Bobby Baccalieri

Grew up… as the son of a well-respected mobster. Tony Soprano characterized Bobby Sr., who had a for-appearances-sake day job as a barber, as “a terminator.” His son Bobby Jr., on the other hand, has never had to commit murder (so far, anyway). He grew up to be one of the least violent, most even-tempered members of the Soprano crime family.

Living… with his wife and kids in North Jersey, though right now he’s basically moved inwith “Uncle Junior” Soprano. Bobby has been watching over Junior during Junior’s house arrest. Doing the family a big favor like this never goes overlooked.

Profession… loan-sharking. Bobby, aside from being Junior’s caretaker, is also helping him run his business. Despite his generally kind heart, Bobby is aware of the risk involved in organized crime. As he muses to Tony about the possibility of death: “I mean, in our line of work, it’s always out there. You probably don’t even hear it when it happens, right?”

Interests… food. The heavyset Bobby is often teased about his weight issue, though his large figure sometimes comes in handy for the family. After all, someone has to play Santa Claus at Christmastime.

Relationship Status… happily married to Karen, with two kids. Bobby, a devoted husband, has never been seen with another woman. In the Mafia, that makes him about as rare as a unicorn. Bobby once said that he’d rather take two shots in the back of the head “than not be able to feed my family.”

Challenge… surviving in the family business. The sweet, shy Bobby doesn’t seem like he’s cut out for the stressful, violent life of organized crime. “My pop never wanted it for me,” he says. “Said there were times, with all the worry, that he wished he coulda just stayed in the shop full-time, just cut hair.”

Personality… loyal and considerate, at least by Mafioso standards. Bobby Bacala didn’t take to violence as readily as his peers, though he managed to show dedication and loyalty in order to become a “made man” without having to “make his bones,” i.e. murder someone. But it remains to be seen if a kinder, gentler soldier can really last in the mob game, or if Bobby will either have to get emotionally harder or be spit out of a very tough racket.