Fans of General Hospital have always been accustomed to mafia-related storylines.  Soon, however, the show is bringing in some big names from the organized crime circuit.  According to Soapcentral.com, Vincent Pastore has signed on to join the long-running soap as a mob boss.

Best known for his stint on HBO's award-winning series The Sopranos, Pastore returns to his mob roots after years of portraying Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero.  On General Hospital, he'll be playing the character named Maximus Giambetti, a big-time mob boss who is frustrated to learn that his firstborn son, Max, is not following in his footsteps. Apparently, the younger Max is presently a bodyguard for a mob boss instead of actually being a mob boss.

Prior to The Sopranos, where he played his biggest role to date, Pastore made a career of playing the parts of Italian-American mobsters.  He started with cameo appearances in GoodFellas and Carlito's Way and eventually landed a more substantial role as one of the three gangsters in the comedy crime film The Jerky Boys.  In the 1996, he was cast in the HBO TV movie Gotti, where he played the character of Angelo Ruggiero, alongside fellow Sopranos cast members Tony Sirico and Dominic Chianese.

In addition to General Hospital, Pastore has also been cast in a series of upcoming films such as Shoot Out of Luck, Return to Sleepaway Camp and Pizza with Bullets.

Meanwhile, the addition of Pastore to General Hospital would seemingly extinguish rumors that the soap is preparing to steer away from its mob-infused storylines given that some fans have criticized the drama's dark and violent plots.  Despite of this, the ABC program has repeatedly earned top honors at the Daytime Emmys.

Pastore's first airdate on General Hospital has not yet been revealed by ABC but the network disclosed that it will come sometime during the month of October and that Pastore's role is recurring.


-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Soapcentral.com
(Image courtesy of HBO)