Christopher Moltisanti

Christopher Moltisanti
First appearance	"Pilot" (episode 1.01)
Last appearance	"Kennedy and Heidi" (episode 6.18)
Created by	David Chase
Portrayed by	Michael Imperioli
Information
Aliases	Chris Maccaviti (episode 2.05) Chris Montevani (episode 5.11) Chrissy
Gender	Male
Occupation	Union safety official, stockbroker, movie producer, nightclub Owner
Title	Associate (Seasons 1 - 2), Soldier (Seasons 3 - 5), Capo (Season 6)
Family	Joanne Moltisanti (mother) Richard "Dickie" Moltisanti (father) Carmela Soprano (cousin) Tony Blundetto (cousin)
Spouse(s)	Kelli Lombardo Moltisanti (wife) Adriana La Cerva (late fiancee)
Children	Caitlin Lombardo Moltisanti (daughter)
Relatives	Tony Soprano (cousin - by marriage) Janice Soprano (cousin - by marriage) Barbara Soprano Giglione (cousin - by marriage) Al Blundetto (uncle) Pat Blundetto (uncle) Meadow Soprano (second cousin) A.J. Soprano (second cousin) Hugh De Angelis (great uncle)
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Christopher "Chris" Moltisanti, played by Michael Imperioli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was Tony Soprano's protégé and a Capo in the Soprano crime family.

Biography

Christopher Moltisanti was born on an unspecified date in 1966 or 1967 to Richard "Dickie" Moltisanti (their surname is Italian for "Many Saints" - David Chase frequently gives Sopranos characters ironic or symbolic names), a soldier in the Soprano crew of the DiMeo Crime Family, and Joanne Blundetto. Chris was a first cousin once removed to Carmela Soprano and a second cousin to Meadow Soprano and Anthony Soprano, Jr. Tony Soprano affectionately considered Christopher a nephew (they had a cousin in common growing up; see below), and had looked out for him over the years, as Christopher never had a father figure growing up (his actual father, Dickie, was killed when Christopher was very young). Moltisanti was engaged to Adriana La Cerva before her murder.

Moltisanti was very loyal to his uncle — whom he once called "the man I'm going to hell for" — and Soprano trusted him more than anyone else in the organization. Tony often entrusted Christopher with sensitive jobs, including disposing of the bodies of capos Richie Aprile and Ralph Cifaretto. Moltisanti acted as Tony's mouthpiece, issuing Tony's orders in order to insulate Tony from potential racketeering charges. Tony was planning on making Moltisanti his successor.

Moltisanti had his share of problems; he was prone to violent and impulsive behavior, and he had been distracted, at times, by lofty pursuits such as screenwriting. Some members of the crime family appeared to be jealous of Christopher's closeness to his uncle. In particular, his fast ascent had led to friction with fellow mobsters Silvio Dante, Patsy Parisi and Paulie Gualtieri. He also had problems with substance abuse, eventually becoming addicted to heroin and alcohol, and being forced into rehab by his family (particularly his uncle), friends, and his fiancee, Adriana.

Moltisanti's substance abuse was likely a result of nature as well as nurture. On the nature side, Christopher - like his gambling addict cousin Tony Blundetto - likely inherited his addictive personality; Christopher's mother Joanne was shown to be an alcoholic and his father, Dickie, had been drug-addicted. On the nurture side, Christopher regularly associated with people who sold drugs (such as Uncle Junior and Mikey Palmice), who abused drugs (such as Brendan Filone and Ralph Cifaretto), and who used a variety of methods of self-medication and escapism (such as Tony Soprano's gluttony and Janice Soprano's flirtations with various religions).

Christopher abetted others' drug use, as well. For example, he provided Tony's daughter with speed, when she requested some in order to study for an exam. (His rationale was that if he refused, Meadow would go elsewhere to a less reputable dealer and possibly receive harmfully adulterated drugs or be raped and murdered.) His drug use inspired Adriana to experiment with heroin, and - in the course of confronting Adriana about her and Tony's activities the night they crashed Tony's SUV - Christopher alluded to financing Adriana's drug use. Later, after marrying Kelli Lombardo, Christopher and fellow twelve-step program participant Julianna Skiff began an affair that reignited both addicts' heroin use.

Moltisanti frequently wore FILA tracksuits and tank tops, and he had a penchant for pop culture (to which his frequent references engendered ribbing from the other north Jersey mobsters), and for having affairs, behind Adriana's back, with good-looking women of dubious repute. Some such women were prostitutes who, Chris told Paulie, Chris didn't have to pay; others were strippers (such as Sonya Aragon in Las Vegas) and even white-collar professionals (such as Julianna Skiff). Chris also loved expensive cars, having owned a Lexus LS400, Mercedes CLK 430, Land Rover Range Rover, Hummer H2, John Sacrimoni's Maserati Coupé (which "Sack" sold after he was arrested), and the 2007 Cadillac Escalade EXT, which he purchased after the Maserati was seized by the government and which he fatally crashed.

Christopher's catchphrase on the show was, "I'm sorry, T!" ("T" being shorthand for Tony.) He was notorious for frequently being late to meetings, irresponsible in his business dealings, and generally less "together" in his affairs than the rest of Tony's crew, due to his chronic drug and alcohol abuse, and so was constantly in the position of having to apologize to his uncle and boss for his shortcomings. Christopher committed the first killing of the whole series by shooting Emil Kolar. Christopher was occasionally haunted in dreams by Kolar's "ghost".

"Nephew" to Tony Soprano

Dickie Moltisanti was a soldier in "Johnny Boy" Soprano's crew and was very close to Tony Soprano. Tony reminisces that Dickie was like a big brother to him and so, when Dickie died while Chris was still young, Tony looked out for Christopher, affectionately referring to him as his nephew. However, Tony is, technically, not Christopher's uncle.

Tony and Carmela Soprano are connected to Christopher via two separate family relationships:

• Chris' late father, Dickie Moltisanti, was Carmela's first cousin, as Dickie's mother and Carmela's father are siblings. This means Chris is Carmela's first cousin, once removed.
• Chris' mother Joanne, whose maiden name is Blundetto, is Al Blundetto's sister. Al Blundetto's wife, Quintina, is Livia Soprano's sister and Tony Soprano's maternal aunt. Thus, Al and Quintina Blundetto, who are Tony Blundetto's parents, are uncle and aunt to both Tony Soprano and Christopher Moltisanti. Accordingly, Tony Soprano and Christopher are both first cousins to Tony Blundetto, but not to each other. However, Adriana once mentioned that Chris and Tony do have a distant blood relation, so did Tony after saying Chris would bring the family into the 21st century saying Silvio isn't the same "they aren't blood".

Season One

Christopher Moltisanti's main goal in joining the mafia was to get noticed and to rise up through the ranks; he was overjoyed when he found his name printed in a local newspaper alongside other mobsters. He was Tony's driver initially, and helped him as an enforcer. He "made his bones" by killing Emil Kolar in order to settle a dispute the family was having over the Triborough Towers garbage routes. He initially planned to place the body in a Kolar Bros. dumpster to send a warning, à la Luca Brasi from The Godfather. "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero convinced him to put it elsewhere as the mystery would be more effective and bring less heat to the crew. Moltisanti later complained that he did not receive enough recognition for his resolution of this problem. This murder haunted his dreams, and he twice had to dig up and move Kolar's corpse.

Christopher Moltisanti's legitimate job at the time was a Union Safety Official position in a local union that Tony got for him in order to keep the IRS off his financial history.

Another notable instance of Moltisanti's early criminal activity with the Soprano crew is his hijacking of Comley trucks with his friend Brendan Filone. These trucks were under the protection of Junior Soprano, and the hijacking prompted Junior to request a sit-down and demand compensation. The late Acting Boss Jackie Aprile Sr. ruled that Moltisanti and Filone make restitution to Junior and leave Comley trucks alone. The two reluctantly complied and paid the $15,000 tribute to Junior, although Tony did take his cut, somewhere around $3,000. At a club with their girlfriends, Chris and Brendan planned another heist while high on crystal meth. However, on the night of the job, Christopher backed down because he had decided to throw his loyalty wholly in with Soprano and his crew. Brendan went through with the hijacking with two others, but it went sour and Brendan's associate dropped his firearm, causing it to fire and strike the driver, killing him. Brendan contacted Christopher for help. Christopher was reprimanded by Soprano for not using his leadership to prevent Brendan from undertaking the job. The pair were ordered to return the truck to Comley and they complied. Christopher was also extorting drug dealers for 10 percent of their income before Junior Soprano's crew took over his collections.

Junior was angered that his authority was flouted, however, and organized a mock execution for Moltisanti. Soprano's mother, Livia, held Moltisanti in high regard because he had once put up her storm windows, and this affection may have saved him from a worse fate. He was abducted from a hot dog stand and driven out to the New Jersey Meadowlands by two Eastern European thugs where they performed Junior's orders. The less fortunate Brendan was shot in the eye by Mikey Palmice while in his bathtub. Later in the season Moltisanti confronted and killed Palmice under Tony's orders.

Christopher also assisted in the murder of Jimmy Altieri by luring him to a hotel room where he was shot by Silvio Dante.

Season Two

Moltisanti was put in charge of the family's Webistics pump and dump stock scam. He received his stock broker license by having someone take the exam in his name. Matthew Bevilaqua and Sean Gismonte were his subordinates in this operation, and were also used by Christopher to crack bank safes for extra income. Moltisanti also continued to dabble in writing and acting, though this was strongly dissuaded by Tony.

Eventually, Belilaqua and Gismonte grew tired of Moltisanti and decided to murder him to gain favor with Richie Aprile. The pair ambushed Christopher outside a diner and wounded him badly, though Gismonte was killed in return. Bevilaqua fled the scene. Moltisanti had to have his spleen removed and went through a traumatic recovery process with Adriana by his side. Bevilaqua was eventually tracked down, and he was shot to death by Tony and Pussy. Moltisanti later told the crew that during his coma, he had seen himself in either hell or purgatory after being shot and warned them that Brendan Filone and Mikey Palmice told him that three o'clock would be a significant time in their future.

Following the death of Richie Aprile, Soprano called Moltisanti and Furio Giunta to dispose of his body; they used Satriale's butchery facilities to dismember the corpse. At Meadow Soprano's graduation, Tony proposed Christopher for membership (becoming a made man).

Season Three

Moltisanti became a made man in 2001 alongside Eugene Pontecorvo. He noticed a crow on the windowsill at the ceremony and took this as a bad omen. As the newest member of the Family, Moltisanti inherited a betting shop from Paulie Gualtieri and was charged with a minimum weekly dues payment to Paulie, Christopher's capo. Friction was created early on between Chris and Paulie. Chris had difficulty making minimum payments to Paulie. Paulie would humiliate Chris by checking him for wires and taking advantage of Chris being a lower level mobster by having Chris pay for meals. This created a gradually building tension between the two that peaked during the Pine Barrens incident. They later agreed to bury the hatchet due to their mutual friendship. Moltisanti's other early work involved robbing a charity concert at Rutgers, and working with Jackie Aprile, Jr. and his friend Benny Fazio. He also opened the Crazy Horse Nightclub in Long Branch, New Jersey with Furio Giunta as a partner,and Adrianna as front operator.

Moltisanti was present when Jackie Aprile, Jr. and friends tried to rob a card game run by Pontecorvo. Moltisanti and Acting Capo Albert Barese killed Aprile's friend Dino Zerrilli as he tried to escape. Christopher immediately expressed to Tony his intent to murder Aprile, a request which Tony denied, causing Christopher to question Tony's leadership. Eventually, a contract was put on Aprile and he was eventually found in the Boonton Projects. Vito Spatafore shot Aprile in the head ending his life. At Aprile's funeral Christopher was arrested on a gambling charge along with Patsy Parisi and Silvio Dante.

Season Four

Tony Soprano made Moltisanti his main contact in his criminal dealings to insulate himself from prosecution. He then bonded his nephew to him by having him murder Lt. Det. Barry Haydu. He told Moltisanti that Haydu had murdered his father, and gave him the detective's address. Moltisanti surprised Haydu in his home and restrained him in order to question him. Haydu denied any guilt, but his involvement was clear by his repeated cries of 'I'm sorry!' and Moltisanti killed him.

He was made acting capo of his crew when Gualtieri was imprisoned on a gun charge and was awarded a no-show job at the Esplanade construction site. His promotion irked Parisi, who had seniority. The two came to blows over Parisi's continued theft from the construction site, despite orders from Soprano. Silvio was actually the guiding force behind Parisi's actions, as he was also jealous of Moltisanti's promotion. Moltisanti was also entrusted with traveling to meet an aging family of hitmen with Silvio while organizing a hit on Johnny Sack. When Sack resolved his dispute with Ralphie, the hit was called off.

Moltisanti's drug use spiraled out of control following his temporary promotion. When Soprano called upon him to dispose of Ralphie's body, Soprano realized that Moltisanti was high. Although they were able to successfully conceal the body, Soprano decided his nephew needed help. Later, Moltisanti was car jacked by a Latino gang while trying to buy heroin. After Moltisanti physically abused Adriana, Soprano organized an intervention. When Tony Soprano learned that Moltisanti had accidentally killed Adriana's dog, Cosette, by sitting on it when high, he became very angry, despite the fact that Christopher had justified it by the fact that the dog must have crawled under him for warmth. He insisted Moltisanti go into rehab and assigned Patsy to guard him.

Following Moltisanti's successful rehabilitation, Soprano entrusted him with the planned hit on Carmine Lupertazzi; Moltisanti contracted the job out to Credenzo Curtis and Stanley Johnson, some associates from the days of his heroin usage. When the job was called off and Soprano urged him to make sure it couldn't be traced to them, Moltisanti had Benny and Peter "Bissell" De La Rosa murder the hired help while he waited in his car.

Season Five

Moltisanti got into an argument with Paulie Walnuts while hanging out telling past stories including the Pine Barrens tale. Paulie called Chris "Tony's Little Favorite." They later agreed to stop fighting before things got out of control.

Moltisanti was put in charge of a cigarette smuggling operation. Moltisanti was partnered with Paulie and told to split the difference. While Moltisanti was traveling to North Carolina to pick up some cigarettes, Tony and Adriana were involved in a car accident, and rumors began to spread about how the crash had been caused by Adriana performing oral sex on Tony. Moltisanti found out, got drunk, started a fight with Vito Spatafore and pulled a gun on Tony in the Bada Bing. Following this incident, Tony was ready to kill Moltisanti when their cousin Tony Blundetto stepped in and saved his life. Blundetto arranged a meeting with the doctor who treated Tony and Adriana following the crash to explain that both passengers must have been upright and in their seat belts when it occurred. Moltisanti reconciled with both Spatafore and Tony.

Moltisanti later travelled to his uncle Pat Blundetto's farm alongside Soprano and Tony Blundetto. They helped Pat move bodies hidden on the farm as Pat was planning to move away. While there, Moltisanti recalled being bullied by the two Tonys and their behavior seemed to repeat itself when they ribbed him over his addiction problems.

Throughout this time, Moltisanti maintained a turbulent and sometimes violent relationship with Adriana. He indulged her aspirations for a career in the music business by allowing her to produce a demo and later giving her a club to run. They became engaged before his drug addiction forced him into rehab. Years later, however, after he learned that Adriana was reluctantly providing information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), he turned to Soprano rather than accept her plea to join her as a government informant. Tony Soprano then deceived Adriana by convincing her that Moltisanti had attempted suicide and that he was sending Silvio Dante to transport her to the hospital, only for her to be driven into the woods and executed. Moltisanti later relapsed into heroin use and wept to his uncle out of grief for Adriana.

Blundetto almost started a war with the Lupertazzi crime family by killing Phil Leotardo's brother Billy. Following this Tony had Moltisanti go into hiding because he feared Leotardo might seek revenge on Blundetto's family. Eventually Tony was forced to kill Blundetto himself.

Season Six, Part One

Moltisanti was promoted to capo in the DiMeo Family sometime between 2004 and 2006, in keeping with Tony's long term plan to raise his nephew through the ranks until he is his sole contact to the rest of the family, through which all orders are issued, and eventually boss of the family. He used Moltisanti to organize the sensitive hit on Rusty Millio. Christopher initially questioned Soprano's decision to contract the job out to their friends in Naples, but later decided it was a smart move. He used his Italian-speaking associate Corky Caporale to communicate with the hitmen and provide them with weapons and instructions, while paying him off with heroin. Moltisanti's readiness for the responsibility of leading his own crew is unclear as he has been distracted by the lure of a Hollywood career, relapsed into drug use, and displayed unresolved feelings over his murdered fiancee.

Moltisanti's crew got involved in a credit card fraud scam; his AA sponsor James "Murmur" Zancone and Benny Fazio take numbers from local businesses and sell them on to associates Ahmed and Muhammad. He wonders about whether these men have links to terrorism. The use of numbers from Nuovo Vesuvio led to a violent dispute between his associate Benny Fazio and Soprano's friend Artie Bucco. Soprano blamed Moltisanti's trip to Los Angeles for the dispute not being settled quickly.

Moltisanti married Kelli Lombardo in 2006 after learning that she was pregnant with his child. They made an offer on a new home together. He had a belated bachelor party with the Soprano crime family at Nuovo Vesuvio where "Larry Boy" Barese made a toast to his future. When he later delivered Corky's final payment, including more heroin, however, he watched his friend inject the drug and could not resist following suit. He spent the night at the Feast of St. Elzear festival with a stray dog.

Moltisanti took a road trip to Pennsylvania with Soprano just before the feast. On their way home they spotted some bikers robbing a strip mall and took part of the haul for themselves. This led to a firefight (started by the bikers immediately after Christopher shot out one of the tires on the bikers' van so the bikers wouldn't be able to pursue them) in which Moltisanti shot one of the bikers as Soprano drove away. Later, the two got drunk on the wine they had stolen, and Moltisanti recalled telling Soprano of Adriana's treachery. The two expressed their love for and loyalty to each other — though when the two later tried to recreate their camaraderie sober, it fell flat and ended in an awkward silence. Months later, Moltisanti was back in AA meetings.

Season Six, Part Two

Christopher calls Tony to wish him a belated birthday while he is celebrating it at the Adirondacks but Tony, disgusted, hangs up on him.

Christopher premiered his film Cleaver in 2007 at a private screening with other Soprano family members and friends and is looking to have it distributed nationwide. He also seems to be distancing himself from the criminal lifestyle and staying away from the Bada Bing strip club where he might go back into drug and alcohol use. In general, his relationship with Tony has cooled. When Tony begins grooming Bobby Bacala for the position Christopher once held, it is clear that their relationship will never be the same. Given Chris's resentment towards Tony about Adriana's death, and his continued desire to enter the movie business, he and Tony continue to drift apart. When he relapsed to drinking after yet another confrontation with Paulie Walnuts, he became very angry with the crew and left. He later ended up at the home of his "friend" J.T. Dolan, looking for someone to talk to. When JT foolishly made explicit mention of Christopher's membership in the Mafia, and refused to let Christopher talk out his problems that night, Moltisanti shot Dolan in the head and left, adding to his murder count.

Christopher and his wife Kelli had a daughter named Caitlyn.

Tony killed Christopher in the episode "Kennedy and Heidi". The two were injured in a serious car accident while driving back from a meeting with Phil Leotardo and the New York crew. The song he listens to before the accident is "Comfortably Numb," performed live by Roger Waters, Van Morrison, and Rick Danko & Levon Helm of The Band. The song describes the lifeless feeling achieved while taking drugs. Christopher, clearly impaired by drugs and alcohol, lost control of his Escalade EXT, nearly side-swiped an oncoming car, ran off the road, and rolled several times before coming to a stop in a ditch. Christopher was not wearing a seat belt and the crash led to severe internal injuries, as evidenced by the blood he was coughing up. Christopher then pleaded with Tony to help him avoid getting in trouble for driving under the influence, mumbling about not being able to pass a drug test and losing his driver's license. Tony stumbled out of the car to help Chris after noticing that a branch had impaled the baby seat in the back where Chris' daughter could have been sitting. Chris' ongoing irresponsibility and increasing fears that he would turn State's witness infuriated Tony, leading him to make an impulsive executive decision. Tony suffocated his nephew by pinching his nostrils shut, leading Christopher to asphyxiate to death on his own blood, he was 41 years old. Whether or not Christopher would have survived if Tony had called for help is unknown, although it is mentioned in the episode that "the doctors said he could have made it, but he didn't." Throughout the remainder of the episode, Tony displayed the proper decorum for the family in mourning yet could barely restrain his relief that he was finally free of the burden Christopher had placed upon him for so long; he had also described Christopher as a "drag" on his emotions, and "a weak, lying drug addict." Tony's fear that Christopher could potentially turn on him at the drop of a hat due to his weakness as a drug addict was also finally laid to rest along with Christopher. In a dream, Tony admits to Dr. Melfi that he did in fact murder Christopher as well as other friends and family members before, specifically mentioning his cousin Tony Blundetto and his best friend Big Pussy Bonpensiero. In the final episodes of the series, Christopher is shown through an old picture of him hung in the meat store to honor him; a cat brought back from the hideout in which the crew was hiding spent its time staring at the photo.

Clandestine knowledge

Because of his close relationship with Tony Soprano, Christopher is the only one (besides Tony) who knows which bodies were buried at "Uncle Pat" Blundetto's farm and where they were moved after Pat sold the farm, where Tony Blundetto's body was buried after Tony Soprano shot him, and what really happened to Ralph Cifaretto. Christopher is also one of the few (along with Furio Giunta) to know Richie Aprile was murdered by Janice Soprano, and (along with Silvio Dante) to know about Tony Soprano's murder of Fabian Petrulio, about the aborted plan to hit New York boss Carmine Lupertazzi, Sr. and about Silvio's murder of Christopher's fiancee, Adriana La Cerva.

Luxury vehicles owned by Moltisanti

• Lexus LS400 (Season 1)

• Mercedes-Benz CLK 430 (Season 2)

• Range Rover 4.6 HSE (Seasons 3 and 4)

• Pontiac Bonneville (Season 4)

• Hummer H2 (Season 5)

• Maserati Coupe Cambiocorsa (formerly Johnny Sack's) (Season 6, part I)

• Cadillac Escalade EXT (Season 6, part II)

His longtime girlfriend, Adriana La Cerva is shown to be driving a 2nd generation Ford Explorer in Season 1 and Season 2, and a 2002 Ford Thunderbird in the 4th and 5th seasons.

Killings or possible killings committed or assisted by Moltisanti

• Emil Kolar: Shot in the head by Christopher over a business deal gone wrong in the back of Satriale's Pork Store. (1999)

• Mikey Palmice: Shot in the chest by Christopher and Paulie for conspiring to kill Tony with Junior & for killing Brendan Filone, Christopher's friend. (1999)

• Sean Gismonte: Shot and killed by Christopher in self-defense after he and associate Matthew Bevilaqua attempted to kill him. (2000)

• Carlo Renzi: Shot in the head and killed by Christopher during poker game robbery. (2001)

• Dino Zerilli: Shot and killed by Christopher and Albert Barese after Zerilli and Jackie, Jr. shot and killed Sunshine and wounded Furio Giunta during a poker-game robbery. (2001)

• Det. Lt. Barry Haydu: Executed in his home by Christopher after Tony informed Christopher he was the man who was contracted to kill his father many years ago. (2001)

• J.T. Dolan: Shot in the head by an inebriated Christopher after Dolan persistently refused to listen to Christopher's personal problems and exclaimed, "Chris, you're in the Mafia!" (2007)

• Viper gang member: Shot by Christopher while him and Tony were driving away with wine that they had stolen from "The Vipers". (2007)

Christopher has helped dispose of several people murdered by other people throughout the series, mainly Tony.

• Jimmy Altieri: Lured by Christopher to his death, a bullet to the back of the head courtesy of Silvio Dante. Chrissy helped Silvio get rid of (or at least transport) the corpse, as he followed Silvio's orders to "get the piano dolly" to transport Jimmy's body. (1999)

• Richie Aprile: Bagged up, carried off, and cut up in the basement of Satriale's as requested by Tony after he was shot by Janice Soprano during a spat. (2000)

• Tracee: Ralph Cifaretto beat the stripper to death; Tony and his crew were horrified at Ralphie's actions and Silvio told to Christopher to "get a sheet" from inside the strip club to cover up her corpse. (2001)

• Valery: Possibly alive, he was shot in the head by Paulie in the woods when Chris and Paulie were chasing him. (2001)

• Ralph Cifaretto: Decapitation of head and hands with a cleaver and placed in a bowling bag by Christopher after subsequently being beaten and choked to death by Tony. (2002)

• Credenzo Curtis and Stanley Johnson: After being released from the Eleuthra drug recovery program, Tony gave Christopher the responsibility of hiring a couple of assassins to take out New York boss Carmine Lupertazzi, Sr. at the request of Johnny Sack. He chooses Curtis and Johnson, two African Americans from Irvington who he believes would be good at making it look like a carjacking. When Johnny comes to an agreement with Carmine and calls off the hit, Christopher is given the new task of eliminating the two hired hands. He meets with the hitmen in a parking lot and gives them the money for the hit that never happened. Benny Fazio and Petey LaRosa surprise the two hitmen when they suddenly appear, and shoot and kill them in their car. (2002)

• Raoul: Christopher threw a brick at him and then Paulie shot him. (2004)

• "Black" Jack Massarone: Christopher volunteered to do the hit on Massarone after Tony suspected "Black Jack" of wearing a wire under his hat; it is unclear who murdered Massarone later in the episode, but there is strong evidence that Moltisanti was directly responsible for it. (2004)

• Adriana La Cerva: Once she confessed to Christopher that she had been an FBI informant, divulging important information about the Soprano Crime Family, Christopher went to Tony's basement, distraught and in tears because he knew she would have to be killed. After checking Christopher for a wire, he agreed to Chris's request that he not murder his fiancee. However, Christopher did park Adriana's car (which contained a suitcase that he had stuffed with some of her personal belongings and clothes) at an airport's "Long Term Parking" lot in an attempt to make it look like she had fled. (2004)

• Tony Blundetto: Buried by Christopher after Tony shot him with a 12-gauge Ithaca 37 shotgun to appease New York. (2004)

• Teddy Spirodakis: Chris asked Eugene to do him the favor of going to whack Spirodakis in exchange for Chris' putting in a good word to Tony for Eugene's retirement from the Family. (2006)

• Rusty Millio: Organized the discreet hit on orders from Tony via Italian hitmen as a favor to Johnny Sack. (2006)

References to Imperioli's career

• By far the most obvious reference to Imperioli's career is that both he and his character have an interest in film and television, and both are screenwriters.
• in the episode "46 Long", Christopher and Brendan Filone encounter with a look-alike Martin Scorsese outside of a club, whom in The Soprano world is the real Martin Scorsese, Christopher yells "Marty! Kundun! I liked it!". Imperlioli acted in Martin Scorsese's gangster classic, Goodfellas, as "Spider".
• In Season 1 Moltisanti shoots a bakery clerk in the foot in retaliation for a perceived lack of respect and service — a nod to the actor Imperioli's character in Goodfellas, Spider, who was shot in the foot for the same reason. When the bakery clerk was yelling in pain about his foot being shot, Christopher replied "It happens!".
• In the episode "Live Free or Die", after it is confirmed that Vito Spatafore is a homosexual, Christopher states "I wanna kill the fat faggot myself, it'd be a fucking honor. Cut off his braciole and feed it to him" in reference to Michael Imperioli's character d'Ambrosio in the film Dead Presidents having exactly the same thing done to him by North Vietnamese. Braciole is an Italian-American dish made by rolling meat into tubes; thus, its slang connotation with penis.
• Christopher is in his fatal accident while listening to the soundtrack of The Departed, which was directed by Martin Scorsese. Michael Imperioli got his big break in Scorsese's gangster classic, Goodfellas.

Reception

TV Guide rated him #13 on their list of "TV's Top 100 Characters".

External links

• HBO Profile: Christopher Moltisanti
• IMDB: Christopher Moltisanti