In 1999, HBO began broadcasting its mafia series The Sopranos on Sunday nights. FBI agents were delighted to discover that every Monday morning members of the mob could not resist talking on their tapped phones about the similarities and differences between the fictional family and the real thing.
The Sopranos writer David Case had loosely based the antics of Tony Soprano and his family on the DeCavalcante mob — led by Giovanni “John the Eagle” Riggi. The mobsters found the comparisons fascinating. “Hey, what’s this f*****g thing, Sopranos? Is this supposed to be us?” one remarked. Another was impressed that he and his friends were being portrayed so sympathetically. “What characters!” he said. “Great acting!”
The DeCavalcantes, based in New Jersey, were considered hicks