Sonny believed that people who fought in the military were "saps" because they risk their lives for strangers, and that "Your country ain't your blood."Īt that same birthday celebration, Sonny would introduce his sister Connie to his friend Carlo Rizzi. His devotion to his father earned his nickname, Sonny, as could be seen when he attacked Michael for deciding to tell their father that he had enlisted in the Marines and dropped out of college on their father's birthday in 1941. Unusually, his infidelities did not trouble his wife, who was scared of making love due to Sonny's large "appendage". He was a kind and loving father, and a good (but unfaithful) husband. In 1935, Sonny married Sandra, a young Italian immigrant, and they had four children, twin girls Francesca and Kathryn, and two sons Santino, Jr. Sonny at the surprise birthday party for Vito. Though he had his apprehensions about his quick-tempered son, Vito planned for Sonny to eventually take over the family business.įamily Life " Did you go to college to get stupid?" ―Sonny to Michael Vito summarily impressed upon Sonny that he must be "the rapier, not the club". Vito used the situation as a test for Sonny, but was displeased with the result his eldest son had the workmen beaten before forcing them to repair the damage. Upon arriving at their new home in Long Beach, the Corleones fell victim to a group of conmen, who attempted to force Vito to pay to have them fix the boiler. Soon afterwards, he became a caporegime in his father's family. Like Julius Caesar or Napoleon, he was able to take block after city block with relative ease, gaining a reputation as one of the most brutal and vicious leaders and executioners in the eastern underworld, overshadowed only by his father's brutal personal hitman Luca Brasi. With his father in the hospital, Sonny formed his own crew and took to the streets, showing his hidden genius for urban warfare. Sonny's talent for the business was revealed when he dealt with Irish thugs during the Pacification of New York. Genco Abbandando originally placed Sonny as a bodyguard for his father, more so that the Don could instruct his son personally, often looking and sounding like a college professor during a lecture.
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Clemenza taught Sonny how to shoot and use a garrote wire, but was disappointed when Sonny preferred using the gun. Vito knew that Sonny really wanted to learn the family business, and sent him to Clemenza for training. Though Vito pleaded with him to finish school and get a legitimate job, Sonny insisted that he wanted to "sell olive oil".
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Unfortunately, Sonny revealed, how he had seen Fanucci's murder and Vito was helpless to protest for fear he would seem a hypocrite. His godfather, Peter Clemenza, had brought the matter to Vito, and Vito was far less than pleased. Sonny was officially brought into his father's world of crime at the age of 16 after a botched liquor store robbery. When he was 10, he met a homeless boy, Tom Hagen, who he convinced his father to let live with the family.Īs a child, Sonny witnessed his father murder Don Fanucci, making Sonny's descent into the world of organized crime inevitable. Sonny, however, is not without a softer side. It was he, who was supposed to head the family business after the death of Vito. Sonny was the oldest, most impulsive and violent of Vito's sons and, before Michael's rise to power, the most involved in the Corleone crime family.