Jackie Aprile, Jr.

Giacomo Michael Aprile, Jr. (commonly referred to as Jackie, Jr), played by Jason Cerbone, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. In the episode "...To Save Us All From Satan's Power", Cerbone's younger brother Matt played a younger Jackie Jr. in a flashback sequence.

Plot details

Jackie Aprile, Jr. was born into North Jersey mafia royalty. His father, Jackie Aprile, Sr., was once the acting boss of the DiMeo crime family, and his uncle Richie Aprile was a capo first under Ercoli "Eckley" DiMeo, and then later under Tony Soprano. However Jackie, Jr. himself was kept away from the family business by Jackie Sr. and his father's best friend, Tony Soprano. He only began getting involved with the criminal aspects of his family in 2000—season 2 of The Sopranos--after the death of his father and the release of his uncle from prison. Despite attempts to succeed at Rutgers, Jackie, Jr. drifted towards a life of crime as he began helping his uncle Richie run the Aprile crew.^[1][2]

However, Richie was killed by his fiancée Janice Soprano and for a time thereafter, his mother Rosalie Aprile began a romantic relationship with Soprano capo Ralph Cifaretto. Ralph was more of a mentor in Jackie's attempt to follow in his father's footsteps and was actively involved with his life or development as a young man. It was Ralph's bad influence, coupled with Tony's insistence that Jackie Jr. not become involved in organized crime, that propelled Jackie, Jr. into a brief and ignominious career in organized crime.^[3][4][5][6]

Working alongside his friend Dino Zerilli he began small by selling ecstasy to college kids. They often hung out at the Ooh Fa pizza restaurant which brought them into contact with Christopher Moltisanti. He was a linebacker for his football team at Boonton High School and was All-State by the end of his semester.^{[7][8][9][10]} Jackie planned the robbery of a Jewel concert at Rutgers and drove the getaway car for Christopher and Benny Fazio. While waiting in the car Jackie urinates in his pants.^[11][12] Later Jackie tried to use his 'influence' with Christopher to help a drug dealer associate from college named Matush sell ecstasy at the Crazy Horse club, owned by Christopher and Furio Giunta and fronted by Adriana La Cerva. Matush had been thrown out of the club by Giunta once already and Jackie met with him at a "sit-down" and agreed to take his case up with Chris; Chris refused to grant any favors but Jackie told Matush it would be alright to work outside the club anyway - resulting in a severe beating for Matush.^[13][14]

Jackie, Jr. began dating Meadow Soprano and as a result, he copied the Mafia tradition of leading two lives. Jackie tried to maintain the appearance of a respectable college student while drifting further and further into the family business. Tony's interest was further increased because he had been a close friend of Jackie's father and had promised that he would keep Jackie, Jr. away from organized crime. Tony began to see through Jackie's facade when he caught him at the casino on Bloomfield Ave and then later at a strip club (a rival to the Bada Bing). Tony was furious because he had tried so hard to keep Jackie straight, beating him up in the bathroom of the club after catching him there getting a lap dance.^[15][16]

Things came to a head after Jackie, Jr. flunked out of Rutgers University. Jackie was subsequently dumped by Meadow after she found him cheating on her. Resentful of two generations of the Sopranos—the Royal Family, as Ralph mockingly called them—Jackie began working directly for Ralph, forming his own minor crew in the process.^{[17][18][19][20]}

Upon hearing Ralph tell the story of when Jackie Aprile, Sr. and Tony took down a card game held by Feech La Manna, Jackie became inspired to follow in his father's footsteps. Using his dim-witted crew of Carlo Renzi, Dino Zerilli and Matush, Jackie attempted to hold up a card game run by Aprile soldier Eugene Pontecorvo. The young, would-be stick-up men got high and Jackie almost decided not to go through with it. Once inside things went horribly awry - Jackie killed "Sunshine" the dealer, Renzi was killed at the scene by Christopher, made man Furio Giunta was shot in the leg and Matush fled in the getaway car on hearing the gunshots. Jackie, Jr. barely escaped with his life by performing a quick carjacking. He drove straight past Dino Zerilli leaving him to perish at the hands of Moltisanti and Albert Barese.^[21][22]

Jackie, by then hiding out in the Boonton Projects, called Tony and begged for his life saying that he was just doing what Tony did. Tony told Jackie to figure out the difference, suggesting that because people were shot and one killed there might be consequences. Tony suggested to Ralph giving Jackie a pass for the failed robbery, largely due to his feelings towards Jackie, Sr. Ralph was not about to let Tony know of his role as a catalyst for the attempted robbery, owing to Tony's distrust of Ralph and Tony's friendship with Jackie's father, but mostly because such knowledge could potentially alter Tony's complicity in any action Ralph might take. At a meeting between Tony and Ralph about what to do about Jackie, Tony stated that the important thing is that action is taken "in a timely fashion." Ralph of course had to maintain stability and more importantly, his stature, so he gave Aprile crew soldier (and Jackie's cousin) Vito Spatafore the order to take out Jackie. Outside the Boonton Projects, Vito shot Jackie, Jr. in the back of the head, leaving Jackie's body face down in the snow.^[23][24]

While most in the DiMeo crime family discouraged Jackie Jr.'s life in crime they also saw his leadership potential. Jackie Jr. encountered obstacles in his quest for following his father by Tony Soprano and Christopher Moltisanti. Tony had promised Jackie's father that he would keep him out of a life of crime while Christopher saw Jackie Jr. as a potential threat to him as Tony's protege because his father was acting boss, his uncle was a captain thus making Jackie Jr. in Christopher's words "the heir apparent". Christopher also taunted Jackie about him becoming a made man when Chris knew that Jackie Jr. wanted it more than Chris.

Rosalie, Meadow and the rest of the family were told that Jackie was killed by "black drug dealers from the ghetto". The death of Jackie, Jr. had an enormous effect on Meadow Soprano and she began having mixed feelings for her father and his "business." As a result, Meadow was often depressed and told her parents that she knew Jackie was killed by members of organized crime not by drug dealers.^[23][24]

Murders committed by Aprile

• Sunshine: - Shot during an attempted poker robbery. (2001)

References