Paulie Gatto

Thirty, forty grand. In small bills cash, in that little silk purse. Madon’, if this was somebody else’s wedding, sfortunato!"


 * ―Paulie Gatto [src]

Paulie Gatto was one of Clemenza's made men, his personal right hand man and personal chauffeur to Vito Corleone, a job he shared with the Don's son Fredo.

Born in the Bronx, Paulie attended the same school as the Corleones and was in the same sixth grade class as Michael Corleone. He became a protégé and trusted soldato under Peter Clemenza, receiving a percentage from a bookies on the East Side, and a union payroll. He was also known to supplement his income with stick-ups, something that was against family rules, but allowed by his caporegime.

Paulie was one of the men who took revenge on the men who assaulted Amerigo Bonasera's daughter, Maria, severely beating the two punks and becoming increasingly respected in the family. He later sold out to Virgil Sollozzo and called in sick one day, leaving only Fredo to protect the Don, who was shot buying fruit. His treachery was further witnessed when, during a subsequent firefight at The Roost, he disappeared, leaving Clemenza to fend for himself. Paulie's treachery was later found out by Sonny, who ordered his execution.

Death Edit

 * "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."
 * ―Peter Clemenza to Rocco Lampone, following the death of Paulie Gatto. [src]

Clemenza, Rocco, and Paulie took a drive to find a place to "go to the mattresses", as well as picking up some of Clemenza's favourite cannoli from The Albatross Grill. While out in the countryside, Clemenza asked Paulie to pull over so he could 'take a leak'. While he was doing so, Rocco executed Paulie with three shots to the head. Paulie's role as Soldato was filled by Rocco.

The video game Edit
Paulie Gatto at The Falconite.Added by AmmandtheCorsairIn the video game, Rocco was replaced by Aldo Trapani. However Paulie was alerted to his impending execution by the sound of Aldo's gun cocking, and he fled the car into the shipping yard. Trapani hunted down his former associate and executed him for his treachery. Aldo then was given Paulie's apartment in Brooklyn to use as a safehouse.

Personality and traits Edit
Paulie Gatto was smart and cunning and knew how to get a job done, but he also had a greedy side which is what Sollozzo exploited. If he had not turned traitor he probably would have risen through the ranks quickly. He also had some sense of loyalty because he didn't believe he had really betrayed the Corleones. When Aldo Trapani was about to kill him, he pleaded that they only asked him to call in sick and nothing more. However, this could also have been cowardice as he led Clemenza and Trapani into a trap when assaulting the Roost, and he betrayed the Corleones yet again when he alerted Joe Galtosino to the party at Rosa's. But he may have simply believed that these were little petty things, not really a betrayal.