Tony Sirico passed away. He was best known for playing devoted gangster Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri in the HBO series “The Sopranos.” He was 79.

According to his manager Bob McGowan, Sirico passed away early on Friday in a Fort Lauderdale, Florida assisted care facility.

The actor had dementia, but there was no indication of a cause of death.

Who is Tony Sirico? How did he die?

Sirico, a native New Yorker, was born on July 29, 1942, and was brought up in Brooklyn.

Sirico developed a reputation as a stick-up artist in his East Flatbush area prior to starting his acting career.

He was detained 28 times in total for various charges, such as armed robbery and disorderly conduct.

At age 7, he was detained for the first time for robbing a newsstand of nickels.

The rebellious methods of Sirico’s childhood proved to be too good to let go of, as he launched his acting career in the 1970s after being moved by an ex-convict actor’s performance during his most recent incarceration.

He fully committed to the Hollywood troublemaker persona and became a mafia movie mainstay.