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Philadelphia Gangsters

Manny Horvitz

Munya "Manny" Horvitz

Played by: William Forsythe.

"We got a deal. But just so we're clear, my icebox is filled with pieces of fellas who tried to fuck me over."

A part time kosher butcher, part time capo of Philadelphia's Jewish quarter who has a personal feud with local gangster Waxey Gordon. He becomes Jimmy's partner in crime after Mickey Doyle introduces them to each other in season 2.

Tropes:

• Affably Evil/Faux Affably Evil: Skirts the border between them. He's friendly, professional, even fatherly. He loves his wife. Push him too far, and you and your wife will regret it—briefly.
• All There in the Manual: According to William Forsythe, he suffers from migraines and dementia.
• Anyone Can Die: In the season 3 premiere, he opens the door to Richard Harrow, who promptly fires a single shotgun blast into his face. Making it the fourth consecutive episode ending with a major character death, a cycle that had started with Angela, by Manny's own hand, and the reason for Harrow's visit here.
• Bait the Dog: He initially comes across as a likable Alter Kocker who loves jokes and is an "old school" man of honor, and then he begins to talk about stuffing the pieces of the guys that cross him in his fridge...
• Boom, Headshot!: His fate at the hands of Richard Harrow.
• The Butcher: Both literally and figuratively.
• Determinator: In "Battle of the Century" he grabs his attacker through a crystal window during an assassination attempt, overpowers him and sinks a meat cleaver on his head, all after taking a bullet to the shoulder!
• Disproportionate Retribution: Do not betray him. EVER.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: While far from anticlimactic, the abruptness with which Richard Harrow shoots him in the Season 3 premiere.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He's pretty deferential to his wife, as we see in "Resolution", and is shown to be very gentle with her.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Manny is a kosher butcher. He won't kill an already-injured man in the same freezer as his meats. Injuring that man himself and then telling a non-believer to kill him is fair game, though.
  • Also in line with Kashrut standards, when he sees the Commodore's hunting trophies he shows immense disapproval of killing animals purely for sport/status. In the same speech, he implies to Jimmy that he finds his attempted assassination of Nucky to be dishonorable, both because he did not pull the trigger himself and also because he did so purely to show his partners that he was tough.
• Expy: His gangster-butcher persona is reminiscent of Bill Cutting in Gangs of New York.
• Facial Horror: Courtesy of Richard Harrow and a load of buckshot. The resulting hole in his face is comparable to Richard's own.
• Greedy Jew: Subverted: While he quite reasonably wants Jimmy to pay him what Jimmy owes him at first—and it is worth knowing that Jimmy has the money, he just doesn't want to pay him back—Jimmy's increasingly insulting and finally homicidal responses pushes Manny to the point where, as he tells Angela, it's beyond money.
• Holier Than Thou: "What? We all have to live by (some) rules..."
• Kick the Dog: After an attempt on his life okayed by Jimmy, he shows up at Jimmy's house to murder him and instead finds Angela and her lesbian lover... and kills the both of them; the lover right after coming out of the bathroom - thinking it was Jimmy - and in Angela's case after she pleaded I Have a Family which places this firmly into Kick the Dog territory.
• Moe Greene Special: Richard Harrow shoots him in the eye with a shotgun from close range.
• Murder Is the Best Solution: Played seriously. Jimmy tries to restrain him at one point, telling him that "You can't kill everyone."
• Never My Fault: When he shoots Angela as payback for her husband attempting to kill him, he tells her that her husband did it to her.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Possibly inspired by Max "Boo Hoo" Hoff, the "King of the Bootleggers" in Philadelphia during the early 20th century.
• Pet the Dog: He has a genuinely sweet relationship with his wife. And seconds after we see this, he's killed.
• The Rival: To Waxey Gordon.
• Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: In an evil version of this, after an attempt is made on his life, he considers no amount of blood money sufficient to stop him from retaliation.
• We Have Ways of Making You Talk: Extracts a confession from Herman, before having Jimmy finish him off.
• With Friends Like These...: Considers Mickey Doyle to be a good friend. The same Mickey he later brutally beats and chokes for information. Mickey later takes credit for his murder after his death, practically bragging how he killed him after arguing with him one too many times.
• Would Hit a Girl: He murders Angela (and accidentally, her lover Louise), in cold blood. However, he seems somewhat shaken up about it afterwards.
• Yiddish as a Second Language: You better believe it, boychik.
• You Can't Go Home Again: He is forced to leave Philadelphia at the end of the second season, since it has been swallowed whole by Gordon, and seek refuge to Nucky in Atlantic City. It doesn't serve him much in the end.
• You Kill It, You Bought It: While he dislikes killing for sport he is even more offended when someone claims the kill of another man. He believes that the only way for Jimmy to really take over Atlantic City is for Jimmy to personally kill Nucky. He also seems impressed by the fact that Nucky personally killed Jimmy rather than having Owen or Eli do it.
  • Ironically, Mickey Doyle ends up trying to take the credit for Manny's death.

Waxey Gordon

Waxey Gordon

Played by: Nick Sandow.

"I don't go looking for a fight."

A crime boss of Philadelphia and ally of Arnold Rothstein.

Tropes:

• Team Switzerland: In Season 2, he deals with no problem with both Nucky (who is endorsed by his ally, Rothstein) and Jimmy.
  • Cavalry Refusal: In Season 3 he refuses to come to Nucky's side in his war against Gyp Rosetti, claiming that he has no beef with either him or his boss, Joe Masseria. This despite the long distance between his base and Joe's, making retaliation unlikely.
• Historical Domain Character
• I Own This Town: Once he clears Philadelphia of the competition in Season 2. By Season 3 he also has the local prohis in his pocket, and by Season 4 the District Attorney.
• The Rival: To Manny Horvitz.
• Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: Lampshaded by Jimmy, who asks him if "Waxey" is a nickname or a diminutive. Waxey declines to respond.^{In real life...}"Waxey" was a nickname. His birth name was Irving Wexler.

The D'Alessio Brothers

The D'Alessio Brothers

Ignatius: "Our father loves our mother very much."

A violent gang formed by six out of nine brothers from Philadelphia (not counting sisters). They are brought to Atlantic City as associates of Mickey Doyle's bootlegging business and lead to conflict with Nucky after Doyle is arrested and Nucky gives his business to Chalky.

• Big Bad: Of Season 1. The gang's efforts to seize control of Atlantic City ultimately prove to be the greatest threat to Nucky and his associates in the series' opening story arc.
• Deceased Fall-Guy Gambit: After killing them in the first season finale, Nucky pins the Woods Massacre and by extension Hans Schroeder's death on them.
• Family Theme Naming: They're all named after Popes.
• Generic Ethnic Crime Gang: The entire gang is comprised entirely of siblings from a family with Sicilian roots.
• Listof Transgressions: Their criminal rapsheet is said to include burglary, armed robbery, gambling and loansharking.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: The brothers are loosely based on the Lanzetta Brothers, a gang of bootleggers that operated in Philadelphia in the 1920s.
• Ruthless Out-of-State Gangsters
• Starter Villains
• White Sheep: There is apparently one adult brother in Philly, Adrian, that did not pursue a criminal career, and instead became a dentist.

Leo D'Alessio

"Nothin' a bullet to the eye won't fix."

Played by: Max Casella

Tropes:

• Big Bad: Of the gang and by extension the Big Bad of Season 1.
• Big Bad Wannabe: While he wants to take control of Atlantic City, he and his brothers are really just nuisances in the beginning. It's only after Arnold Rothstein decides to back them that they truly become a threat, and even that ends once Rothstein and Nucky come to a truce at the end of the season. Afterwards, the D'Alessios are sold out and Nucky's men kill Leo and his brothers with barely any effort.
• Dangerously Close Shave: Is killed when Jimmy slits his throat at a barbershop.
• The Face: Plays this role when dealing with Rothstein on behalf of his brothers.
• The Leader: Of his brothers.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: His character is loosely based on Leo Lanzetta, a member of the criminal gang of siblings known as the Lanzetta Brothers.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: While his gang is initially considered to be little more than a nuisance by the powers governing Atlantic City, he and his brothers ultimately pose a genuine danger to Nucky's grip on power after obtaining the backing of Arnold Rothstein, one of the most powerful underworld kingpins in New York City.
• Slashed Throat: The way he is killed in the first season finale.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Despite leading a gang consisting solely of his brothers, he is confident enough in his own abilities to launch a half-baked scheme to wrest control of Atlantic City from a massive, well-organized political machine.

Ignatius D'Alessio

Played by: Edoardo Ballerini

Tropes:

• Deadpan Snarker: Has his moments.
• The Dragon: To Leo.
• Gratuitous Italian: Knowing that Mickey Doyle does not speak his native tongue, he tells Luciano in this language that the only thing keeping him from slitting Mickey Doyle's throat is the prospect of getting repaid.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: He is loosely based on Ignatius Lanzetta, a member of the Lanzetta Brothers Gang.
• Outlaw: Prior to the events of the series, he is forced to leave Philadelphia to escape 15 outstanding arrest warrants.
• Ruthless Out-of-State Gangster

Sixtus D'Alessio

Played by: Eric Schneider

Tropes

• Boom Head Shot: Shot in the head by Al Capone while returning to his house with groceries.
• Chekhov's Gunman: A literal example of one in that he barely registers in significance until he nearly assassinates Nucky.
• The Quiet One: He has no lines whatsoever.
• Robbing the Dead: Al Capone eats an apple from his grocery bag, after killing him.

Matteo D'Alessio

Played by: Al Linea

"You don't like God or somethin'?"

Tropes:

• Big Guy: The most physically formidable and foremost enforcer of the brothers.
• Face Death with Dignity: He attempts to do this, but finds it hard to remain dignified while Chalky White is strangling him.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: He calls Meyer Lansky and Chalky White ethnic slurs.
• Ruthless Out-of-State Gangster

Lucien D'Alessio

Played by: Louis Vanaria

Tropes:

• Boom Head Shot: Shot in the head by Jimmy for mouthing off.
• Defiant to the End: He hurls insults at Jimmy and his captors while being held at gunpoint. They were going to spare them, but Lucien convinced them otherwise for his part.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: His character is loosely based on Lucien Lanzetta, a member of the Lanzetta Brothers gang.
• Red Right Hand: He has some kind of birthmark on his face which Nucky describes as resembling a "shit-stain".
• Ruthless Out-of-State Gangster
• Too Dumb to Live: See description in Defiant to the End above. He ultimately gets shot for the trouble.

Pius D'Alessio

Played by: Nicholas Martino

Tropes

• Boom Head Shot: Executed by Richard Harrow with a shotgun blast to the head, alongside Matteo
• Dirty Coward: He acts tough when he has his brothers backing him up. However, when forced to fend for himself, he is quick to plead for mercy
• The Driver: Despite being 14 at most.
• Enfant Terrible: The fact he has a police file as big as any of his big brothers leaves little doubt about it.
• Ruthless Out-of-State Gangster
• Tag Along Kid: To his brothers.

Adrian D'Alessio

A dentist.

• The Ghost: He never appears on screen.
• White Sheep: The only one of the brothers who is not a criminal.

Other Gangsters

Rowland Smith

"Mr. Thompson, you gotta admit that I'm pretty good at this."

A teenage wheelman from rural Pennsylvania that steals liquor from other bootleggers to sell it for a profit. Played by Nick Robinson.

Tropes:

• Bait-and-Switch: Nucky and co. first take him as an adult and resolve to kill him to make an example. They find that he is a scared 15-year old who regrets, but understands, what they did to his partner, Nate. Then they find that he is actually an adult (and a liar) and Nucky kills him. Up to that point, the episode looked like a tailor-made introduction for Rowland as a new recurring character.
• Boom, Headshot!: Shot in the back of the head by Nucky to remind Owen of who is in charge.
• Con Man: When he thinks that he has Nucky already in the pocket he reveals that he is actually 19 years-old and a smoker. Nucky then kills him.
• Refuge in Audacity: Tries to manipulate Nucky into giving him a job after ripping him off, playing into his tendency to not hurt kids. It doesn't work.
• Staring Down Cthulhu: When Nucky comes to kill him he sweet-talks him into giving him a job. It fails.
• Street Urchin: Subverted. He probably was one once, but he is over 18 already.
• Younger Than They Look: Zig-Zagged. He initially comes as a Older Than They Look 15-year old, but is actually a Younger Than They Look 19-year old. The actor was 17 when he shot his episode.

George Remus

"Remus owns the distilleries and the pharmacies they are allowed to sell to. Even better, Remus owns the trucks that hijack his own liquor."

George Remus is a prominent Cincinnati lawyer and major supplier of "legal" alcohol, as Remus exploits a loophole in the Volstead Act that permits its trade for medicinal purposes. George Remus is played by Glenn Fleshler.

Tropes:

• Amoral Attorney: Remus is an attorney so amoral that Remus has decided to cast off the attorney job altogether and become a bootlegger instead - while using Remus' knowledge of law to find the correct loopholes, of course.
• The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes: Invoked when Nucky reminds Remus that it was he who put Remus and Daugherty in contact, even though both are based in Ohio.
• Deadpan Snarker Remus is known to snark regularly about other gangsters, usually in a way they find insulting.
• Doublespeak: Remus is a master of it.
• Evil Genius: Remus is very intelligent, if not quite to the level Remus imagines Remus is.
• Historical Domain Character: He was a real gangster and also the inspiration for Jay Gatsby. And in case you're wondering, he really did refer to himself in the third person regularly.
• The Informant: Remus becomes a federal informant after being arrested, to avoid full prosecution. Remus' new friends barely tolerate his antics.
• Last-Name Basis: Remus is almost exclusively referred to by his last name, including by Remus himself.
• Loophole Abuse: Remus sells alcohol for medicinal purposes only. Now, if somebody "steals" that alcohol while en route, it's not Remus's concern - after all, that somebody is either Remus himself, or someone that has paid Remus beforehand.
• Punch-Clock Villain: Remus enters bootlegging with the express purpose of making a pile of money and makes plenty of deals with mobsters, but Remus is neither violent nor apparently capable of hurting someone himself.
• Rules Lawyer/Loophole Abuse: Remus has studied all the Prohibition laws and is a master in exploiting the loopholes.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Remus has powerful political connections and is thus unafraid of prosecution. Remus is rightly shocked when the authorities come knocking on the door.
  Remus has paid! Remus has kept receipts!
• Straight Edge Evil: In Remus' own words, "Remus shuns gambling". While Remus isn't above enjoying the company of remunerated ladies, Remus is rarely seen drinking, if ever. The historical Remus was a teetotaler despite owing his empire to breaking the Volstead Act.
• Small Name, Big Ego: While Remus is deservedly influential, Remus is incredibly smug and his Third-Person Person shtick makes Remus rather insufferable. As a result, Remus' verbal tics get increasingly mocked by everyone who deals with George Remus (generally behind Remus' back, although at least once to Remus' face).
  Remus: Remus finds you petty and resentful.
  Nucky: Well, Remus can go fuck himself!
  • Or:
  Remus: A landlord? Now Remus has heard everything.
  Rothstein: You can tell Remus that it happens to be true.
• Third-Person Person: In case you didn't notice, Remus has a habit of referring to himself in the third person, constantly, one shared with his real life counterpart. It takes a man with the tenacity of Hoover to snap him out of the habit for the first time.
• Verbal Tic: Take a guess as to what Remus' is.

Vincenzo Petrucelli

An influential linchpin based in Florida. From the old country, like his cousin Joe Masseria. Played by Vincenzo Amato.

Tropes:

• Affably Evil: Polite, personable and easy to work with.
• Murder Is the Best Solution: Upon meeting him down in Florida, Luciano seriously considers killing Petrucelli because he's telling Masseria that Luciano went behind Joe's back. Meyer tells Luciano that Petrucelli is off-limits.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: There was originally a casting call for Santo Trafficante, Sr., a real Sicilian gangster stationed in Florida that had a long time alliance with Joe Masseria (although Trafficante wasn't Masseria's cousin, his son and heir, Santo Jr., was sent to New York to learn under him). Since Petrucelli was not in the casting calls and Trafficante never turned up in the show, it seems obvious that Petrucelli is standing in for Trafficante.
• Villainous Friendship: Cousin and business partner of Joe Masseria, the two keep a very friendly relationship despite the geographical distance between them.

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