“ | I swear to God! Mommy! Mommy! Please, Tony, please!
|
„ |
― Matt pleading Tony Soprano not to execute him as well as Matt's last words. |
Matthew Bevilaqua is a supporting character portrayed by Lillo Brancato, Jr. He is an associate of the DiMeo crime family and a member of the Soprano crew.
Quick Answers
Who portrays the character of Matthew Bevilaqua in the Sopranos?
What is the relationship between Matthew Bevilaqua and Sean Gismonte?
What role does Matthew Bevilaqua play in the DiMeo crime family?
What is the significance of Matthew Bevilaqua's family being big in the Construction Business?
Background[]
It is implied through dialogue between Tony Soprano and Pussy Bonpensiero that Matthew's family has mob ties, as they were big in the Construction Business. He also introduces himself to Tony as "Ivo Bevilaqua's nephew", indicating that this uncle was a familiar to Tony, but not his father. Matthew had a upper middle class upbringing in the suburbs and evidently holds a fascination with hood culture, listening to rap such as 2nd II None. Matt often uses "mulignan" slang when talking to members of the DiMeo crime family, much to their annoyance.
Matthew was Sean Gismonte's partner-in-crime and an associate in the Soprano crew. He and Sean were childhood friends, both growing up in West Orange, and by their teens, the duo became petty criminals. Before becoming the "piss boys" of Christopher Moltisanti, Matthew and Sean worked for Eddie Stags, another DiMeo associate, for two years, though Chris says that their tasks amounted to house work, such as waxing his car. They apparently only connected with Chris to eventually work under Tony Soprano.
A naïve and slimy, yet ambitious "cheese fuck", he worked the Soprano crew's executive card game along with Sean. Later, he sold shares in Webistics through a stock brokerage operated by DiMeo crime family soldier Christopher Moltisanti. The Webistics scam was an illegal pump and dump scam. They got into trouble with Christopher for stealing nearby cars, which could draw too much attention from the police. They also get into trouble for brutally beating up a broker, Kevin, which sent him to the hospital, for recommending the sale of other stocks, threatening the manager with a letter opener and stealing a Porsche Carrera from the parking garage. Together with Chris and Sean, Matt also participated in breaking up a staged protest at Massarone Construction and did some burglary jobs during which Matt knocked out a night-shift guard with a crowbar.
DiMeo enforcer Furio Giunta and an associate visit Matt and Sean at their apartment for Tony's cut from the burglaries. During the visit, Sean and Matt act very unprofessional by showing Furio their entire cut of money from the job, hidden in a dresser. Upon seeing the money, Furio is prompted to demand 1,000 dollars from them for himself. Due to their lower status, Matt and Sean could not refuse. Furio jokingly remarks that they "suck each other's cocks" in Italian to his associate. He also leaves without closing the apartment door. This, combined with previous "disrespect" from mob superiors, heightened the already present urge to rapidly move up the ranks.
During a meeting with recently released from jail DiMeo capo Richie Aprile, they make fun of Christopher's nose and also learn of Richie's disdain for him because Chris hit his niece, Adriana La Cerva. To gain respect from Richie and to quickly make their mark, Matt and Sean plan an unsanctioned hit on Christopher. The hit was unsuccessful, which results in Christopher shooting Sean to death in self-defense, while Matt runs away from the scene. Christopher was seriously wounded in the attack and rushed to the hospital.
Matt hastily runs to Richie to tell him that the hit was done for him as a favor, but this only angers Richie, as he refuses to protect Matt because he realizes that this hit was unsanctioned and that Tony would kill anyone involved in the attack. Richie attempts to kill Matt by attacking him with a baseball bat. However, Matt runs off and is chased by Richie. Richie, who is not as in good shape as Matt, quickly tires out and gives up on his attempt to murder Matt, instead throwing the bat to the ground with disgust and calling Matt a "pochie". Matt then goes into hiding.
Tony tasks Richie with leading the search effort for Matthew, with his contact in OTB spreading the word to local drug dealers to increase awareness to as many people as possible. Eventually, Pussy learns of Matt's whereabouts from a teenager after implying that whoever tells them where he is hiding will gain "points" with the DiMeo crime family. Pussy also ends up paying the teenager $20. Pussy and Tony drag a beaten Matt to a locked refreshment shack and after interrogating him to make sure that he and Sean were acting on their own. Matt heavily blames Sean for the hit, likely as Sean was an easy scapegoat since he is now dead. After seeing Matt shaking and pissing his pants, Tony orders Pussy to get him a soft drink of choice to calm him down. Pussy says that all they have are diet sodas in the refreshment stand, but Matt accepts. While nervously guzzling down the drink, Tony again asks Matt if Richie Aprile was responsible, to which Matt answers in the negative. Tony asks if he enjoyed the diet soft drink, to which Matt answers in the positive. Tony then says he is glad to hear it, as "that sugarless motherfucker is the last drink [he is] ever going to have", Tony then pulls out a gun and shoots Matt in the head, killing him instantly. Matt's last words are screaming for his mother and begging Tony for his life. Tony and Pussy blast countless bullets into him even after he is dead.
After Death[]
Police later find Matt's dead body and a witness told detectives about the gunshots he heard and saw two men leave the scene in a car. The witness identified Tony from a picture without knowing that he was a mob boss because the police had lied to him and told him that Tony was a mere crack dealer. When the witness learned that the murder was mafia-related, he then refused to cooperate and denied it was Tony Soprano who he had indeed witnessed. The feds continued to try to pin the murder on Tony, but remained unsuccessful. Tony repeatedly worried about being implicated in the show and felt as if he had "dodged a big bullet" when he got away clean.
Matt's death also appeared to have a psychological effect on Tony. While waiting for a contact in a shopping mall, Tony sees a little boy wandering about crying and asking for his mother, which triggers a mental image of Matt's last moments. Tony sympathetically approaches the lost child and offers to help reunite him with his family, which is then quickly done as the child's mother finds him. At home, Tony tells Carmela he would like to spend more time with A.J.. Carmela is somewhat surprised by this, figuring he would want to focus his attention on Meadow. However, when Tony suggests he wants to do something decent with the family, Carmela drops the subject; not realizing Tony's intent is to help him deal with the repeating mental scenes of Matt's murder. Tony is later seen with A.J. on The Stugots, teaching his son how to steer.
Appearances[]
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Trivia[]
- Matt went to Pace College. He also obtained a stockbroker license, although he may have acquired it in a manner similar to Christopher, by paying someone else to take the test for him.
- The last drink Matt is given by Pussy prior to his execution is a diet Coke, referred to by Tony as a "sugarless motherfucker", despite being offered a Fanta.
- Matt made an insistent habit of introducing himself as "Matt Drinkwater", hoping to establish it as a nickname; "beve l'acqua" is Italian for "drink the water".
- Matt is similar to Jackie Aprile Jr. Both grew up privileged by their successful family's pursuits. Both failed to rise among the ties of the DiMeos. Both at one point sought to serve under Richie Aprile's crew. They were young men in their 20's. Both each had a right-hand subordinate, for Matthew, there was Sean. In Aprile's case, there was Dino Zerili. Both at one point looked up to Chris Moltisanti, only for Moltisanti to disrespect and raise his voice towards the both of them. And they each nearly assassinated Moltisanti unexpectedly.