Known as the unofficial "Mayor of Little Italy" in New York City, actor Vinny Vella is well known among ganagster movie  fans. Born in New York City, he has acted in over 40 films usually portraying gangster characters and street toughs and is best known for his role as Artie Piscano in the hit film Casino, directed by Martin Scorsese. InCasino, he acted with Marty's mother for one of the most memorable scenes in the movie. The scene was later documented by Lesley Stahl  on 60 Minutes with both Marty and Vinny discussing how it played out. He has appeared in over 35 commercials from Sprint to ESPN. A documentary called, "Hey Vinny" featured an interesting look at his life.

 

Vinny played the character Jimmy Petrile inthe HBO hit show "the Sopranos". He also  produces his own public access show called, "Tell It Like It Is" and continues to appear in movies and shows. Some of his credits include: Casino, Ghost Dog, Wannabes, Kissing Jessica Stein, Analyse That, Coffee and Cigarettes, This Thing of Ours, The Kings of Brooklyn, Law and Order, The Sopranos, Find Me Guilty, Blood Money, New York Blood, Sicilian Tale, Holla at Me and Kill the Irishman.

 

In addition to Vinny's continued work in the movie industry he is in the process of launching his own branded products with the first product being a Merlot Wine that will be launching later this year.