Carlo Gervasi (born November 18, 1944), portrayed by Arthur J. Nascarella, was the capo of the Altieri crew before becoming an FBI informant.
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What was Carlo Gervasi's role in the Altieri crew on The Sopranos?
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Biography[]
Gervasi was promoted to caporegime of Jimmy Altieri's old crew in 1999, after Jimmy was murdered on suspicion of being an F.B.I. informant. He had the unique position of being in charge of obtaining grey-market goods from container ships docking at the Newark ports. These procurements included everything from Vespa scooters to provolone cheese. In November 2002, Carlo also accompanied Tony, Ralph and Hesh to the stables to purchase the racing horse Pie-O-My. In 2006, Carlo attended two celebration dinners at Nuovo Vesuvio, first when his cousin Burt Gervasi became a made man and a second for Christopher Moltisanti's belated bachelor party. When Bobby Baccalieri was injured in November 2006, Gervasi visited him in the hospital and passed his collections up to an indifferent Tony Soprano.
Very little is known about Carlo's character. For all of his time on the screen, the audience knows virtually nothing about him. He shares this distinction with Patsy Parisi, another member of the group who has very little back-story and few lines relative to his frequent visual presence. He first appears in a meeting of Tony's crew in the first episode of Season 4, but there was no explanation as to where he came from and how he became part of the family's inner circle. Carlo is not even directly referenced by name until the sixth season.
His personal life is also shrouded in mystery. Though Carlo has two sons, Jason (who is seen on the show) and James (who is not), Carlo's wife (if he has one) is never seen by the audience, or even mentioned, nor is Carlo ever seen with a comare or mistress. This is in stark contrast to the rest of Tony's crew, all of whom but Paulie have significant others or families who are regularly shown. Carlo rarely speaks, compared to the rest of the crew. The most detail of his life outside of his mob activities that the audience ever sees is shown in the episode "Kaisha", where his house and garage are shown for the only time in the series as he retrieves Dominic "Fat Dom" Gamiello's head from his refrigerator in order to dispose of it. A Jet Ski is seen in his garage; outside of this, nothing is known of his hobbies or interests.
It is only in Season Six that Carlo begins to emerge from the background and become a more important character. Gervasi was given all of Vito Spatafore's construction business in addition to the ports, after the revelation of Vito's sexual orientation and his subsequent downfall, but has suffered recent work stoppages. Gervasi was also outspoken about his disapproval of Spatafore's homosexuality, suggesting to Soprano that his cousin, Tommy knew a detective who might be useful in tracking down Spatafore. His hatred of homosexuals surprised even the other mobsters, wishing that Spatafore be "dragged behind his car." When Soprano decided that Spatafore had to be killed to appease acting New York boss Phil Leotardo, and Silvio Dante asked if the hit should be assigned to anyone in particular, Soprano suggested Gervasi for the job because of his strong views. Tony compares him to Roy Bean. However, Spatafore was beaten to death by Phil Leotardo's men Gerry Torciano and Dominic "Fat Dom" Gamiello before Gervasi could act. Gervasi expressed admiration for Leotardo's commitment to his views, despite the killing of a made man being performed without Tony's permission. Silvio comments that he is as talkative about the subject as Jimmy Olsen. Carlo later avenged his family's honor by stabbing Fat Dom four times with a chef's knife for making jokes about Spatafore's murder and implying that Gervasi was also homosexual. The killing occurred in the back room of Satriale's pork store and Silvio also took part; Tony Soprano later discovered them waiting to dispose of the body and was angry because of the murder's possible repercussions. Gervasi took charge of disposing of Gamiello's body and drove to Connecticut to deposit his head in a storm drain, phoning Silvio to confirm that the last part was safely away and to ask about Tony's plans to blow up Leotardo's wire room.
Soprano later placed Gervasi in charge of Spatafore's construction business, but he was disappointed with Gervasi's earning capacity in this new role. Gervasi's son Jason attends Rutgers University and is involved in gambling and loansharking there.
In 2007, Gervasi is later seen participating in the production of Cleaver with Christopher Moltisanti and Little Carmine Lupertazzi. He appears to be acting as a consultant, suggesting that more graphic violence may bolster the film's success.
Gervasi's cousin, Burt Gervasi, switched sides during the Lupertazzi/Soprano war and was killed for his disloyalty by Silvio Dante in December 2007. Carlo wasn't seen to react to the murder of his cousin, but it may have influenced his decision to cooperate with law enforcement. Gervasi accompanied Tony to a safe house to help protect him from Phil Leotardo's hitmen.
In the series finale, Gervasi's son was picked up by the FBI for drug-dealing. Gervasi failed to show up for a meeting with Paulie Gualtieri, which worried Tony Soprano that he may have been cutting a deal. Soprano's attorney confirmed that someone was, in fact testifying before a grand jury and that indictments were forthcoming. In the final scene, Tony told Carmela that Carlo was testifying, thus confirming that he turned informant, likely to keep his son out of jail.
Murders committed by Gervasi[]
- Dominic "Fat Dom" Gamiello: Stabbed in the stomach multiple times after deriding Vito's murder and also implying Gervasi was a homosexual. (November 2006)
Trivia[]
- He shares the same last name as reputed Montreal, Canada mobsters Paolo Gervasi, and his son Salvatore Gervasi. The Italian surname Gervasi, along with the French name Gervais, is in honor of the Catholic martyr Saint Gervasius. Carlo's surname is somewhat ironic, in that Saint Gervasius is said to have been beheaded, and Carlo himself beheads the body of Dominic "Fat Dom" Gamiello after stabbing him to death. It is unknown whether or not this was an intentional reference by the show's creators.
Appearance[]
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| Season 6 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |