The Sopranos: Was Johnny Sack A Good Boss?

John Sacrimoni, known as Johnny Sack by his fellow gangsters, is one of the most memorable mafiosos on the show. The Underboss of the powerful Lupertazzi family, he’s noted for not only being a successful and pragmatic mobster, but also a devoted husband to his wife, unlike many of the other guys in his line of work. He’s been a fan favorite character since his first appearance all the way back in Season One, but there’s an open question about his character.

In the fifth season, Johnny Sack becomes the boss of the Lupertazzi family. Though normally a level headed guy, the fight for the throne sees him become unusually aggressive and ruthless. Characters note a change in his attitude, and the conflicts that are born from his rise eventually lead to a war between New York and New Jersey. Was Johnny Sack a good boss, or did he sow the seeds that would lead to his family’s downfall. Let’s find out.

Johnny Sack is first introduced in the Season One episode “Pax Soprana”. Though not directly named until later seasons, Johnny is the underboss of the Lupertazzi family, serving as the right hand man of the family’s boss Carmine Lupertazzi. Johnny Sack is known to be a close friend of Tony Soprano, helping him manipulate Junior and generally acting as a diplomat between New York and New Jersey.

This is because the Lupertazzi family does a lot of business with the DiMeos, particularly in construction projects. The Lupertazzis have also known the Soprano family for multiple generations, having a strong history and relationship.

However despite the close relationship he has with Tony, Johnny Sack is also more than capable of scheming against him for his own interests and the interests of his family. He eventually moves to New Jersey, and though he claims no interest in getting involved in their affairs, he uses the opportunity to get close to members of his family.

In particular, he manages to befriend Paulie, who is feeling isolated from Tony after a number of failures. By flattering him into thinking that Carmine is interested in him, he’s able to get valuable information about Tony’s schemes. Paulie eventually realizes that Johnny has been playing him like a fiddle the entire time.

Johnny also has a close relationship with Ralph Cifaretto, and when he and Tony have a fight over the death of Tracee, he steps in as mediator. It’s through his intervention that Ralph is not only spared by Tony, but also rises to the rank of captain, which again helps their family as Ralph controls the construction jobs in New Jersey.

However this relationship eventually falls apart when Ralph makes a joke about John’s wife Ginny. You see, John is one of the few mobsters who genuinely loves his wife. Despite her weight, Johnny is completely devoted to her and doesn’t have a goomar. When Carmine refuses to sanction a hit on Ralph over the insults, he’s even willing to risk his life and go behind his boss’s back to have Ralph killed. That’s true love if I’ve ever seen it.

This disagreement with Carmine over the insults against Ginny would actually have a profound effect on the series. When the Sopranos and the Lupertazzis get into a fight over their cut of Tony’s HUD scam, they end up shutting down their Esplanade construction project with a strike. The loss of money Johnny Sack faces from this, along with the hurt feelings of Carmine not supporting him before, leads to him asking Tony to take Carmine out for him so that he can become the new boss.

However it's during this coup attempt that we start to see some cracks in Johnny's normally smooth appearance. For one, he's desperate when he asks for Tony's help, showing Tony that he can ask for anything he wants in exchange for helping Johnny become the boss.

And when Tony eventually pulls out, Johnny Sack is furious. Uncharacteristically he shows his true feelings and screams at Tony for this apparent betrayal. He also reveals how much he despises Carmine and his son, something he probably shouldn't have done.

Though eventually he and Tony patch things up, this is the first seed of the future conflict that would be a big part of the later seasons. It also showed how ugly Johnny could get in his quest to become boss, which we would soon see again.

When Carmine senior dies suddenly of a stroke, the position of boss is contested between him and Carmine’s son Little Carmine. Each has a following of mobsters in the family, and are irreconcilable to the idea of sharing power with each other.

Johnny Sack again uncharacteristically escalates the conflict instead of using diplomacy. He makes the first attacks, sinking Carmine’s boat and eventually killing his associate and former lover Lorraine Calluzzo. Even his friend Tony, who generally supports him over Little Carmine, criticizes these actions.

However, despite wanting to stay neutral, Tony is pulled into the war by his cousin Tony Blundetto. The Carmine faction hires Tony B to kill Joey Peeps, a favorite associate of Johnny's. In revenge, Johnny has Carmine’s consigliere Angelo Garepe killed. This sends Tony B into a rage, who kills Phil Leotardo's brother in revenge as well. This cycle of bloodshed is blamed on Johnny, who started the war by firing the first shots.

However the violence works, as Carmine is unwilling to continue fighting and surrenders. Johnny then assumes the title of boss, and angered over Tony’s deception, begins squeezing his family. Though once known as a reasonable guy, Johnny develops an attitude after having finally gotten the position he's so long craved.

However Johnny doesn't get to enjoy the high life for long. After taking over, he's almost immediately arrested after one of his key guys flips. Though we aren't given a reason why, the investigation may have been aided by all of the murders Johnny committed during the war with Little Carmine. Tony warned Johnny that something like that could happen.

Though still the boss in prison, Johnny is in a much weaker position as he heads to trial. He has to rely on Phil Leotardo as his acting boss, who not only is willing to go behind his back for his own deals, but also loses respect for John after he cries at his daughter's wedding.

He also more than even needs Tony’s help to control his family. Tony not only takes out rival Rusty Milio for him, he also negotiates the sale of one of his companies to free up cash. However in return for his help, Tony forces John to sell his house to his sister, which is devastating for Ginny.

Eventually, Johnny agrees to a plea deal in exchange for a lighter sentence. As part of the deal, he has to admit to the existence of the mafia, which is deeply offensive to guys like Phil who did their time honorably. Though still the boss in name from his Midwestern prison, Johnny is removed from power and Phil takes over completely as boss.

If that wasn't bad enough, Johnny develops lung cancer from his many years smoking. It's eventually diagnosed as terminal, and Johnny eventually passes away in prison, surrounded by his wife and daughters.

Before he goes, he asks his brother in law what his reputation will be after he passes. Anthony tells him that while he is still respected, people felt he was too war hungry when it came to being boss.

This is corroborated by other characters as well. When full on war eventually breaks out between New York and New Jersey, Tony specifically blames Johnny’s leadership style as the cause of all the conflict.

Even Johnny’s former supporters like Phil Leotardo criticize many of his actions. In addition to looking down on John for crying at his daughter’s wedding, Phil says that John should have dealt with the Sopranos during his tenure as boss.

Scene- This thing should have been done during John’s era

Overall, Johnny is seen as a good mobster. He’s pragmatic, level headed, and generally focused on making money as smoothly as possible. When he’s working normally, he is invaluable to the Lupertazzi family. However when he became boss, he allowed some of his more negative qualities like rage and ego to start controlling him more and more.

This is of course not unique to John alone. Tony also started getting more and more toxic as he faced the pressures of being the boss, which by its very nature isolates people from those they once considered friends. Tony and Johnny both state that their subordinates don’t understand what it’s like to be boss.

Though not a terrible boss, his actions did sow the seeds that would eventually lead his family into a destructive and costly war. And his tenure as boss is a reminder that power can bring out the worst in people. Though we all crave to be in charge, in the end it might be the people like Little Carmine who realize that power isn’t everything who are the most happy.