Brendan Filone and Christopher Moltisanti, associates of the DiMeo crime family.
An associate is the lowest position in the Mafia, which all prospects have to go through before being able to become inducted as made men. While associates are not official members and carry less respect than higher-ranking integrants of the organization, they are still crucial to its general functioning and can command the same admiration as soldiers if they work hard enough. Associates don't necessarily need to have Italian ancestry and can be from any ethnicity, though that results in them not being eligible to be made. Various associates on The Sopranos begin in their positions before being promoted to higher ranks.