Paul was born in Italy, but emigrated with his family to New York in 1903.
When his father died of the flu in 1909, Paul took on any job that was available and eventually fell into the hands of the Giovanni, who sent him to law school because of his ability to negotiate. Stephano Giovanni found out that Paul was a distant cousin of his, and when Paul was already married and had started a family, Stephano gave him a brotherly kiss and, shortly afterwards, the kiss.
Paul suffers from impulses to give the kiss to his family as well so that they stay the same, but refrains from doing so because it would be cruel to his children. He only gave the kiss to his niece Susanna. He also harbors a grudge against the Giovannis because they did not tell him about the possibility of the kiss before his wife died of cancer in 1927.