Tony Sirico

Sirico was born in New York City on July 29, 1942.[1] He grew up in Brooklyn, in the East Flatbush and Bensonhurst neighborhoods.[2] Sirico’s brother, Robert Sirico, is a Catholic priest and co-founder of the free-market Acton Institute.[3]

Sirico was convicted of several crimes and had been arrested 28 times, including for disorderly conduct, assault, and robbery, before taking up acting.[2][4] On February 27, 1970, he was arrested at a restaurant, and found with a .32 caliber revolver on his person. In 1971, he was indicted for extortion, coercion and felony weapons possession, convicted, and sentenced to four years in prison, of which he served 20 months at Sing Sing.[5][6][7] According to a court transcript at the time of his sentencing, Sirico was the owner of a discotheque in Manhattan, and also had pending charges for criminal possession of a dangerous drug.[5] Sirico has stated that he was visited by an acting troupe composed of ex-convicts during his imprisonment, which inspired him to give acting a try.[8] He appeared in the 1989 documentary The Big Bang by James Toback, in which he discussed his earlier life