Toni Cipriani

Antonio "Toni" Cipriani
'Grand Theft Auto' character
Toni Cipriani as depicted in Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories. Toni Cipriani, as depicted in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.
First game	Grand Theft Auto III (2001)

Antonio "Toni" Cipriani is a fictional character in the Grand Theft Auto video game series. He appeared in Grand Theft Auto III (GTA III) as a non-player character, and the playable protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (GTA:LCS). Toni is the Caporegime of the Leone family of the Liberty City Mafia, working directly for Don Salvatore Leone. Toni lives in Liberty City, and has a mother, Momma Cipriani (known also as Ma Cipriani in GTA:LCS). Toni's complete first name, Antonio, was not suggested until GTA:LCS. Toni is also called Anthony on some occasions.His mother is from Florence(mentionned in GTA III) and her father is Sicilian-American(mentionned in GTA Liberty City Stories).

Toni Cipriani was voiced by Michael Madsen in GTA III and voiced by Danny Mastrogiorgio in GTA:LCS.

Role

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

Toni's first chronological appearance was in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Toni Cipriani assumes the role of the playable character and protagonist of the game. GTA:LCS explores Toni's history and exploits in 1998 Liberty City, three years prior to events in GTA III.

Toni Cipriani left Liberty City for several years and kept a low profile after killing a "made man" for Don Salvatore Leone. He finally returned to the city in 1998, ready to continue his life of organized crime. Toni is given jobs by a grateful Salvatore Leone, but because he was out of town for so many years, other members of the Leone family have had the time to move up in the hierarchy. Salvatore was forced to strip Toni of his rank and give the position to Vincenzo Cilli during his leave of absence. Toni now finds himself as a mere low-ranking member of the organization, that has to once again gain favor with the Don, in order to secure a leadership position in the Leone family.

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Toni Cipriani as he escorts Toshiko Kasen into an opera house in Liberty City Stories. Toni is depicted in the game to be much thinner than his depiction in GTA III, which takes place three years later.

Much of his efforts in achieving this goal include battling two other Mafia Families (the Forelli family and the Sindacco family) via several means, allowing him to be "made" halfway through the storyline. Later, he fought the Liberty City Yakuza on orders from Toshiko Kasen, and finally the Sicilian Mafia, which Caporegime Massimo Torini intended to use to wipe out the Liberty City Mafia families with and assume control of their territories. With Massimo successfully killed by Toni, the Leone family are assured to control Liberty City, with Mayor Miles O'Donovan under the Leone family's influence. However, this victory is fleeting and in only a matter of years his work will be undone by Claude.

Toni's behavior in scenes of the game suggest that he is very loyal but is very easy to irritate (of course, this may be in part of that he is surrounded by such strange people, for instance, Vincenzo Cilli, Maria, JD O'Toole or Donald Love).

Grand Theft Auto III

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Toni as depicted in Grand Theft Auto III is depicted in game as being fatter and having aged significantly, in comparison to his younger self in Liberty City Stories.

In Grand Theft Auto III, Claude, the game's player character, is introduced to Toni Cipriani by Salvatore Leone's son, Joey Leone, who indicates Toni's position as a Caporegime for Salvatore Leone. Early missions with Cipriani were primarily focused on extorting protection money from a Triad-controlled laundromat, by destroying several of the business's delivery trucks. Coupled with a Triad attack during the transportation of the family's high-ranked members to one of Don Salvatore's meetings, a full-blown war between the Leone family and the Triads occurred, and Claude was now an enemy to the Triads. The war led to the destruction of the Triads' Fish Factory, with Toni instructing Claude to deliver a garbage truck armed with a bomb to the factory.

Toni lives with his mother, Momma Cipriani, and is frequently seen in his family-run restaurant, Momma's Restaurante (or Cipriani's Ristorante, as seen in its sign at the restaurant), providing jobs for Claude. The constant nagging from his mother about him not being able to match up with his father and failing to meet up to her expectations had forced him to call the local chat radio station, Chatterbox FM, and complain about his mother's constant bickering.

Physical appearance

In Liberty City Stories, Toni is significantly thinner than GTA III's depiction; this is commented or criticized by his mother, Maria and Salvatore Leone, with his mother and Salvatore in particular commenting about him not being fed well. By GTA III, Toni is fatter and has aged considerably in the years that have passed between GTA:LCS and GTA III, this is possibly because Toni had become fed up of being called thin, or simply takes advantage of his position in the Leone family (no longer performing jobs and instead giving orders himself).

Relation to Tony Soprano

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Tony Soprano, a character with similarities to Toni Cipriani.

Toni Cipriani is likely a parody of Tony Soprano, the main character from The Sopranos. Aside from their names and top ranking positions within Mafia Families, both characters also share ongoing problems with their mothers, who also ordered hits on them (Cipriani would face this predicament in GTA:LCS). Additionally, both Cipriani and Soprano were shown to be considerably more physically fit and healthy in their youth, before aging putting on weight in their "present day" iterations.