The Sopranos episode
"Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood"
Episode №	Season 3 Episode 27
Guest star(s)	see below
Writer(s)	David Chase
Director	Allen Coulter
Production №	302
Airdate	March 4, 2001 (HBO)
Episode chronology
Previous episode	"Funhouse"
Next episode	"Proshai, Livushka"

"Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood" is the 27th episode of the HBO original series, The Sopranos. It was the first episode for the show's third season. The episode was written by David Chase and was directed by Allen Coulter. It originally aired on Sunday March 4, 2001. The Sopranos is an American television drama broadcast on HBO about a Mafia family in Northern New Jersey. ... TV Show Reference Episode is the word usually used to refer to a part of a serial television or radio program. ... Image File history File links Sopranos_ep301. ... David Chase (born David DeCesare August 22, 1945 in Mount Vernon, New York) is an American television writer, director and producer . ... Allen Coulter is the director of a number of successful television programs. ... March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... HBO logo HBO (Home Box Office) is a premium cable television network. ... The Sopranos title screen This is an episode list for the HBO crime drama The Sopranos. ... HBO logo HBO (Home Box Office) is a premium cable television network. ... The Sopranos is an American television drama broadcast on HBO about a Mafia family in Northern New Jersey. ... David Chase (born David DeCesare August 22, 1945 in Mount Vernon, New York) is an American television writer, director and producer . ... Allen Coulter is the director of a number of successful television programs. ... March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

Guest Starring roles

• Jerry Adler as Hesh Rabkin
• Saundra Santiago as Jeannie Cusamano
• Frank Pellegrino as Bureau Chief Frank Cubitoso
• Louis Lombardi as Agent Skip Lipari
• Matt Servitto as Agent Harris
• Frank Pando as Agent Grasso
• Michele DeCesare as Hunter Scangarelo
• Dan Grimaldi as Patsy Parisi
• Robert Funaro as Eugene Pontecorvo
• John Fiore as Gigi Cestone

Saundra Santiago (born April 13, 1957 in The Bronx, New York) is an American actress, best known for her role as Detective Gina Calabrese on the 1980s TV show Miami Vice. ... Raos Restaurant was founded in 1896 in East Harlem, New York City. ... Louis Lombardi is an American actor. ... Dan Grimaldi is an Italian-American actor who is most well-known for his role as Patsy Parisi on the HBO TV series, The Sopranos. ...

Episode recap

After the FBI loses another informant, Agent Lipari recalls that Tony takes his associates down to his basement to discuss private matters. If the FBI were to obtain a search warrant, they would be able to keep a high level of surveillance on the Soprano home. Agent Cubitoso and Harris go to obtain the court order but are warned by the judge not to linger there for too long. When the Sopranos leave for their activities or daily habits and the maid at lunch, the FBI then break into the Soprano home to look around. They discover in the basement a lamp which could serve as a decoy for a hidden microphone. They then hurry and plan to come back tomorrow to plant the device. The following day, they plant the new lamp and quickly leave before the maid arrives back from lunch.

Meanwhile, Meadow is adjusting to life at Columbia University where she meets her very energetic but homesick roommate, Caitlin. AJ is cutting classes to smoke cigarettes with friends. Carmela begins taking tennis lessons with Adriana. She is soon upset when she discovers the coach she had expected is moving away and has been replaced with a woman who has more of an interest in Adriana. Columbia University is a private university in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City and a member of the Ivy League. ...

Tony is still running the DiMeo crime family and is concerned about a possible garbage war involving his company, Barone Sanitation. He then gathers with his friends at Satriale's where he finds a still distraught Patsy Parisi mourning over his deceased twin brother. Tony acts as if he does not know what actually happened but Patsy knows Tony had something to do with it. The following day while the FBI watches, Patsy aims a gun at Tony from the pool patio. He then puts the gun down and pees in the pool instead.

The Sopranos are soon shocked when their water heater explodes and the basement is flooded. They are then forced to gather old relics and boxes before they are destroyed by the water. Tony then calls on Mr. Ruggerio to ask him to fix the mess.

Trivia

• Although this episode aired first, "Proshai, Livushka" was the first to be shot.
• The episode was part one of a two-hour season premiere when it originally aired in 2001.

Title reference

• Mr. Ruggerio is the neighborhood plumber in Tony's area.
• Like Tony in this episode, real-life Mafioso Angelo Ruggiero had his house bugged by the FBI, yielding crucial evidence that lead to the indictment of John Gotti.