Lefty Ruggiero

Living… old and broke, with cancer to boot. Lefty is divorced with three grown children: Tommy, a drug addict, and Janet and Francine, whom he wishes would get married, if only to temporarily lift his spirits.

Profession… hitman. Lefty, aka Lefty Guns, aka Lefty Two Guns, has carried out 26 hits for the mob. He adheres closely to the chain of command. He doesn’t ask questions, he just follows orders. Fuggedaboudit.

Interests… drinking spritzers, watching nature documentaries, animals. And cooking. “Anywhere you go, all around the world,” he says, “the best cooks are men.”

Relationship Status… dating his much younger girlfriend, Annette. Lefty likes her a helluva lot better than he likes his ex-wife. To his great disgruntlement, his ex-wife still lives in the same building as him.

Challenge… getting a little bit of respect. Lefty hopes to get a promotion as a reward for his 30th year of service, but instead his boss Sonny Black, fifteen years his junior, gives him a lion. He laments, “I never complain. Do I get upped? No, they pass me by… Even a dog gets a warm piece of the sidewalk.” Lefty wants to feel needed. And so, in the twilight of his career, he takes a young jewel thief named Donnie Brasco under his wing and teaches him the ways of the mob.

Personality… confrontational, proud, crude. Lefty hates above all to be made a fool – to be made a “dumski.” Even though he’s a guy who kills people for a living, he has a big heart and lots of love for his girlfriend and children, and he feels ashamed that he is unable to provide for them. As is his outspoken manner, he talks a big game to disguise his insecurities. As he says: “In all the five boroughs I’m known, all over the world… You don't walk out on me. I walk out on you!”