What happens to Paulie in the end of Sopranos?
Between Seasons 3 and 4, Paulie was arrested in Youngstown, Ohio on a gun possession charge. Albeit no censure was rendered upon him, Paulie’s separation from the family, incorporated with Ralphie’s continued earning abilities, continued to erode his reputation and credibility in Tony’s eyes. During his four months in jail, he communicated with John “Johnny Sack” Sacramoni, the Underboss of New York’s Lupertazzi crime family, while under the false impression that he could earn a place with them. It was Paulie who told Johnny Sack that Ralph Cifaretto made a very insensitive joke regarding Ginny Sack’s being overweight to the family which compels an infuriated Johnny to sanction a hit on Ralph that was called off at the last minute. A party was thrown at the Bada Bing when he was released, but his wavering loyalty only served to accelerate his marginalization under Tony. Paulie however, by the end of season four (in 12th episode of the season), realized he had been duped by Johnny Sack and that Carmine Lupertazzi had never even heard of him, much less offered him a place in his New York family. Following this ascertainment, Paulie once again devoted himself fully to Tony and the Soprano family, reclaiming his status as a top earner and his place within Tony’s inner circle.
Paulie has always been devoted to his mother, Marianucci “Nucci” Gualtieri, (it’s disclosed in the Season Six episode The Fleshy Part of the Thigh that she is actually his aunt, however) whom he has watched over constantly. She was delighted when he first placed her at “Green Grove” (in stark contrast to Livia Soprano’s reaction), and Paulie also interceded in her social problems with the other residents, going so far as to attack their relatives to ensure civility for his mother. He later learned that one of the women Nucci had trouble with, Minn Matrone, kept all her cash in her home. Paulie broke into Minn’s home to try to steal this money, but she caught him in the act. When he failed to talk his way out of it, he suffocated her with a pillow. He gave the money to Tony to rejuvenate Tony’s confidence in Paulie.
Season 5
In Season Five, Christopher and Paulie’s bad blood resurfaces when Christopher reiterates the story of the Pine Barrens incident to Vito Spatafore, Patsy Parisi, and Benny Fazio. The story starts out friendly, but after Chris embarrasses him in front of the guys, Paulie calls Chris “Tony’s little favorite”. This leads to Chris and Paulie almost starting a fight and later, Paulie tells the rest of the guys that it’s over between the two of them. This is one of many fights in the weird relationship that Paulie and Christopher have. At comare night, Christopher refuses to pay for the dinner, forcing Paulie to pay. At Satriale’s the following morning, Paulie demanded the money back, else Christopher would begin paying points. At another dinner in Atlantic City, Paulie tells everyone to choose whatever they want in order to inflate Christopher’s bill. Tapped out, Chris left a small tip and argued with Paulie in the parking lot until the waiter came out to confront them. Chris responded violently and threw a brick at him. The waiter collapsed and went into convulsions. Panicked, Paulie shot the waiter and grabbed the $1200 tab before running away. Paulie later called Christopher and they agreed to “bury the hatchet”, and split the $1200 bill.
Paulie also got into a dispute with Michele “Feech” La Manna over their rival landscaping companies. Paulie and Feech both resorted to violence, assaulting the others gardeners. Paulie’s competition with and antagonism of Feech served to highlight Feech’s insubordinate tendencies, which caused Tony to “set up” Feech for a return to prison, making it easier for everyone.
Season 6
Part I
Between seasons 5 and 6, Christopher Moltisanti was made Capo of Paulie’s crew, with Paulie being elevated to underboss of the family. Paulie’s reputation for withholding money from his payments “up the ladder” were observed in the episode “Mayham”. While Tony was in a coma, Paulie took part in a heist with associate Cary DiBartolo that led to an immense score of $1,000,000 in Colombian drug money, which was to be divided up fairly in terms of percentage amongst Tony, Paulie, and Vito. The heist resulted from a tip by Vito Spatafore. Although they had agreed to split the acquisition, Paulie later tried to withhold some of Vito’s share due to an injury he had received during the heist; Silvio had to mediate as acting boss, informing them that under the circumstances Tony’s share would be given to Carmela. Vito and Paulie were strongly reluctant to give Tony’s share to Carmela, as they speculated Tony could potentially die at any moment but in the end accepted their obligation. When Vito’s homosexuality was later revealed, Paulie was outspoken in his condemnation of homosexuality and desire to see Vito killed.
