The Sopranos, more than most mob movies and television shows, was credited with “getting it right” by real-life underworld figures. As the story goes, two of creator David Chase’s biggest inspirations for the series were the Martin Scorsese classic Goodfellas and the dynamics within his own family. I bring all this up because Genovese crime family associate Anthony (Tony Lodi) Cardinalle was picked up in a waste-hauling sting a while back, and the New York Daily News reports that newly obtained court papers reveal that he is the former owner of Satin Dolls, the real-life New Jersey strip club that stood in for the Bada Bing on the show, which is now owned by his daughter. For those of you keeping score, that means that is a case of life imitating art that imitated life and art. Lot going on there.
Oh, also, Cardinalle is working with the feds now:
Cardinalle pleaded guilty in December to two counts of racketeering conspiracy and extortion conspiracy, admitting his role in a scheme to shake down a cooperating witness under the threat of violence.
Cardinalle is now cooperating with federal prosecutors in a bid to reduce his potential sentence, a source involved in the case said Friday. [North Jersey]
So here’s my favorite part of this story: The timeline is a little unclear here, but all of this means that either (a) a mob associate who was in the waste-hauling business allowed his strip club to be used as the stand-in for a front used by a fictional mob figure who was also in the waste-hauling business, or (b) a mob associate who did shady waste-hauling deals went in after The Sopranos ended and purchased the real-life version of the strip club a now iconic mob figure used to conduct numerous shady waste-hauling deals.
Either way, it’s perfect. A hearty “OH” and “HO” to all involved. (NSFW audio.)
