The way i always took the North Jersey line was that Tonys crew ran North Jersey. Now i know nothing about Jersey but didn't the family run the whole of Jersey ?
No, the Soprano family - like the real life DeCavalcantes - were active in North Jersey. In the first episode, when Junior says Tony "may run North Jersey," that essentially meant he was running the entire family. You'll recall in season 3, when Paulie and Chris get lost down in the South Jersey woods. Atlantic City aside, it was almost like a foreign country to them.
