Carlo Gervasi

Infobox character | name = Carlo Gervasi


real_name = Carlo Gervasi
portrayer = Arthur J. Nascarella
creator = David Chase
species =
gender = Male
first = "For All Debts Public and Private" "(episode 4.01)"
last = "Made in America" "(episode 6.21)"
cause =
age = 50s
occupation = Mobster/FBI informant
title = Former Capo in the DiMeo Crime Family
alias =
family = Burt Gervasi (cousin)
spouse =
children = Jason Gervasi (son)
James Gervasi (son)
relatives =
footnotes =

Carlo Gervasi, played by Arthur J. Nascarella, is a fictional mobster on the HBO TV series "The Sopranos". He is a former Capo in the Soprano crime family, before turning FBI informant.

Gervasi was named captain of Jimmy Altieri's old crew. He had the unique position of being in charge of obtaining grey-market goods from container ships docking at the Newark ports. These procurements included everything from Vespa scooters to provolone cheese. Carlo also accompanied Tony, Ralph and Hesh to the stables to purchase the racing horse Pie-O-My. In Season 6, Carlo attended two celebration dinners at Nuovo Vesuvio, first when his cousin Burt Gervasi became a made man and a second for Christopher Moltisanti's belated bachelor party. When Bobby Baccalieri was injured, Gervasi visited him in the hospital and passed his collections up to an indifferent Tony Soprano. He shares the same last name as Montreal, Canada mobsters Paolo Gervasi and his son Salvatore Gervasi. The Italian surname Gervasi, along with the French name Gervais, is in honor of the Catholic martyr Saint Gervasius. Carlo's surname is somewhat ironic, in that Saint Gervasius is said to have been beheaded [http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Gervasius_and_Protasius%2C_Saints] , and Carlo himself beheads the body of Dominic "Fat Dom" Gamiello after stabbing him to death. It is unknown whether or not this was an intentional reference by the show's creators.

Very little is known about Carlo's character and he is arguably the most mysterious member of Tony's crew. For all of his time on the screen, the audience knows virtually nothing about him. He shares this distinction with Patsy Parisi, another member of the group who has very little back-story and few lines relative to his frequent visual presence. He first appears in a meeting of Tony's crew in the first episode of Season 4, but there was no explanation as to where he came from and how he became part of the gang's inner circle. Carlo is not even directly referenced by name until the sixth season.

His personal life is also shrouded in mystery. Though Carlo has two sons, Jason (who is seen on the show) and James (who is not) Carlo's wife - if he has one - is never seen by the audience, or even mentioned, nor is Carlo ever seen with a comare or mistress. This is in stark contrast to the rest of Tony's crew, all of whom but Paulie have significant others or families who are regularly shown. Carlo rarely speaks, compared to the rest of the crew. The most detail of his life outside of his mob activities that the audience ever sees is shown in the episode "Kaisha", where his house and garage are shown for the first and only time in the series as he retrieves Dominic "Fat Dom" Gamiello's head from his refrigerator in order to dispose of it. A Jet Ski is seen in his garage, indicating that Carlo probably enjoys jet-skiing in his spare time. Outside of this, nothing is known of his hobbies or interests.

Gervasi was given all of Vito Spatafore's construction business in addition to the ports, but has suffered recent work stoppages. Gervasi was also outspoken about his disapproval of Spatafore's homosexuality, suggesting to Soprano that his cousin, Tommy knew a detective who might be useful in tracking down Spatafore. His notorious hatred of homosexuals surprised even the other mobsters, wishing that Spatafore be "dragged behind his car." When Soprano decided that Spatafore had to be killed to appease acting New York boss Phil Leotardo, Silvio Dante suggested Gervasi for the job because of his views. Tony compares him to Roy Bean. However, Spatafore was beaten to death by Phil Leotardo's men Gerry Torciano and Dominic "Fat Dom" Gamiello before Gervasi could act. Gervasi expressed admiration for Leotardo's commitment to his views, despite the killing of a made man being performed without Tony's permission. Silvio comments that he is as talkative about the subject as Jimmy Olsen. Carlo later avenged his family's honor by stabbing Fat Dom four times with a gigantic chef's knife for making jokes about Spatafore's murder and implying that Gervasi was also homosexual. The killing occurred in the back room of Satriale's pork store and Silvio also took part; Tony Soprano later discovered them waiting to dispose of the body and was angry because of the murder's possible repercussions. Gervasi took charge of disposing of Gamiello's body and drove to Connecticut to deposit his head in a storm drain, phoning Silvio to confirm that the last part was safely away and to ask about Tony's plans to blow up Leotardo's wire room.

Soprano later placed Gervasi in charge of Spatafore's construction business, but he was disappointed with Gervasi's earning capacity in this new role. Gervasi's son Jason attends Rutgers University and is involved in gambling and loansharking there.

Gervasi's cousin, Burt switched sides during the Lupertazzi/Soprano war and was killed for his disloyalty by Silvio Dante. Carlo wasn't seen to react to the murder of his cousin, but it may have influenced his decision to cooperate with law enfocement. Gervasi accompanied Tony to a safe house to help protect him from Phil Leotardo's hitmen.

In the series finale, Gervasi's son was picked up by the FBI for drug-dealing. Gervasi failed to show up for a meeting with Paulie Gualtieri, which worried Tony Soprano that he may have been cutting a deal. Soprano's attorney confirmed that someone was, in fact testifying before a grand jury and that indictments were forthcoming. In the final scene, Tony told Carmela that Carlo was testifying, thus confirming that he turned informant, likely to keep his son out of jail and possibly out of revenge for the murder of his cousin.

Murders Committed By Gervasi

* Dominic "Fat Dom" Gamiello: Stabbed in the stomach multiple times after deriding Vito's murder and also implying Gervasi was a homosexual by saying that they found Carlo's lipstick on Vito's cock. Silvio Dante instigated the murder by smashing a Dustbuster over Fat Dom's head and aided Carlo by jumping on Dom's back.

Reference to other media

* Carlo's treachery mirrors the act of another Carlo (Carlo Rizzi, played by Gianni Russo) in "The Godfather", as they both approached the end of the series and movie, respectively. Gervasi seemingly got away with it, as he was protected by the government, but Rizzi was killed as he was working against his mob family for another. Rizzi was garroted for working for a separate mob family, as is Gervasi's cousin Burt.

References