The Sopranos Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Not to be confused with Ercole "Eckley" Soprano, Tony's deceased uncle.

Ercole "Eckley/Boot" DiMeo, was the former longtime Boss of the DiMeo crime family.

DiMeo ran the family for decades, starting in the early 1940’s, until he received a sentence of life imprisonment in 1995, at which point Jackie Aprile became acting boss. By the start of Season 1, DiMeo is in ailing health and is serving a life sentence in a high security federal prison in Springfield, Missouri. He is mentioned only a few times, almost only in the first season, and he never intervenes or demonstrates any control in the family. Nevertheless, his successor, Jackie Aprile, referred to himself as "acting boss" in "Old Man" DiMeo's place out of a sense of deep respect for the imprisoned mobster.

Boss DiMeo was unseen throughout the television series, but appeared in a subtle walkthrough in the prequel film The Many Saints of Newark, where he was portrayed in a cameo by showrunner David Chase. He is referred to as "Boot DiMeo" in the film.

Biography[]

Ercole “Eckley” DiMeo was born sometime in either 1923 or 1924. At some point he became a made member of the New Jersey crime family led by Alfano. When Alfano either died or stepped down in the 1940s, Ercole took over as boss, and the family was renamed the 'DiMeo crime family’. DiMeo was apparently a major force in his prime, as prominent capos such as Junior Soprano, Richie Aprile, Feech La Manna, Ray Curto and Johnny Soprano all answered to him. However, out of all them, DiMeo trusted Johnny Boy implicitly, to the point that he seemed okay with many people thinking as if Johnny ran North Jersey instead of himself. It is unknown who Ercole’s consigliere and underboss were during his reign as boss. Ercole also became the mentor of Richie Aprile, who he took under his wing during his days as a young associate, being impressed with Richie after he won a fight with Ercole’s cousin Rocco.

The Many Saints of Newark[]

At a celebration for young Janice Soprano's confirmation, Ercole is mentioned by Johnny, saying he’ll be all on him when he hears about the lighter envelope as a result of the Black Saints gang stealing from their numbers operation. Buddha Bonpensiero’s assistant came over with a telephone and told him that it’s baseball player Joe DiMaggio, who’s currently at Ercole’s mansion angry about something.

DiMeo hosted the repast after the funeral for Buddha. Where he is seen on-screen for the only time. As he entered the room where the food was being served, he complained to Johnny about the other mourners' big appetites. Junior spotted him and quickly joined him with the other mobsters in a room that was off limits to the other guests. He is shown consoling Buddha's son Salvatore.

Late 70s-Mid 90s[]

After Dickie Moltisanti’s murder, Ercole relinquished control of his old crew over to Johnny.

During this time, Richie became a made man, and was almost immediately promoted by Ercole to the position of Capo of his own crew. Somewhere in the late 70’s, Feech La Manna’s card game was robbed by Johnny’s son Tony Soprano, Richie’s younger brother Jackie Aprile, and DiMeo soldier Silvio Dante. Ercole was impressed by this act, and forbade Feech from harming the three men, instead he held a sit down where they returned some of the money they stole. Afterwards Ercole took both Tony and Jackie under his wing, and they would be made a few years later. Ercole always looked at Tony and Jackie as possible candidates for his successors, but he and Jackie always agreed more on Tony. In 1995, Ercole was arrested and sentenced to life in prison, being locked up in a high security federal prison in Springfield, Missouri. Jackie was made the new boss of the family.

Season 1[]

Though Jackie Aprile already had full control in 1998, in "46 Long" he said: "I may be acting boss while the Old Man's a guest of the government" out of deference to DiMeo.

In 1998 ("Meadowlands"), when reporting on the death of Jackie Aprile due to stomach cancer, a news reporter stated that Ercole was 74 years old. Shortly afterward, while discussing who should become the new boss of the family, Tony Soprano suggested that senior capo Ray Curto should step up. Tony invoked Boss DiMeo and stated, "If the Old Man were here, instead of in that cell in Springfield, he'd say, Raymond, this is your moment". Ray declined, instead reminding Tony that "You're the Boy Wonder: him and Jackie both had you pegged from day one".

Eckley's status by the end of the series is unspecified. If he was still alive at the time of the series finale, "Made in America", he would be 83 or 84 years of age.

Trivia[]

Inspiration[]

Known Family

  • Ercole’s cousin Rocco DiMeo is mentioned in the season two episode “Full Leather Jacket”, where it’s learned Richie Aprile got into a fight with him, and stole his brown leather jacket after he won.
  • He is presumably related to a mentioned character named A. DiMeo. Though their exact relation is unknown.

Age discrepancy[]

  • Ercole DiMeo is about 47 years of age in 1972 during his single on-screen appearance (The Many Saints of Newark). However, he is portrayed by David Chase, who was in his mid-70s at the time of filming.

References[]

  1. In "Meadowlands", when commenting on the death of Jackie Aprile on television, the reporter says "Authorities called Aprile the acting boss for 74-year-old Ercole "Eckley" DiMeo…". The episode takes place on September 1998, so DiMeo had to have been born in 1923 if he was going to turn 75 in '98, or 1924 if he was not.
Advertisement