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Life Imitates Art: Sopranos Actor Allegedly Contacted Mob For Some Help
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 24, 2011
Modified Oct 24, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 24, 2011
Modified Oct 24, 2011
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Have you ever wondered what the guy who played Furio on The Sopranos is doing these days? According to the Post, he's been palling around with real-life mobster Andrew "Andy Mush" Russo of the Colombo crime family and he may or may not have had a beef with Joe Pesci's cousin!
In a nutshell, actor Federico Castelluccio invested $50,000 in Gino Pesci's "fast-casual" restaurant concept in New Brunswick a few years ago. The restaurant went bust, and Castelluccio allegedly believed that Pesci should have paid him back, especially because Pesci was spending money on other projects. The Post's sources say Castelluccio turned to Russo, whom he befriended during a visit to the Otisville prison to visit another inmate, and asked for a favor: "Russo and another high-level Colombo mobster allegedly plotted last fall how to collect the actor’s money from Pesci, sources said. But before they could put a plan in motion, they were busted by FBI agents in a mass sweep involving that alleged plot and other crimes in January."
While Castelluccio is not charged with any wrong-doing—he says, "Gino Pesci has never owed me any money, and therefore, it is hard to imagine why anyone would even think about asking him for anything on my behalf. It never happened. And anyone who claims that it did happen is simply not telling the truth."—but the supposed extortion plot against Pesci is among the charges Russo faces. Pesci told the Post, "Federico is an incredible artist, but he’s not a businessman. Maybe that’s why he took it harder than the rest."
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andrew russo
colombo
favor
federico castelluccio
mob
sopranos
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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