Mob Experts on The Sopranos, Week 5

Jerry Capeci is author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia and Jerry Capeci's Gang Land: Fifteen Years of Covering the Mafia. His weekly column about organized crime, "Gang Land," appears in the New York Sun and at www.ganglandnews.com. Jeffrey Goldberg is a staff writer for The New Yorker. He covered organized crime for New York magazine and the New York Times Magazine. He is at work on a book about the Middle East. Gerald Shargel has represented many high-profile clients, including John Gotti. He is a practitioner in residence at Brooklyn Law School, where he also teaches. Dana Stevens, aka Liz Penn, is a Slate TV critic. She lives in New York and also writes on film and culture for the High Sign.

Who are these people?

Last year, each new episode of The Sopranos was analyzed by a group of shrinks; this year, each week two mob experts will discuss the lives and squabbles of America's favorite gangsters. Today our experts are joined by Gerald Shargel, an attorney who has represented many high-profile clients, including John Gotti.

Thanks for inviting me in, guys. I agree with you both that it was a great episode. My vote for Funniest Moment was when the Steve Buscemi character gave the doctor a forensic anatomy lesson as a "pre-certified massage therapist." And on a more serious note, the car crash was brilliant cinema, filled with portent. It reminded me of the scene in Road to Perdition where Paul Newman was gunned down. By the way, Jeff, Paul Newman was a great model of a mob boss, but my vote for all-time paradigm is Al Pacino in The Godfather. (Did you really think I'd name someone from real life?) Pacino had leadership skills, duplicity, character, and above all, strength and unwavering determination. He was solid and reliable. Tony Soprano is weak and every time he has to make a decision of consequence he first has to dance with his own demons. And finally, if a mob boss cried in the doctor's office or had an anxiety disorder, they never told me about it. And to Jerry Capeci, it's not Barney Ruggle, it's Barney Rubble.

PRINTE-MAILRECOMMEND...RSS

FacebookMySpace Mixx Digg Reddit del.icio.us Furl Ma.gnolia SphereStumbleUponCLOSE

SPONSORED CONTENT