Carmine Lupertazzi Sr. is a supporting character in The Sopranos. An old school mobster, Carmine is the longtime boss of the Lupertazzi crime family, and seeks to maintain a peaceful and stable relationship with the Soprano family, one of their main business dealings. He is portrayed by actor Tony Lip.
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Who mentored Carmine Lupertazzi Sr. into the 'family business'?
How did Carmine Lupertazzi Sr. become the boss of the Lupertazzi crime family?
What is Carmine Lupertazzi Sr.'s relationship with the Soprano family?
Who portrayed Carmine Lupertazzi Sr. in The Sopranos?
Was Carmine Lupertazzi Sr. ever considered a 'rat' within the mob community?
Biography[]
Background[]
Carmine was mentored into the "family business” by his father Giovanni Lupertazzi. Carmine became the boss of the family during the 1950s after his father was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. He became known for having invented the point shaving scheme, which Corrado "Junior" Soprano Jr. recalls happened in 1951, during the game between CCNY and Kentucky. Junior apparently bought himself a Black Cadillac Fleetwood from the fortune he won by betting on the game.[1] At some point, he was tried under RICO law, which he remarked cost him a lot of money.[2] Carmine was business-focused and opportunistic, and Johnny Sack once told a story about how a member of the family named Jimmy wanted another member dead for sleeping with his wife, and Carmine rejected the proposition since he was a good earner. 8 years later, however, Carmine called Jimmy and told him he could kill him now since he wasn't earning so much anymore.[3]
The Sopranos[]
Carmine was highly intelligent, calm and an opportunist, even in his old age. Despite being a loving husband, father, and grandfather, grooming his own son, Carmine "Little Carmine" Lupertazzi Jr., by making him a capo in the family to lead the Miami-based Lupertazzi faction, he remained foremost a ruthless mobster, making threats and ordering murders. He had a sometimes contentious relationship with his Underboss, John "Johnny Sack" Sacrimoni. During different episodes in the fourth season, Johnny and Carmine each authorized Anthony "Tony" Soprano Sr. to put a "hit" on the other, although in neither case was the killing actually carried out.
In March 2004, Carmine's health began to fail and he suffered a stroke. After some time comatose in the hospital, Lupertazzi died, leaving a large power vacuum in the Lupertazzi crime family. The heir apparent for his position was his son, Little Carmine, a fact that became a point of consternation for Johnny Sack, who also sought the position Carmine left behind.
Carmine once told Tony Soprano that "a Don doesn't wear shorts", considering it undignified. Though he regarded Tony and the entire New Jersey crime family as nothing more than a "glorified crew", Lupertazzi did show respect for Tony, at one time saying he would be proud to call Tony his own son. This was most evident when he showed genuine concern for Tony's health after hearing rumors that he was seeing a psychiatrist and having panic attacks.
In the episode "Rat Pack", Tony sits with Junior and makes conversations with both Robert "Bobby Bacala" Baccalieri Jr. and Michele "Feech" La Manna, when they suddenly are called up with the information that Carmine has passed during the night.
Appearance[]
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| Season 4 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||||||||||
| Season 5 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season 6 | ✔ |