Giovanni Francis "Johnny Boy" Soprano (1924-October 1986) was a capo in the DiMeo crime family under Ercoli DiMeo. He was the father of Tony Soprano, the future boss of the family, as well as the brother of family boss Junior Soprano.
Biography[]
Giovanni Francis Soprano was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1924, the son of immigrants from Avellino, Campania, Italy. He was the brother of Corrado "Junior" Soprano, Jr., and he went on to marry Livia Pollio, having three children: Janice, Tony, and Barbara.
Johnny and Junior worked closely, and both of them rose in the ranks of the DiMeo crime family to become capos. By the 1980s, he was a powerful and very well-respected capo, with his crew including Salvatore Bonpensiero, Paulie Gualtieri, Silvio Dante, and his son Tony, among others. He held a controlling interest in Barone Sanitation, ownership of Satriale's Pork Store, and co-ownership of the Midget Horse Racing Track as well as having interests in racetracks as far south as Florida.
Soprano began a friendship and business association with Lupertazzi crime family underboss Johnny Sacrimoni, creating an alliance with the Lupertazzis. His death from emphysema in October 1986 at the age of 62 led to his son, Tony, taking over his crew.