Thats a wikipedia claim. I know that it's popular to think these characters were based on real people. But David Chase himself never confirmed that. There's an article quoting Chase supposedly claiming the Sopranos were based on the Boiardo's, with the article alluding to Tony Soprano being based on Tony Boy Boiardo. And an article claiming Chase said it was based on the Sopranos. Chase himself never really confirmed this, other than saying "this was based on people I knew as a kid".