idea due to Gene taking an oath by becoming a made man. Gene is then ordered by Christopher Moltisanti to visit Boston to murder Teddy Spirodakis, who owed Chris a lot of money and didn't pay back, with Gene only agreeing due to Chris now being a captain and that Chris also said he would tell Tony about Gene's good work. Gene arrives in Boston and goes to a fast food restaurant where he goes up to Teddy and asks him if that is his name. Teddy confirms this and without any hesitation, Gene murders him with two shots in the chest and one in the head. It is then revealed that Gene is an FBI Informant, though he is very reluctant about becoming a rat. It is unknown when he became an informant but it can be implied that he became one after Ray Curto (who was also a rat)'s death. Gene is also informed by Silvio Dante that he will not be able to retire from the family. Realizing how depressing his life is and that there is no way out of being a member of the Mafia, Gene hangs himself in his basement.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Robert Funaro is not credited in the episode "He Is Risen".
- Eugene Pontecorvo's death is considered by fans to be one of the most depressing deaths in the entire series, due to the circumstances he was in at this point in his life, the fact that he stared at old family photos for hours just before his death and that he was one of the only characters who wished to leave the Mafia lifestyle but ultimately failed.
External Links[]
- Eugene Pontecorvo on The Sopranos Wiki
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 Villains
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DiMeo Crime Family Lupertazzi Crime Family Vittorio/Zucca Camorra family Philadelphia Crime Family/Buscetta Crime Family Other | ||