The Many Saints of Newark, The Sopranos prequel, has grabbed the headlines, but Nick Dessipris said he knows the real story about the mob in Newark because he lived it through the diner operated by his father, Dimitri, the business being a front for gangsters.

His mother came from Puerto Rico and Dessipris told EIN Presswire he remembers the 1967 race riots and how the mob had a hold on the city, turning that into a TV show called Nicky Newark.

Casting is underway and the show will be shot in the city and feature an 8-year-old version of himself as well as Dimitri, a wise old cook, Lloyd, an African American WWII veteran who is Dimitri’s trusted friend, and Cookie, a callous mobster who operates there.

Director Hezues R said, “we have an opportunity to see an unforgiving reality through the innocence of a child’s eyes-as his father attempts to justify his exploits. I want to paint a picture of pain that takes us deeper into the soul of violence, to give us a better understanding of how little Nicky overcame the challenges of his environment.”