Tony Soprano | Joseph Valachi | Jerry Capeci | Penguin Group

If you’ve seen every Sopranos episode and can quote The Godfather line for line, then Jerry Capeci’s new book, Wiseguys Say The Darndest Things: The Quotable Mafia (Alpha Books, Penguin Group USA) is the book for you. Sometimes humorous, sometimes chilling, the always-interesting 700-plus quotations from actual mobsters, acquaintances, and law enforcement officers serve as a reminder that Tony Soprano’s character isn’t that far from reality. Test your mafia knowledge by matching the quotes with who said what.
— ANNA FIALHO

1 - “I never did anything ruthless besides, well, I would kill people. But that’s our life.”

2 - “I don’t know who shot me. It was somebody that didn’t like me, I guess.”

3 - “Go ahead, I want him dead. Yeah, I feel sad. But that’s what he gets for being dumb.”

4 - “Just tell that rat [Abe] Reles I’ll be waiting for him. Maybe it’ll be in hell; I don’t know. But I’ll be waiting. And I bet I got a pitchfork.”

5 - “You got to remember, I was just getting over that bullet in the head, and I wasn’t thinking too clearly.”




Answers:
1. Turncoat Philadelphia underboss Philip Leonetti
2. Dutch Schultz
3. John Gotti
4. Bugsy Siegel, to newspaper reporters after being sentenced to death
5. Joseph Valachi, on why he made a dumb move that led cops to his door after a robbery