Jimmy Pegorino

James "Jimmy" Pegorino is a character in the Grand Theft Auto series who appears as the secondary antagonist of Grand Theft Auto IV. He is also mentioned in The Lost and Damned. Jimmy is the boss 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 is unable to get a seat on The Commission.

Early life
Jimmy Pegorino was born in Alderney City, Alderney. His father was the founder of the Pegorino Family, an Italian-American faction that was highly disrespected by all of the crime families from Liberty City. Pegorino was arrested for theft three times during the mid-1970s. At some point in his life, he married Angie, and they had a son together.

Taking control over the family
Eventually, Pegorino gained leadership over the Pegorino Family, and he desperately wanted to join The Commission, despite his organization being incredibly weak. He sought to impress the Commission by doing favours for them, such as allowing the Pavano Crime Family to operate in Alderney. Jimmy also thought it would be a good idea to anonymously weaken the Ancelotti Crime Family whilst improving his own, in order to prove that he is able to run a stable organization. He learned that a leader shouldn't place value on his employees until they either impress him (like Phil Bell) or, ironically, become a threat to him because of their greed (like Ray Boccino).

Pegorino's own 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.

Later life
"Wake up you fucking mook. Everybody's trying to fuck 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 Pegorino. He first had Niko watch over a deal he was having with members of the Pavano Family. The deal was a set-up, and Pegorino's personal bodyguards were killed by the Pavanos, and his tribute was stolen. Niko rescued Pegorino, and chased a group of remaining of the remaining thugs to get Pegorino's money back.

In retaliation to the Pavano's betrayal, Pegorino later sent Niko to follow a couple of Pavano mobsters to a crew meeting at the Auto Eroticar dealership and kill them all. Pegorino stated that they were going to war with the Pavanos.

Later on, the police began to thoroughly investigate his "businesses", leading Pegorino to believe that several of his employees had become police informants. Pegorino initially suspected Niko and threatened him with a shotgun, but was convinced otherwise and then ordered him to kill Anthony Corrado. Corrado, who was confirmed to have worn a wire, suffered a heart attack after talking with Pegorino over the phone, but survived and received police protection in the hospital until Niko eliminated him. Believing several other members had turned states, Pegorino ordered Niko to kill Ray Boccino.

Endings
In the game's finale, Jimmy orders Bellic to take part in a heroin deal with Niko's nemesis, Dimitri Rascalov, and was promised a vast sum of money. 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 the problem? Me and you is partners now. We're back on top."

- Jimmy before being killed by Dimitri.

Niko and Phil are betrayed by Dimitri, forcing them to fight through the warehouse and steal the money. Jimmy is very happy and wishes Niko good luck with the money. A hired assassin targeting Niko and sent by Dimitri accidentally kills Roman Bellic at the wedding (and is counter-killed). Niko tracks down the duo with the help of Little Jacob, right before Dimitri betrays and kills Jimmy, saying he "didn't work this hard to share the spoils of a victory". Dimitri is chased down and killed by Niko on Happiness Island soon after. Revenge= "You fucking double crossing immigrant shit!"

- Jimmy trying to kill Niko, but he accidentally kills Kate McReary

Niko rebels and kills Dimitri, Jimmy's organization becomes nothing. He personally attempts to kill Niko at Roman and Mallorie's wedding, but accidentally kills Kate McReary. Niko tracks down Jimmy with the help of Roman and Little Jacob. After chasing and shooting him down, Niko tells him that the Commission thought he was a "fat fucking joke". Niko begins to walk away, Jimmy raises his gun to try and kill Niko, but before he can Niko shoots Jimmy in the head with an Assault Rifle.

"The Commission - the Old Families - I know some of those guys. And they thought you were a fat fucking joke! A joke! Huh."

- Niko Bellic before killing Jimmy.

During the game's final battle in Out of Commission, Jimmy, just like Dimitri in A Revenger's Tragedy, has 100% body armor, as well as 200% health (about twice as much health as a normal enemy), allowing him to sustain about three times as much damage as a standard enemy. However, he is only equipped with a pistol (unlike Dimitri who has a Carbine Rifle).

Prominent Appearances in Missions
Deal Ending Revenge Ending
 * Grand Theft Auto IV
 * Pegorino's Pride (Boss)
 * Payback (Boss)
 * Flatline (Boss)
 * Pest Control (Boss)
 * That Special Someone (Post-mission phone call)
 * One Last Thing (Boss)
 * If the Price is Right (Boss; post-mission phone call)
 * A Revenger's Tragedy (Killed)
 * Mr and Mrs Bellic (Betrayal)
 * Out of Commission (Killed)

Murders Committed

 * Kate McReary - Murdered after Roman's wedding, though Niko was supposed to be killed instead. (only in Revenge ending)

Notable Murders Ordered by Pegorino

 * Anthony Corrado - Murdered by Niko Bellic at Westdyke Memorial Hospital following the revelation that he was a federal informant, as he was expected to testify against the Pegorino Family.
 * Ray Boccino - Murdered by Niko Bellic out of fear that he was a federal informant, and to send a message to his underlings.

Trivia

 * 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.
 * Jimmy Pegorino is the only person to be a major antagonist under the player's choice.
 * Pegorino and Ray Boccino also share the position of being the only secondary antagonists to become antagonists due to a choice made by the protagonist (Jimmy becomes an antagonist if Niko chooses to exact revenge on Dimitri instead of doing the deal, and Ray becomes an antagonist when Johnny steals his money in the mission Collector's Item).
 * Pegorino is possibly visually inspired from Phil Leotardo from The Sopranos, who was played by Frank Vincent, the voice actor for Salvatore Leone. His mannerisms are similar to Ralph Cifaretto, also from The Sopranos. He could also be based on Tony Soprano from The Sopranos, played by James Gandolfini, as he is the head of the Alderney mob (and Tony is, similarly, the head of the New Jersey mob), and just as Jimmy's father was the boss of the Pegorino crime family before his death, Tony's father ran the largest and most effective crew in the New Jersey mob and was most likely going to become the next boss before he died. The DiMeo/Soprano crime family, under Tony's rule, was also plagued by countless federal informants, while the Pegorino crime family was being weakened by law enforcement crackdowns (many of his men were incarcerated, as of Pest Control), and although Anthony Corrado was the only confirmed informant in the family (leading Jimmy to dispatch Niko to the hospital to turn off his life support), Jimmy ordered Niko to assassinate Ray Boccino in order to send a message to anyone else in the family who was thinking of ratting them out. Also, his wife, Angie Pegorino, is voiced by Sharon Angela who portrays Rosalie Aprile, the widow of ex-acting boss of the DiMeo family, Jackie Aprile, Sr., in The Sopranos.
 * Pegorino is one of only three characters to appear in both final missions of GTA IV, the others being Niko Bellic (as he is the protagonist) and Little Jacob.
 * Pegorino is one of the two antagonists to be killed in both endings (the other being Dimitri Rascalov).
 * However, he is the only antagonist to be killed in both final missions, because in the Revenge ending, Dimitri was killed in A Dish Served Cold.
 * In the final missions, if you choose the "Deal" ending, Dimitri kills Pegorino by shooting him in the head with a pistol, and if you choose the "Revenge" ending, Niko kills Pegorino by also shooting him in the forehead, but with an AK-47. Based on the player's choice, Pegorino will be killed by either the main antagonist or the main protagonist.
 * In the Deal ending, Pegorino is killed by Dimitri Rascalov, making him one of the only four antagonists to be killed by another antagonist. Miguel is killed (off-screen) by Catalina, Ricardo Diaz is killed by Lance Vance (with the help of Tommy Vercetti) and Jimmy Hernandez is killed by Eddie Pulaski.
 * Inside the game files there is an unused suit of Pegorino, consisting of darker brown pants and a greenish-brown blazer with a grey dress shirt.
 * In Pegorino's office, a photo can be seen of a UFC fighter that resembles Pegorino.
 * In the second dialogue for Pegorino's Pride, Pegorino states he would not leave his wife Angie because she is the mother of his children, implying he has more than one child.
 * Pegorino has some similarities to Salvatore Leone, as both are bosses of a major Liberty City crime family (in differing universes of course), both are killed by the protagonist (Revenge only for Pegorino), both of them have a son (though Pegorino's is unseen due to having committed suicide prior to GTA IV), both have become very paranoid, and both betray the protagonist in some way.

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