Chase said that the show was structurally based on the Bioardo NJ crew.
Most of the criminal activity and Jersey mob related stuff, but Chase has also said that he believes Goodfellas is the king of mob movies/tv, etc, and was very influential in rounding out the Sopranos characters.
Here's the HBO documentary about the Genovese crew in New Jersey, from the '80s.
"...the successful annihilation of organized crime's subculture in America would rock the 'legitimate' world's foundation, which would ultimately force fundamental social changes and redistributions of wealth and power in this country. Meyer Lansky's dream was to bond the two worlds together so that one could not survive without the other." - Dan E. Moldea
