Corrado Soprano, Jr., AKA Uncle Junior, is the son of Corrado
and Mariangela D'Agostino Soprano, Italian immigrants who came over
from the town of Ariano in 1911. Junior had two younger brothers:
Giovanni (AKA Johnny Boy), who was Tony's father and Ercoli (AKA
Eckley), who was mentally retarded and spent most of his life in an
institution. The senior Corrado was a stonemason, but Junior and
Johnny Boy had no intention of following in his footsteps; they
dropped out of high school, quickly affiliating themselves with the
DiMeo crime family.
Though Junior was highly competitive with his little brother, he
always had a deep affection for his nephew. Junior has no children
of his own - he's never been married - and he spent a lot of
quality time with Tony while he was growing up.
After Dominic DiMeo was sent to prison for life and Johnny Boy
and Jackie Aprile succumbed to cancer, Junior took over as head of
the New Jersey organization. But he was perceived as high-handed
and selfish -- in mob parlance "he ate alone" -- causing serious
dissension in the ranks. Tony eventually stepped in and took
charge, leaving Junior as a figurehead -- and a target for the
Feds. Once again upstaged by a younger relative, Junior was hurt
and angry, and vulnerable to manipulation by Tony's mother, Livia.
Nursing her own grudges against Tony, Livia convinced Junior to
order a hit on her son. But the hit attempt failed, and Tony
punished his uncle by severely curtailing his earning power and
effectively cutting him out of his life. Not long after that Junior
was placed under house arrest on federal racketeering charges and
diagnosed with his own case of the "big casino" -- cancer.
But Junior's a tough old bird. He's outlasted haler, heartier
enemies and despite his situation, he never sang for the feds. His
case was eventually ruled a mistrial, thanks to a hung (and
tampered with) jury. Junior even made amends, to some extent, with
Tony. Then he suffered a series of small strokes, and though he
seemed fine afterwards, something wasn't right. He started
insulting Tony in public and losing track of his train of thought.
Under house arrest awaiting his re-trial, Junior mistook Tony for
an old acquaintance and shot him, almost killing him.
Now in a mental health facility, Junior lives in confusion
between two worlds, wondering why he can't just "go home."