I do not believe it was specifically spelled out, but Johnny Boy was likely a capo. Paulie and Pussy rolled up through Johnny Boy and supported Tony moving into the capo role after Johnny Boy's death from emphysema.

A couple things on the "never reached the heights" comment by Tony in the pilot:

- There are several continuity errors in the pilot as compared to events throughout the series. With the pilot being shot almost two years before the series debuted, I tend to discount minor details and discrepancies.

"I think about my father. He never reached heights like me. But in a lot of ways, he had it better. He had his people. They had their standards. They had pride. Today, what do we got?"

- Tony's comment is in a voiceover as the camera pans the elaborate suburban house. Contrast that with the house that Livia was in. He's talking about material wealth and how the "family" had lost its core - family, pride, honor - in lieu of materialism.