The Sopranos episode
"Bust Out"
Episode No.	Season 2 Episode 23
Guest star(s)	see below
Writer(s)	Frank Renzulli and Robin Green & Mitchell Burgess
Director	John Patterson
Production No.	210
Airdate	March 19, 2000
Episode chronology
Index	Episode chronology
Previous	"From Where to Eternity"
Next	"House Arrest"

"Bust Out" is the 23rd episode of the HBO original series, The Sopranos. It was the tenth episode for the show's second season. The episode was written by Frank Renzulli and Robin Green & Mitchell Burgess and directed by John Patterson. It originally aired on Sunday March 19, 2000. The Sopranos is an American television drama broadcast on HBO about a fictional Mafia family in Northern New Jersey. ... Image File history File links Ep23_scatino. ... Frank Renzulli (February, 21, 1958 is an American film actor, writer and producer. ... Robin Green is an executive producer for the HBO series, The Sopranos and has been with the show since its first season. ... Mitchell Burgess is a writer and producer, for television shows such as The Sopranos and Mr. ... John Tiffin Patterson (April 4, 1940 - February 7, 2005) was a television and film director. ... March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ... This article is about the year 2000. ... The Sopranos title screen This is an episode list for the HBO crime drama The Sopranos. ... From Where to Eternity is the 22nd episode of the HBO original series, The Sopranos. ... HBO (Home Box Office) is a premium cable television network with headquarters in New York City. ... The Sopranos is an American television drama broadcast on HBO about a fictional Mafia family in Northern New Jersey. ... Frank Renzulli (February, 21, 1958 is an American film actor, writer and producer. ... Robin Green is an executive producer for the HBO series, The Sopranos and has been with the show since its first season. ... Mitchell Burgess is a writer and producer, for television shows such as The Sopranos and Mr. ... John Tiffin Patterson (April 4, 1940 - February 7, 2005) was a television and film director. ... March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

Guest Starring roles

• Lillo Brancato Jr. as Matthew Bevilaqua
• Robert Patrick as David Scatino
• John Ventimiglia as Artie Bucco
• Joe Penny as Lou Musto
• David Marguiles as Neil Mink
• Paul Herman as Beansie Gaeta

Lillo Brancato as Matthew Bevilaqua Lillo Brancato Jr. ... Robert Patrick as the T-1000, in Terminator 2: Judgment Day Robert Patrick (born November 5, 1958 in Marietta, Georgia, USA) is an American actor. ... John Ventimiglia (born July 17, 1968 in Ridgewood,Queens, New York) is an Italian American actor, most famous for his role as Artie Bucco, on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. ... Joe Penny is an actor who was born on June 24, 1956 in London, England, UK. He is known for his role as Nick Ryder in the detective series Riptide from 1984 to 1986, and his role as Jake Styles in the series Jake and the Fatman from 1987 to...

Episode recap

The police locate an eyewitness to the Bevilaqua killing who identifies Tony from a book of suspect photos. He didn’t get a good look at Pussy, but describes the second man as "heavy-set". Tony is panicked when word of the case reaches him, and he makes plans to flee until the witness can be identified and dealt with, giving a sports bag full of cash to his lawyer, Neil Mink, to provide for his family. Luckily for Tony, the witness realises via a newspaper article that the murder relates to the Mafia and not a drug-related dispute as the detectives had let him believe, and urgently contacts the police department to retract his statement.

Tony and Richie squeeze money out of Davey's store, ordering bottled water, coolers, airline tickets and sneakers on the store’s credit and selling the stuff on the street. They inform Davey the acts will continue unless he is able to pay the money he owes them.

Unhappy with the cut he is getting from Davey’s store and the deal he has with Barone Sanitation, Richie discusses with Junior the possibility of getting rid of Tony. When Junior admonishes him, Richie reminds him of Junior’s plan to kill Tony the previous year.

Title reference

• A "bust out" is a common tactic in the organized crime world where a business's assets and lines of credit are exploited and exhausted to the point of bankruptcy. Richie and Tony profit from busting out Davey Scatino's sporting goods store in this episode.

Trivia

• When asked by Davey why he let him get into debt, Tony tells him it was because he knew he had the store and other assets he could take, and instinctively saw an opportunity for profit. In a similar situation with Artie in Season Four, Tony reacts angrily when Artie accuses him of that line of thinking.
• The song playing at the end of the episode is "Wheel In The Sky" by Journey.