5 Reasons General Hospital’s Sonny May Find It Impossible to Leave the Mob

In a surprising turn of events, General Hospital premiere mob boss, Sonny Corinthos, announced his retirement from the crime world. While this followed the departure of his trusted righthand-man, Jason Morgan, Sonny’s brother, Ric Lansing, was displeased with this decision.

However, Sonny had been considering this move since last year. At the time, he and Jason discussed contemplated a clean break, butt refrained from taking the step to fight back rival mobster Jenz Sidwell’s atrocious strikes on Port Charles. Whether Sonny and his loved ones accept this change remains to be seen.

5 Things That Could Keep Sonny in the Mob World

1) Need to protect loved ones

General Hospital's Sonny wants to protect his loved ones | Image: ABC

The most logical explanation for Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) retaining his mob boss title is the need to protect his family and friends. That includes his former wife, Carly Spencer (Laura Wright), and their daughter, Donna (Scarlett Spears). His mob connections also keep his children and grandchildren safe, as well as his friend, Mayor Laura Collins (Genie Francis).

Sonny may work out that his enemies may attack his family as soon as they learn about his retirement and gauge him weak. Moreover, other rival mobsters may plan to hurt him by targeting his loved ones before eliminating him.

2) No legal immunity for past crimes

Sonny could find himself in trouble | Image: ABC

Just because Sonny retires from the mob, that doesn't mean he isn't liable for past cimes. The DA’s office, PCPD, FBI and WSB may join hands to bring him to justice.

Justine may not want to prosecute the man she has fallen for, but she could hand multiple cases off to other people. Sonny may find himself in more legal trouble outside the mob than in the mob.

3) Power struggle and turf wars

Sonny is starting a new beginning | Image: ABC

To date, Sonny held the central power in Port Charles keeping a balance between the needs of Port Charles citizens from external terror organizations. Port Charles functions smoothly with a balance of powers which include the law enforcers, Sonny’s organization, other influential families and the administrative offices such as the mayor. If Sonny suddenly dissolves his organization, there may be a vacuum to fill.

In this scenario, rival families may rush in to fill the power gap. More than one criminal organization may move in to seize control of Sonny’s territory, leading to turf wars. That may bring violence and chaos to the streets of Sonny’s beloved Port Charles. To save his town from blood on the streets, Sonny may return to assume the power as he did before.

4) Battle over assets and lack of an heir

General Hospital's Sonny with his on-screen daughter, Kristina | Image: ABC

Under Sidwell’s push and Congressman Drew Cain’s (Cameron Mathison) pressure, the town of Port Charles was ready to pass the Measure C bill against Sonny’s piers. Sidwell manipulated Sonny and Laura to capture some of his piers. With Sidwell gone, Sonny’s can get his piers back for legal business. However, if he moves away, much of his assets may be up for the grabs and may end up in wrong hands.

Moreover, Sonny has built his empire over many decades. He may not want to watch it tumbling into ruins. However, he lacks a proper heir to handover his legacy. Unfortunately, Michael Corinthos (Rory Gibson) has his own businesses to oversee, Kristina Corinthos (Kate Mansi) is away studying medicine and Donna is too young. With Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) choosing to walk away, all options for an heir are gone. As such, Sonny may consider holding on a little longer till he has another choice coming up.

5) Tough competition in corporate world

Sonny will face competition from Drew and Valentin on General Hospital | Image: ABC

Sonny may find out that the civilian corporate world functions very differently than the mob world as he faces resistance from other cutthroat corporate men like Drew Cain and the Quartermaines. He may also find Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Staurt) eyeing some of Sidwell's legal businesses. If Sonny fails to preserve his assets in a legitimate way, he may need to resort to the mob power to maintain his high-stakes leverage in town. That may find the retired Sonny going back to the underworld.