Funny Coincidence & Possible Sopranos Reference in Dexter OS

In Episode 4 “Fender Bender”, one of the guys Dexter wants to kill named “Mad Dog” is described as a former Mafia member & hitman responsible for over 20+ murders originally based out of the East Coast, specifically the NY/NJ area, also being suspected of murders in other areas.

Funnily (and coincidentally) enough, the actor who plays Mad Dog is the same actor who plays Ralph “Ralphie” Cifaretto, a mafia capo in the famous Mob TV show “The Sopranos”.

I just thought that it could not have been a coincidence that he was casted to play Mad Dog knowing that he’s most well known for playing an extremely similar character in Sopranos. I imagine that this Mad Dog character is in fact Ralphie in a universe where Tony didn’t end up killing him

Also, it’s not explicitly mentioned in this post, but it’s heavily implied that Phil did 20 years in the can