| “ | Fiber optic cable. High speed internet access.
|
„ |
| ― Benny to Christopher Moltisanti. |
Benito "Benny" Fazio Jr. is a recurring character on The Sopranos. He is a member of the DiMeo crime family, Christopher's partner and Tony's driver. He is portrayed by Max Casella.
Biography[]
Benny Fazio (Criminal Mastermind) debuted in the third episode of Season 3, with his release from county jail and renewed association with friend Christopher "Chris" Moltisanti. Benny belongs to the crew run by Peter "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri, and is later part of Moltisanti's crew. He began working for Christopher just after Christopher became a made man and they quickly became close comrades. Benny's star began to rise due to his association with Christopher, as well as the fact that he is the godson of DiMeo capo Lawrence "Larry Boy" Barese.
In mid 2000, Benny and Chris often hung out at the "Ooh-Fa Pizzeria" until Chris decided it was beneath his status as a made man. This brought them into contact with Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile Jr. and his friend, Dino Zerilli. Jackie informed them of an opportunity to rob a charity Jewel concert at Rutgers University. Benny accompanied Chris when he robbed the concert and fired at a security guard that caught the robbery in progress; no one was hurt and Chris and Benny made a clean escape with Jackie driving.
In 2002 (Season 4), Benny was awarded one of the "no-work" carpenter jobs at the Esplanade construction site and was often found there following this. In May 2003 He was assigned the important task of killing two would-be assassins contracted by Tony to whack New York boss Carmine Lupertazzi Sr. after the hit was called off. Benny and Peter "Petey" LaRosa ambushed and killed the hitmen—two black heroin dealers (Credenzo Curtis and Stanley Johnson)—who were set up by Christopher Moltisanti.
Over time, Benny became a trusted associate and came to be known by boss Anthony "Tony" Soprano Sr., acting both as a driver and as a guard of his house during his separation with Carmela Soprano. Benny also worked with Christopher as part of Tony's scheme to get Michele "Feech" La Manna sent back to prison—they pretended to mention a truck of stolen electronics only in passing, but knew Feech would want to get involved. He did, and stored the truck in his garage, but his new, by-the-book parole officer had been tipped off and came to investigate.
However, in December 2004, Benny was seriously beaten by New York capo Philip "Phil" Leotardo. The crisis brought on by Anthony "Tony B" Blundetto was reaching a head and Phil severely beat Benny to send a message to Tony. Phil knew of Benny's friendship with Chris and position as driver to Tony; Phil and Benny had been present together at meetings between Tony and John "Johnny Sack" Sacrimoni. Tony, feeling guilty about Benny's fractured skull, offered to give Benny his button when he recovered, as a consolation, meaning he would become a made man.
By early 2006, his responsibilities included driving acting boss Silvio "Sil" Dante while Tony was in the ICU, guarding Tony's ICU room and chasing down Vito Spatafore Sr. to his comare's beach house following the revelation that he was homosexual. Benny was partnered with Pasquale "Patsy" Parisi in a business relationship with Angela "Angie" Bonpensiero and was responsible for assisting her auto body shop business and handling money she invested in loan sharking.
It was revealed that Benny is married to Jennifer "Jen" Fazio with a son on the way. However, Benny began an affair with Martina, the newest hostess at Nuovo Vesuvio, much to the irritation of owner and head chef Arthur "Artie" Bucco who had his eyes on her.
Benny was involved in Chris' credit card fraud scheme with Muhammad and Ahmed, using his relationship with Martina to get account numbers used at Nuovo Vesuvio and selling them on through Moltisanti crew associate James "Murmur" Zancone. Benny was also responsible for paying Chris' tribute to Tony while Chris visited L.A.
American Express investigated Vesuvio's role in the credit card fraud and pulls his ability to accept their cards, prompting Artie to identify Martina as the criminal in his staff. Artie confronted Benny at his home and Fazio insultingly offered to cut him into the action at his own restaurant. A fight ensues and Artie easily overpowers the smaller Benny and badly beats him up. Despite orders from Tony to make peace with Artie, Benny later gets revenge after Artie insults him at a family dinner that Tony insisted he organize at Nuovo Vesuvio. Benny was there to celebrate his parents' anniversary and Artie offers him a "Martina", saying it's an Albanian martini, adding that "...they go down real easy". Enraged, Benny follows Artie to the kitchen and puts his hand into a pot of boiling tomato sauce, burning him very badly. Benny later attended Chris' belated bachelor party, also at Nuovo Vesuvio which was hosted by Artie, but the two refrained from initiating further violence.
Benny was also able to exact some revenge for his beating by Phil Leotardo. Tony assigned Benny the task of watching Phil's wire room in Sheepshead Bay when the Soprano crew bombed it. Benny was pleased to report to Tony that Phil and his girlfriend arrived just before the explosion and was knocked down (but relatively unharmed) by the blast. By the summer of 2007, Benny was a made man.
Benny was later present at a card game where Paul "Little Paulie" Germani is thrown out of a window by Christopher. He has also accompanied Paulie and Silvio to the Bada Bing and was in Atlantic City with Tony and crew while Tony gambled away a lot of money. After Chris' death in the episode "Kennedy and Heidi" Benny remarked he was out making his collections when he heard of the tragedy. Following Moltisanti's death, Benny is saddened, as the two were close. Benny also helped guard Tony while he was on the lam from Phil Leotardo. Benny and several of Tony's other crew members were checking gas stations in Long Island to find Phil Leotardo after receiving some intel from Agent Dwight Harris. Benny is last seen acting as the getaway driver when Walden Belfiore shot Phil Leotardo to death at a Raceway Gas Station.
Murders committed by Fazio[]
- Credenzo Curtis: drug dealer, shot in his own car by Benny and Petey LaRosa. Killed under orders of Tony Soprano and Christopher Moltisanti so that the canceled assassination of Carmine Lupertazzi would remain a secret. (May 2003)
- Stanley Johnson: drug dealer, shot in the neck 3 times. Killed under orders of Tony Soprano and Christopher Moltisanti so that the canceled assassination of Carmine Lupertazzi would remain a secret. (May 2003)
Murders Benny associated with[]
- Phil Leotardo: Lupertazzi crime family boss, shot in the head and chest by Walden Belfiore, Benny was the getaway driver for Walden when Walden killed Phil. (December 2007)
Trivia[]
- In season 5, he drives a 1994 Chevrolet Camaro which he crashes into the side of a building while trying to escape from Phil Leotardo. In season 6, he is shown to be driving a 2006 Chrysler 300.
Appearance[]
| Episodes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Season 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Season 3 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season 4 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||||||||
| Season 5 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||||||||
| Season 6 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Luxury Lounge"