Giacomo Michael "Jackie" Aprile Sr. (April 13, 1954 - September 9th, 1998), played by Michael Rispoli, was the earliest visibly present Boss of the New Jersey-based DiMeo crime family. He took on the role after longtime reputed Boss Ercole "Eckley The Boot" DiMeo was sentenced to life in prison in 1995. Jackie was the predecessor to Corrado "Junior" Soprano Jr. as Boss of the family.
Quick Answers
Who took over as the Boss of the DiMeo crime family after Ercole DiMeo was sent to prison?
What was Jackie Aprile Sr.'s official title within the DiMeo crime family?
Who portrayed the character of Jackie Aprile Sr. in The Sopranos?
What is the significance of the title 'Acting Boss' for Jackie Aprile Sr.?
Who was Jackie Aprile Sr.'s close childhood friend?
Biography
According to Sopranos; A Family History, Giacomo Michael Aprile, Sr. was born on April 13, 1954, was a close childhood friend and contemporary of Anthony "Tony" Soprano Sr. and they came up through the ranks of the crime family together. Soprano would admire and follow Jackie as his friend. Jackie's older brother, Richard "Richie" Aprile, also stepped up in the same crime family, establishing and commanding his own crew by the late 1970s. As kids, Jackie and Tony would often accompany Richie. According to Richie, Jackie and Tony admired the jacket that he had stolen from Rocco DiMeo of Essex County. Jackie and Tony went on to attend the same high school with Arthur "Artie" Bucco, Ralph "Ralphie" Cifaretto, and David "Davey" Scatino. Jackie was also the brother of Vito Spatafore's mother, as well as Liz La Cerva. So, Jackie was the maternal uncle of both Vito, and Adriana La Cerva.
The Many Saints of Newark
It was 1972, and together, a teenaged Jackie, Tony, and Artie, hijacked an ice cream truck, Tony pushing and holding down the truck's driver. Artie drove, him being the only one who could drive stick, to a nearby park to give away the ice cream for free to a mob of children. Artie would later be dropped as a member of the gang to work full-time in his father's restaurant.
Later on, Jackie was following Tony and his then-girlfriend, Carmela DeAngelis, as Tony tried to make a phone call from a payphone located in front of Addeo & Sons Bakery. Jackie then mocked Tony for failing to get a case of beer for an upcoming party as he called his distant mentor, Richard "Dickie" Moltisanti. Moltisanti and his wife, Joanne, hung up twice on Tony. Jackie would tell Tony, "Hey, Joe Jerkoff!" Tony then began to fight with Jackie as Carmela, then Tony's girlfriend, watched and yelled at the two to "stop it!".
Induction
As an up-and-coming underling, Jackie was often told to "fetch Sambuca" for his future rival, "Junior". At some point in 1977, Jackie became the paternal uncle to Richie's only son, Richard Aprile Jr. Then came the 1980s, as Richie recruited Jackie to begin selling heroin with Peter "Beansie" Gaeta. Jackie, Tony, Ralphie, and fellow aspiring gangster, Silvio Dante, formed their own minor-league crew as teenagers. Pulling "Mickey Mouse scores", the gang sold marijuana, and any stolen merchandise they came across. One night, Jackie had the idea to rob a card game held by seasoned capo Michele "Feech" La Manna and, in Cifaretto's words, "step up to the A-league." Ralph's claim behind his absence was that he had contracted gonorrhea from "some hippy broad", and was thus unable to rob the card game. Given Ralph's history of constant lies, this is questionable. In 1983, Jackie, Tony, and Silvio went through with their plan, and still successfully robbed La Manna's game of at least $20,000, without any casualties. Richie, and Tony's father, "Johnny Boy", would step up on the behalf of Jackie and Tony to spare them from serious repercussions. Although they had to give back some of the money that they stole, Tony and Jackie were on the fast track to being made men. The two were officially inducted into the DiMeos by early 1983. DiMeo himself took a personal interest in mentoring both Jackie and Tony.
Acting Capo
In August, 1989, Richie was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Richie's crew was most likely taken over by Jackie, due to nepotism. While Richie was serving his sentence, Jackie would hold down the fort for his older brother as an Acting Capo. Jackie's crew grew to expand their activities to construction, drug trafficking, sports betting, loansharking, and waste management. Jackie was running Aprile Roofing Supply to serve as his personal legitimate source of income. He'd also make it a point to present himself as a mere "man in the garbage industry", much like Tony would present himself as a "waste management consultant". The naïve A.J. Soprano would fall for this façade. Jackie's star rose considerably in the intervening years, during which he started a family. He married Rosalie Aprile, and they had two children, Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile Jr. & Kelli, together. Jackie especially took interest in looking out for his son. He would brag to his subordinates about how well Jr. was as a son. However, this did not deter Aprile from finding flaws with Jackie Jr. At one point, his son was drowning in water at a penguin exhibit. Jackie would tell Tony that Jackie Jr. had "a learning disorder". Although they appeared to be a stable family, it was quite the opposite. Jackie was having an affair with another woman, while Rosalie was seeing a man named Steve from her gym. Yet, Jackie never wanted his son to get involved with crime despite his own personal success. During 1995, the Aprile family stayed in New Jersey during the winter break for Jackie Jr. to receive proper tutoring to prepare for the SATs. Although Jackie Jr. was accepted into Rutgers to study medicine, he would soon engage in nonstop partying, and other forms of procrastination. In the seventh episode, "Down Neck", A.J. told Tony that Jackie's name was mentioned on a crime-based website with a full page describing how Jackie was working alongside a union to "rip off those pension things, or something". Tony stated, "Uncle Jackie was a complicated man". Tony went on to ask AJ if he "loved him". To which Anthony replied, "Yes." [1] So, it's clear that besides his associates, Jackie made it a point to get along with their families, also.
Lewisberg
For an uncertain amount of time, Jackie served time in prison in Lewisberg with the later identified informant Fabian "Febby" Petrulio. Tony said that Jackie did "a couple of counts" in jail, suggesting that although he served jail time, it was not a significantly long sentence, hence his quick ascension to Acting Boss for his ability to avoid jail time by working the system and surviving.
Reign
It was 1995, when "The Old Man" DiMeo finally went on trial, and then sentenced to life in prison. Prior to this, both Jackie and DiMeo had Tony pegged to be the next boss, at least according to Raymond "Buffalo Ray" Curto. Now, Jackie was considered to be an all-powerful figure in the crime family, and by the mid-1990s, his influence, power and success continued to expand as he assumed more and more responsibilities as Boss. By 1996, it wasn't rare for Aprile to be swarmed and filmed by reporters when he was traveling in public, while accompanied by his personal security detail.
Corrado's Defiance & The Sitdown of '95
Jackie's promotion greatly aggrieved "Junior" Soprano, who had believed with his brother, "Johnny Boy" dead, and DiMeo in prison forever, that he would assume control of the syndicate. Junior Soprano would grow to resent Jackie, granted since Junior had been made years before Jackie's induction. Tony, however, would unquestionably obey Jackie's orders with no complaints, favoring Jackie's word over his own uncle's. In late 1995, Junior was involved in a serious dispute with the recently promoted Jackie as Acting Boss. Junior’s crew had hijacked one of Aprile’s trucks, while Junior went into hiding in Boca Raton. Soprano Crew soldier Salvatore Bonpensiero met with Junior in Florida, and on behalf of Jackie, arranged for a sit down between the two factions, peacefully resolving the situation. Jackie hated Junior, at one point telling Bonpensiero, "Hey, f*** him." Aprile instructed Tony to convince his uncle to attend the sit-down. Aprile also made it a point to act generously towards Bonpensiero, who was complaining of his children's college tuitions. At the time, Jackie displayed open contempt for O.J. Simpson avoiding conviction. During that same winter, Jackie called Junior to a sit down brokered by Bonpensiero hosted in the Aprile Social Club. The meeting was attended by Jackie's faction comprised of Tony, Silvio, and longtime enforcer Paulie Gualtieri. Junior was joined by "Gigi" Cestone, and Beppy Scerbo. Surprisingly, Bonpensiero was absent. An important note to add is that Jackie referred to Uncle Soprano as strictly and coldly, "Corrado". As Junior prepared to leave, Tony guaranteed Junior's safety, considering Tony had some love left for his uncle. Time passed, and when confronted, Bonpensiero blamed the hospitalization of the sickly mother of his comare for his absence. It's believed that this was most likely the start of when Bonpensiero would collect information pertaining to the DiMeos' illicit operations as he cooperated in secret with the FBI as an undercover informant.
The Pork Store Christmas Party of '95
Despite Jackie's refusal to surround Jackie Jr. with organized crime, in December, 1995, Jackie still brought his son with him to attend the annual Christmas party hosted in the backroom of Satriale's, attended by the majority of Jackie's lifelong loyal friends. Further respect was delivered to the Apriles when Silvio complimented Jackie Jr. on his appearance, and capo Jimmy Altieri removed Jackie Sr.'s coat. Jackie was bragging loudly on how smart his son was. Hilariously, when Jackie asked his son for the capital of Canada, Jackie Jr. pathetically said, "Come on, Dad.". Jackie would then instruct a young Christopher Moltisanti, then an associate, to open the backdoors to invite the children in as guests.
Known as a well-respected leader of the family, people say that Jackie's tenure as leader was peaceful. Although Jackie was the undisputed head of the family, out of respect to "The Old Man" DiMeo, Aprile referred to himself as "Acting Boss", even though he had wielded de facto control of the family since 1995.
The Diagnosis
However, Jackie's reign was short lived. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer, and first hospitalized in early 1998. He had been undergoing chemotherapy treatments. By the summer of 1998 (season one of The Sopranos) he was clearly fading fast. He made Tony his street boss, so that he could collect "tributes" for him, as well as to enforce Jackie's decisions on the streets. While Tony was the street boss, Jackie was still more successful, and more fondly remembered than Soprano. For a brief period in mid-summer 1998, Jackie seemed to have recovered. Despite feeling ill due to the chemotherapy, Jackie was still making the effort of personally meeting with his capos more often.
"Hey! You Sopranos...": Satriale's Sitdown
In "46 Long"[2], Jackie mediated a dispute between Tony and Junior regarding the hijacking of Comley trucks by Tony's protégé, Chris Moltisanti, and his close friend, Brendan Filone, a crystal meth addict. The meeting was held in front of Satriale's. By now, Junior was openly acknowledging Jackie as the Boss. Junior argued that "Christopher Moltisanti is a f***ing loose cannon." Jackie ruled in Junior's favor, for "The kids who hit that truck, they make restitution to Junior." Tony noted that Jackie was ill, a severe effect of the chemotherapy treatments. Jackie was struggling to name a successor. Tony acted like he wasn't interested, while Junior sat in silence. Not long after Tony left, Junior began to insult Tony behind his back to Jackie over how Tony treated his mother, Junior's ex-sister-in-law, Livia.
Permanent Hospitalization
Tragically, Jackie's cancer had recurred. Once again, Jackie was admitted to St. Isaac's Hospital, and DiMeo capos, including Mikey Palmice, visited him there to pay respects. Jackie despised Palmice, stating, "Thank God he left. He's a nice guy, but he's like the Grim f***ing Reaper. It's like he knows every guy with a cancer cell, and he can't wait to tell ya." Tony later made a promise that he would keep Jackie's only son, Giacomo "Jackie" Jr., out of the syndicate's affairs. Gradually, Tony Soprano gained more control over his own crime family as Jackie's condition worsened. Tony was certain Jackie would die. Tony brought a dancer from the Bada Bing to entertain Jackie in his hospital bed. When Tony told both Moltisanti and Filone to pay "restitution" to Jackie, Moltisanti refused. He doubted Soprano had mentioned that Moltisanti and Filone were both seeking to be inducted into the crime family. Then, Filone stated, "Acting boss, my ass, Tone. C'mon, everybody knows you really run things since Jackie became the chemosabe!" An enraged Tony then tossed Filone over a table covered with raw meat. At a confrontation, Junior Soprano once told Tony, how he worked for "bigger people". Tony responded, "Oh, like Jackie? Wanna take this to his death bed?" Junior then dropped the subject quickly, only to move on to attempt to have Moltisanti leave Tony's crew, for his own.[3] During a lobster dinner attended by DiMeo capos held in the Bing, Tony blamed Jackie's cancer for the absence of a stable leader in the family. It was September, 1998, as Tony, Paulie, Silvio, and Salvatore were visiting Jackie, he was slowly dying. Christopher arrived, and informed the lot that Filone had been found murdered in a bathtub, as a sign of retaliation from Junior's faction. Rosalie admitted to Carmela of cheating on Jackie with Steve, her fellow gym member. Rosalie was also disclosing Jackie's infidelity, too.[4] Towards the end of Jackie's life, Silvio was briefly deemed to be the most deserving replacement of Jackie as the boss, not Tony. However, Silvio perceived himself to be "more behind the scenes".[5]
Death
Jackie Sr. died as a result of stomach cancer on September 9th, 1998. Aprile was 44 years old. Tony was alerted of the death by a news broadcast playing on a tv hanging above the bar of the Bing. Tony expressed genuine sorrow as he broke down in tears in response to Jackie's death. "Goddamn it, I was just there. He told me he wouldn't go today." Tony, Paulie, Silvio, and Salvatore then proceeded to make a toast, "To a great man. To a great leader. To a great friend. To Jackie!".
Oddly enough, a news reporter who reported the news report of Jackie's death inaccurately reported that Jackie had become boss in 1996, though the events of "...To Save Us All from Satan's Power" show that he had gained power in 1995.[6]
Post-Death
A war between Junior Soprano and Tony Soprano was anticipated, but immediately following Jackie's death, Tony met with Junior and "let" him become the official titleholder of Boss. However, since both Eckley DiMeo and Jackie had Tony picked to be Acting Boss, and the majority of the main captains supported Soprano, Junior was actually the boss only in name, as a scapegoat. Tony also mentioned among his crew, including their associate, local loan shark, Herman Rabkin, that Jackie knew the real amount of money that was kicked up to the boss of the crime family, unlike the senseless Junior.[4]
After Tony allowed Junior to gain control of the family in the hope of enduring the problems associated with being the boss, the capos came to Tony to complain, letting him know they are unhappy with the leadership. Jackie's brief tenure as Acting Boss was mentioned as more prosperous than Junior's by Ray Curto, "I mean when Jackie was acting boss, no one minded, 'cause it all evened out at the end of the day." (Pax Soprana).[7]
When Jackie's older brother, and mentor, Richie was released from prison, he went to demand a weekly percentage of Gaeta’s three pizzerias. "Beansie" responded by telling Richie, "Hey, look, Richie. I know you're a made guy. So I lose either way. But I always respected you, and your brother, Jackie."
The purpose of Richie visit to Satriale's was to reestablish his shylocking racket with previous customers of Jackie's calling him. Chris Moltisanti met Richie outside of Satriale's and stated, "I gotta tell ya, your brother Jackie was like a f***in' god! Great leader." Richie then went on to threaten Moltisanti for abusing the Apriles' niece, Adriana, Moltisanti's girlfriend at the time.[8]
Rosalie gave away Jackie's watch, a two-tone Rolex Daytona, to Father Phil Intintola. At this time, Tony had a nightmare regarding Jackie, appearing in Melfi's office. ("I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano")[9]
When Richie went to visit a hospitalized Livia Soprano, she mistook Richie for the deceased Jackie. Then she offered Richie her condolences.[10]
Richie moved on to take the lead as Jackie Jr.'s brief father figure, bringing his nephew along to dispute the rights to certain garbage routes with Tony, Albert "Allie Boy" Barese, and Dick Barone. Then, both Apriles would plot to whack Tony, though they failed to get backing from the Barese Crew, and Junior. Junior then disclosed the entire plot to Tony in a doctor's office. Tony then gave Silvio the order to finish off Richie.
Prior to his murder, Richie was expressing resentment towards Jackie, because according to Richie, Jackie Jr. was a better son than his own, "Little Ricky" Aprile.
When "Junior" Soprano was diagnosed with stomach cancer, he reminded Tony how Jackie died upon being diagnosed with cancer.[11]
After Cestone died from an unexpected heart attack, Ralph Cifaretto would take over as capo of Richie's former crew. Cifaretto would earn money faster and more productively than Richie had been. Cifaretto then began to court Jackie's widow, Rosalie, even briefly attempting to serve as a father figure to Jackie Jr.
Tony's promise to Jackie in keeping Jackie Jr. out of touch in the underworld was broken. By that time, Jackie Jr. had dropped out of Rutger's, and chose to attempt to clearly emulate his father's role in crime, through various means:
- He briefly worked under Richie, his father's mentor.
- He formed and led his own gang.
- He worked in the same DiMeo faction both his father and uncle led, albeit with Cifaretto as capo.
- He would frequent the Aprile Social Club.
- He tried to rob an underground card game, hosted by DiMeo soldier Eugene "Gene" Pontecorvo.
- He cheated on his girlfriend, Meadow Soprano, just as his father cheated on his widow, Rosalie.
- He loathed, and sought to eliminate a Soprano rival, in his case Tony, while Jackie Sr. hated Tony's uncle, Corrado.
Jackie Jr. would use his dead father's reputation to garner respect and loyalty in the street, particularly with Matush Giamona.
Jackie Jr. worked alongside Chris to rob a benefit concert. Then, he and Dino would head to the Aprile Crew's Social Club and regularly pay Cifaretto weekly percentages of their efforts.
Jackie Jr. had foolishly called Tony on Soprano's bedroom phone. After Jackie Jr. tried to persuade Tony to pardon him for the card game heist, Tony said, "Well, he's been dead two years. As a matter of fact, the expiration date was last week, on all your bullsh*t with that." Tony himself ordered capo Ralph Cifaretto to follow through on Jackie Jr.'s hit. Jackie Jr.'s own cousin, Spatafore, had been stalking Jackie Jr. out by Boonton. Spatafore would pull it off, behind Jackie's back on the outskirts of the Boonton Projects. Jackie Sr.'s widow, Rosalie was fed a lie that her son had been there at the scene of a deal gone wrong. Kelli had her doubts, thought, given the fact that the Aprile dynasty was immersed in the underworld. She stated, "He was killed by some fat fuck in see-through socks. Take your pick. They all look alike."[12]
During a heated argument between Meadow and Tony, Meadow stated that Jackie and Rosalie were neglectful parents to Jackie Jr., offering an explanation behind Jackie Jr.'s descent into drug abuse.
"And Uncle Jackie?"
"So narcissistic."
"They let him do whatever he wanted."
"When you'd ask him, like, "Aren't you afraid what your parents are gonna say?'"
"About I dunno, whatever."
"And he would just go, "They don't give a shit.'"
"But I think it hurt his feelings inside."
As they were attending Jackie Jr.'s funeral afterparty, Junior and Tony were mocking Jackie Jr. as a "dumbf**k".
Tony brought up how Jackie "tried to lay off all Jackie's problems on a learning disorder, but... stupidity would be a learning disorder, wouldn't it?"
Junior then responded, "Look at this crappy turnout. You know, if Jackie Sr. was still Acting Boss, with a child passed away? This place would be filled to the rafters. Flower cars up and down the block. No matter what the boy had done. Now..."
While on vacation in Paris, Rosalie, Jackie's widow, lit a candle in the Saint Eustache Church, in honor of her deceased husband.
In 2007, Jackie's name was used as a scapegoat to conceal Tony's and Paulie's involvement in the Labor Day slaying of bookie Willie Overall, back in 1982. In order to protect both Tony and Paulie, a cooperative capo, Larry Barese, fed false information to the feds that it was Jackie who had finished off Overall.[13]
The Legacy of Jackie's Former Crew
Despite Jackie's previous accomplishments, his former crew was perceived as the most cursed out of all the Soprano factions, according to Paulie. Jackie had died from stomach cancer in '98. Richie was murdered by his own ex-girlfriend, Janice Soprano, less than a year later, in 2000. November of that same year, Cestone died of a heart attack, just as he had been appointed capo, inside the Aprile Social Club. Ralph Cifaretto was granted leadership of the crew for the next two years, until he was eviscerated at the hands of an enraged Tony Soprano by 2002. In 2006, Jackie's nephew, Vito Spatafore, was finished off on the orders of wrathful Lupertazzi boss, Phil Leotardo. After Spatafore was found dead, Tony Soprano would merge the Gervasi Crew with the remnants of the Aprile Crew under the leadership of capo Carlo Gervasi. Unfortunately, Carlo would soon flip to the FBI in order to aid his imprisoned son, leaving the crew's leadership vacant. Tony would then assign control of the crew to a reluctant Paulie, who combined it with his own crew.
Business Interests
This is a list of the known business interests controlled, in whole or in part, by Jackie Aprile Sr., and the positions he held in those organizations.
- DiMeo Crime Family - Acting boss by 1995, later becomes the official boss upon Eckley's 1995 prison sentence to life. He had bookmaking cuts in hotels, prostitution, sanitation, cocaine, and heroin. He also had a stake in the local garbage industry, just as Tony, Paulie, and Patsy Parisi.
- Aprile Roofing Supply - Owner.
Appearances
| Episodes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
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| Season 3 | ✔ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Season 6 |
Trivia
- It is thought that Jackie Aprile Sr. is loosely based on real New Jersey mobster and acting boss Giacomo "Jake" Amari, who also died of cancer and whose death similarly sparked a power struggle within the DeCavalcante crime family.
- Michael Rispoli previously auditioned for the role of Tony Soprano, before settling on being cast as Jackie Aprile, Sr.
- The memories of both Jackie, and Richie haunted Tony. Jackie would appear in Tony's nightmare during "Isabella". While Richie appeared in Tony's nightmare during "The Test Dream".
- In the original script for The Many Saints of Newark, Jackie's role was originally filled by Tony Blundetto.