  |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
| “ | I wonder, is it better to have a talented snake or a stoical lion, who's gonna be cut down in his prime? | „ |
| ~ Jimmy Pegorino asking Niko Bellic a question during their first official meeting. |
| “ | Niko: You're not looking so good there, Jimmy. Pegorino: Screw you. Niko: What the f-ck did she ever did to you? Pegorino: I wanted you, you immigrant dip sh-t. Niko: Big talk. You wanna know something funny? Pegorino: Not really. Niko: The Comission - the old families - I know some of those guys. And they thought you were a fat f-cking joke. Pegorino: Whatever. |
„ |
| ~ Last conversation between Pegorino and Niko Bellic during the "Revenge" ending before his subsequent death. |
James "Jimmy" Pegorino is the secondary antagonist of the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV, the eleventh installment of the Grand Theft Auto franchise and first installament of HD universe series.
He was an over-ambitious mob boss and the leader of the Alderney based Pegorino Crime Family, which he took over after his father died. He is looked down upon by the Liberty City based Mafia organizations, and he is unable to get a seat on The Commission. Towards the end of the game, Pegorino later gets involved in a major gangland collusion with Russian crime lord Dimitri Rascalov.
He was voiced by Tony Patellis.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Jimmy Pegorino was born in Alderney City, Alderney. His father was the founder of the Pegorino Family, a faction that was highly disrespected by the other mobsters.
At some point, Jimmy was arrested for theft three times during the mid 1970s. It was around that time where he married Angie, and they ended up having a son together.
Taking control over the family[]
Eventually, Jimmy gained leadership over the Pegorino Family, and he desperately wanted to join The Commission, despite his organization being incredibly weak.
He tried to impress The Commission by doing favors for them, such as allowing the Pavano to operate in Alderney in spite of their long-time rivalry. Also, Jimmy thought it would be an excellent idea to anonymously weaken the Ancelotti's family whilst improving his own, in order to prove that he is able to run an organization.
He learned that a leader shouldn't place value on his employees until they either impress him or, ironically, become a threat to him because of their greed (such as Ray Boccino).
For unknown reasons, Jimmy's son had committed suicide, and he then accepted his bodyguard Anthony Corrado as a son in nature.
Unbeknownst to Angie, Pegorino has a young mistress who lives in an apartment in Acter.
Grand Theft Auto IV[]
| “ | Wake up you ficking mook. Everybody's trying to f-ck everybody! Let's just hope they got the manners to smile in our faces before they do. | „ |
| ~ Jimmy Pegorino |
In 2008, Phil recommended Niko Bellic's services to Jimmy. He first ordered Niko to watch over a deal he was having with members of the Pavano Family. However, the deal was a trap, and Jimmy was nearly killed, while the tribute was stolen, to the great displeasure of the Don. Fortunately, Niko rescued Jimmy, and chased a group of remaining of the remaining thugs to get Jimmy's money back.
Later on, the police began to thoroughly investigate his "businesses", leading Jimmy to believe that several of his employees had become moles. This led Jimmy to threaten Niko with a shotgun, but he was eventually convinced that Anthony was the spy. Anthony, who was confirmed to be an informant, suffered a heart attack after talking with Jimmy over the phone, but survived and was hospitalized. Then, Jimmy ordered Anthony's death for his betrayal, despite Anthony's remorse.
Endings[]
In the game's finale, Jimmy orders Niko to take part in a heroin deal with Russian crime lord Dimitri Rascalov - also Niko's nemesis after Dimitri had betrayed Niko earlier on by teaming up with their acquaintance Ray Bulgarin to eliminate him to no avail. Despite being aware of Niko's feud with Dimitri, who merely plans to use his partnership with Pegorino to sell the heroin to Bulgarin in an extremely lucrative collusion, Pegorino still demands Niko to go through with the deal in exchange for a lot of money being rewarded in the end. Niko is unsure whether to comply and be paid or take his revenge, and his final decision is left to the player.
Deal[]
| “ | Dimitri, what's your problem?! Me and you's partners now! We're back on top! | „ |
| ~ Pegorino's last words before he gets killed by Dimitri in the latter's act of betrayal towards the former. |
Niko and Phil are betrayed by Dimitri, forcing them to fight through the warehouse and steal the money. Pegorino is very happy with the outcome of events, as his organization now finally has the power and reputation he desired and wishes Niko good luck when the latter cuts his ties. A hired assassin targeting Niko sent by Dimitri accidentally kills Niko's cousin Roman Bellic at the wedding - and is immediately counter-killed afterwards by Niko himself. Niko tracks down the duo with help from Little Jacob. When Niko confronts the duo after dispatching most of the gunmen, he sees Dimitri betraying Pegorino by saying that he "didn't work this hard to share the spoils of a victory". Dimitri then executes Pegorino, whose death would then be avenged when Niko subsequently chased down and eventually killed Dimitri on Happiness Island shortly afterwards.
Revenge[]
| “ | YOU F-CKING, DOUBLE-CROSSING, IMMIGRANT SH-T! | „ |
| ~ Pegorino attempting to kill Niko at Roman's wedding. |
Niko rebels and kills Dimitri on a ship known as the Platypus, ironically the same ship that Niko arrived to Liberty City on. Consequently, Pegorino ends up losing a lot of money and influence - which as a result has reduces his organization to nothing. He personally attempts to kill Niko at Roman and Mallorie's wedding in revenge, but accidentally kills Niko's girlfriend Kate McReary. Soon afterwards, Niko decides to hunt down Pegorino to finish things for good. He tracks him down with help from Roman and Little Jacob. After dispatching all of Pegorino's henchmen and then chasing Pegorino himself onto Happiness Island, Niko eventually shoots him down in a gunfight between them. As Pegorino collapses to the ground, Niko tells him that the Commission thought he was a "fat f***ing joke". As Niko begins to walk away, Pegorino raises his gun to try and kill Niko, only to be instantly killed when Niko shoots Pegorino in the head with an assault rifle.
Appearance[]
Jimmy Pegorino is an elderly man with grey hair and brown eyes. He usually wears brown jackets and trousers, and black shoes.
Personality[]
Jimmy can be considered a very arrogant individual with an incredibly inflated sense of self-worth, believing himself to be a "big player" within the Liberty City criminal underworld, even believing to be far more successful than his father, who founded the family. His arrogance fuels him to not take advice from others, even from his most trusted subordinates, such as Phil Bell. It also leads him to genuinely believe that he has control over his territory, claiming he "allows" the Pavano Crime Family to operate in Alderney without giving him a cut, despite the Pavanos being far more powerful and influential than his organization, and having no need to request his "permission" whatsoever. Furthermore, Jimmy is very disrespectful towards his own henchmen, often insulting and treating his personal bodyguard with disdain and mockery, even claiming to have often beat him several times over the years. Unlike other Mafia bosses, such as Jon Gravelli, who remain themselves without the need of a strong front, Jimmy tends to act tough in front of others and speak around in circles to make himself look smarter, although this rarely works as during his first meeting with Niko, the latter was clearly unimpressed with his antics. He's also incredibly naïve and gullible, setting up a meeting with the Pavanos to request a seat in The Commission with a "tribute", despite this very act making him and his entire organization look weak and pathetic due to the fact the meeting point was not only within Pegorino's own territory, but also in a very secluded area, making it perfectly clear that the Pavanos were intending to eliminate him from the start, and his ego had him subsequently believe The Commission would punish the Pavanos for committing this act, blindly unaware of their indifference towards it.
Like another Grand Theft Auto's famous character, Tommy Vercetti, Jimmy acts very temperamental, emotional, and clever. He is an authoritative chief who acts as a respected don: he enjoys drinks, young women and his magnificent luxury properties, including his cars and big mansion. He was also a rude, impudent, argumentative father, as he "beat [Anthony] like his son", though he used to display affection and tenderness towards him.
Despite proclaiming himself to be a successful "mob boss", Jimmy's leadership is incredibly dysfunctional and self-damaging to his organization; he openly discusses his organization's illegal businesses and actions inside his house, not caring or knowing about possible bugs planted by the LCPD, and often hires several "dumb muscle" off the streets without going through background checks to see whether they are informants or not, attributing to his constant troubles with the police, and shows very little concern about them, as Jimmy shrugged off Marco Bonnaro and Big Pete's deaths despite their unwavering loyalty to him. Jimmy also holds the Mafia's traditional rules to an incredibly high degree, refusing to promote Phil to a higher position due to his lineage being mostly Irish, out of fear that The Commission will look down upon them for it, despite them already doing so, in spite of Phil being one of his most trusted subordinates. While sticking through many of the Mafia's rules, Jimmy isn't above breaking them to suit his own needs, as When he discovered that his organization is being spied on, Jimmy became paranoid and began to no longer trust his entourage, including Anthony and Niko. This led the old patriarch to be much more threatening than accustomed, leading to him ordering Niko to kill most of associates including one of his highest-ranking subordinates, Ray Boccino and his guards, out of a mere suspicion of him being a traitor rather than having outright evidence, which goes against the Mafia's rules as they are only allowed to eliminate a subordinate by having concrete evidence of their betrayal.
Jimmy's life goal is to be accepted into the Commission. As such, he is willing to do anything in order to get a seat, including confronting another mafia, the Pavanos, and Dimitri's Bratva. This desperate quest in order to get recognition made him extremely prideful, obnoxious, and egotistical towards his relatives and family, especially his adopted son Anthony Corrado, though he has a certain sense of humor and charity. He is also exceptionally appreciative and thankful towards Niko, as the latter saved him from an assault from the Pavano family that nearly cost him his life.
His desperation to become recognized and respected by the Liberty City mob drove him to work with Dimitri Rascalov, who The Commission themselves despised and refused to work with due to Dimitri's well-known habit of betraying his business partners (with the exception of the Ancelotti Crime Family), with Jimmy naively believing his partnership with the Russian Mafia was one of mutual respect and loyalty. Even after not only Niko, but Phil, are betrayed during a possible deal with Dimitri, Jimmy shows little to no care about two of his most skilled subordinates risking their lives, only celebrating his newfound wealth and success, and later, standing by Dimitri as he betrays Niko, despite the latter having helped his organization several times. Jimmy's naivete and lack of judgment lead to his own downfall, as he himself is betrayed and killed by Dimitri. If Niko decided to kill Dimitri, therefore betraying Jimmy and resulting in Jimmy's organization being completely broke and powerless, he still believed himself to be a "big player" during his final moments, arrogantly claiming that "he gave the orders" even as Niko had him at gunpoint and telling Niko that "everything could have been gravy" if he would have worked with him. He is also quite hypocritical and self-righteous, as he told Niko that "your problem is you like killing too much", despite the fact that he personally killed many of his henchmen and even his own son. Niko's subsequent mockery of him caused his anger to skyrocket, as he refused to be made fun of, before being finally put out of his misery.
His favorite radio stations are Jazz Nation Radio 108.5 and Fusion FM, suggesting his favorite genre is Jazz, and he will respond positively if it is turned on in a car.
Trivia[]
- Jimmy Pegorino is the only person to be a major antagonist under the player's choice.
- Pegorino's gang are heavily inspired from The Sopranos, both are New Jersey Gang and they tried to work with New York Family. But there's a key difference, Pegorino inherit the family from his father, while The Boss of The Sopranos didn't inherit the family from his father, instead Tony inherits the family from his friend Jackie after he died, also The Sopranos are a Mafia Family, while The Pegorinos are just nothing but a glorified crew.
- Similarly to Ray Boccino and Phil Bell, he likes listening to jazz music.
- He may be based on Phil Leotardo from The Sopranos.
- Despite being the secondary antagonist of Grand Theft Auto IV, he doesn’t appear until the second half of the game.
- Because of the possibility of the Revenge ending being canon and with Dimitri being killed before the ending, this would make Jimmy Pegorino the first secondary antagonist in the Grand Theft Auto series to be the final boss of the game.
External Links[]
- Jimmy Pegorino on the Grand Theft Auto Wiki.
