Robert "Bobby Bacala" Baccalieri Jr. (12 June 1964 - 4 December 2007) was a DiMeo crime family capo and acting underboss. In 2007, Baccalieri was assassinated by the Lupertazzi crime family during a mob war between the DiMeo and Lupertazzi families.
Biography[]
Bobby Baccalieri was born in New Jersey in 1964, the son of DiMeo crime family hitman Robert Baccalieri, Sr.. He followed in his father's footsteps and became a soldier in Junior Soprano's crew, leaving his career as a head waiter to become a mobster. Baccalieri was a shy, kind-hearted, and even-tempered member of the family, and he was a well-liked member of the DiMeo organization. He was also loyal to his wife Karen, and he took his wife's death in a car accident hard; Baccalieri later began a relationship with DiMeo boss Tony Soprano's sister Janice, who also helped to take care of his children.
Baccalieri operated Junior's loan shark business in his stead and acted as Junior's assistant while he was under house arrest, and he was later put in shark of Junior's loan sharking operation. After Junior had Murf Lupo step down as acting capo, Baccalieri became the new acting head of Junior's crew. In November 2006, he was beaten and robbed by a street gang while making collections, and a concrete fragment injured his right eye; Carlo Gervasi visited the hospital to take the collections from Baccalieri to Soprano. Baccalieri wins a fight with an inebriated Soprano when he insulted his sister Janice, Baccalieri's Wife, and Soprano was later proud of Baccalieri for standing up for his sister; Baccalieri, however, was forced to kill the brother-in-law of one of Soprano's associates in Quebec, Baccalieri's first hit.
After Soprano fell out with his nephew and heir apparent Christopher Moltisanti, Soprano groomed Baccalieri to succeed him as boss. Baccalieri worked hard to keep Soprano's trust and respect after becoming a de facto underboss of the family, attending high-level meetings and becoming a trusted adviser to Soprano. Baccalieri soon became acknowledged as a major leader of the family, making him a target for the rival Lupertazzi crime family during the war of 2007.
Death[]
Baccalieri after being shot
When war broke out between the families, Lupertazzi boss Phil Leotardo ordered the deaths of Soprano, Silvio Dante, and Baccalieri. A snitch in the FBI warned Soprano of these planned hits, but he was unable to warn Baccalieri, who left his cell phone behind as he entered a hobby shop in Lynbrook, New York. While he was looking at a vintage Blue Comet train set, two men entered the store and opened fire. Several gunshots sent his riddled body crashing on top of a model train display. Baccalieri was the only DiMeo leader to be killed during the war, though Dante being sent into a coma after being seriously wounded.