Vincenzo Sportien
| Vinnie Sportien | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Vincenzo Georgio Sportien December 15, 1950 Brooklyn, New York |
| Died |
December 15, 1995 (aged 45) New Prairie, WI |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse(s) | Maggie Sportien (wife) |
| Children | Maria Sportien (daughter) |
| Family |
Vito Sportien (father) Maria Lorenzo Sportien (mother) |
Vinnie Sportien was a criminal mastermind and long-time businessman responsible for a resurgence in New Prairie.
Contents
Bio
Early Days In New York
Vinnie became best friends with Sonny Bellini at a very young age. In 1968 the two formed The Family, an organization to handle their semi-illegal activities. Later that year, Vinnie acquired an abandoned warehouse by the river to house his organization and after moving in, The Family grew into a well-oiled machine.
In 1969, Vinnie's muscle and dirty New York cop William Hoyt foils a scheme that almost gets Vinnie arrested. Seeing that Hoyt has started to get soft, Vinnie starts finding a way to get rid of him. A few months later, Vinnie attempted to make a deal with Anthony Zuitco, Sr., asking for 3/4 of his grocery business in exchange for free housing. Zuitco, Sr. refused to sell it saying he was insulted at the mere idea of working with him. Vinnie hired James Anderton to kill Zuitco, Sr. and his entire family. At the same time, Vinnie saw this as an opportunity to blackmail Hoyt for the murder of Zuitco, Sr. and his family.
Anthony Joins The Family
In 1972, Vinnie is introduced to Anthony Zuitco, Jr by Sonny Bellini, unaware that he is the surviving son of Anthony Zuitco, Sr. Sonny convinces Vinnie to hire Anthony as a personal bodyguard. Unsure of doing so, it's only after an angry man attempts to shoot and kill Vinnie on the street and Anthony stops the bullets with his body. Vinnie hires on full time later that evening while at the hospital.
In 1973, William Hoyt is acquitted of his jail terms and immediately revealed the location of Vinnie's organization. The police and Hoyt raided the base and arrested Vinnie, Sonny, Anthony, and the majority of the others. While on their way to Police Station, Anthony broke free of his restraints and took control of the cop car he’s in, only to free Vinnie and Sonny from their police vehicle. The three make a clean escape and start driving west to New Prairie.
A New Home in New Prairie
Now in a new city, Vinnie restarts THE FAMILY and brings out only a handful of his previous men from before the raid. Together, Vinnie and SONNY rebuild the organization. However, feeling he failed Vinnie, SONNY retires from the company and goes his own way. Vinnie takes over the head of THE FAMILY.
Maggie, Marriage, and Her Death
In 1974, he meets MAGGIE LOVELAND, who’s his waitress, at a restaurant. They become smitten with one another and over the course of the next few months, start dating. 6 months later, they get engaged and in early 1975, MAGGIE finds she’s pregnant with their daughter MARIA. Later that year, MARIA is born and MAGGIE dies during childbirth, cementing a secret hatred in Vinnie’s mind towards his daughter.
A New Chapter
Vinnie reorganizes THE FAMILY and slowly starts becoming the symbol of successful business in the Midwest. His paranoia starts to get the best of him and in 1977 he personally oversees a hit to take place on Morboso Ave, by following along in the underground abandoned subway. While there, he comes across a newly blocked off portion of the old subway, which he busts his way through to find a brand new cement tunnel, leading directly into the basement of the DERELLI TOWERS. A few days later he talks to JP Derelli, making a deal with him to give him personal access to the tunnel and a few floors in the towers in exchange for protection from any ‘outside harm’. Derelli agrees and Vinnie opens up the main offices to his shipping business on the 32nd to 36th floors. Vinnie found that Derelli’s tunnel stopped just shy of TJ’S, a popular underground nightclub located 9 blocks away. Vinnie made a deal with the owner of the club and soon started using the secret rooms located behind the walls of the club to do his “business deals”. He built a small tunnel that connected one of the rooms to the Derelli tunnel.
Therapy & New Deals with Fanucci
During the next 20 years, Vinnie struggles with the loss of MAGGIE and as a result secretly sees DR. LOUIS SONEI for psychiatric help. In the late 80’s, Vinnie is contacted by MICHAEL FANUCCI, head of the Chicago family. The two make a deal to help one another out, however slowly start getting on each other’s nerves.
In 1995, Vinnie gets fed up with FANUCCI’s nagging and insults and plans to ambush him at RILLO’S QUARRY. The plan goes off without a hitch, until FANUCCI’s dying breath reveals he had already told “them” about Vinnie. Paranoid, Vinnie continues his life more cautiously. He converses with SONNY on getting a recently acquired shipment of drugs onto a new market in Chicago. SONNY directs him to TOM CORTINI, whom Vinnie likes at first until he later finds no information on TOM at all. Vinnie hires JERRY BURR in October to take the unmarked packages of cocaine from him to TOM. During the transaction, which takes close to 2 months, Vinnie monitors SONNY, JERRY and TOM and soon finds out that TOM is actually Chicago Policeman LT. Jake Calvin, undercover. Sending some of his guys out to kill SONNY and JERRY (only to hear they managed to allude his men), Vinnie kidnaps MARIA from her and JERRY’s home and uses her as bait. At Vinnie’s warehouse atop CAMBIARE ROCK, he awaits for JERRY and SONNY’s arrival. Once they do, Vinnie confronts them, only to have SONNY confess Vinnie’s connection to ANTHONY JR.’s parents’ death after being shot accidentally by ANTHONY. ANTHONY, angered about the truth, threatens to kill Vinnie, but is instead shot and “killed” by Vinnie himself as part of a angered driven rash moment. JIMMY enters and purposes a deal to work with Vinnie as his new bodyguard, claiming that his “good guy” persona was just an act. Vinnie tells him that the only way he’ll believe him is if he kills JERRY. While JERRY and JIMMY are running around the warehouse, Vinnie thinks about all that’s happened and momentarily breaks down in the stairs leading up to the third level of the warehouse. He reaches the third layer in time to confront JERRY and end everything. He in turn is shot in the back once by MARIA, free of her restraints. A second shot, throws him over the railing, only to be caught by JERRY, who refuses to let him fall. Vinnie comes to peace with his life and actions and nonverbally pleas for JERRY to let him go. Vinnie’s hand slips and he falls three stories to the warehouse floor where he dies.
Death
Vinnie is buried in an unmarked grave somewhere inside OAK PARK CEMETARY. It is rumored he is near his wife MAGGIE (and later daughter MARIA) under the grave marker named Donald Davidson. Only the caretaker of the cemetery, WINSTON, knows the actual location of Vinnie’s grave, being the one who buried him, but refuses to release the information.
Appearances
Films
- To Tom Cortini (2002) (First Appearance)
- To Tom Cortini 2: Return to Sender (2003)
- To Tom Cortini 3: Damaged Goods (2003)
- 12/13
