He was.
His obit says that while he was in the ‘can’, a group of ex-cons who had formed an acting troupe came through and did a gig at the prison. He watched them and thought “Hey, I could do that!”
Paulie was Napoletan.
I was thinking of the time he mentioned “Sicilianos” to an Italian hooker and she corrected his pronunciation. But in response to the question of who would order so many hits, I’d say they’re the prime suspects, fer sure!