Proposition Joe

Joseph Stewart, better known as "Proposition Joe" or "Prop Joe", is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Robert F. Chew. Joe was an Eastside drug lord who preferred a peaceful solution to business disputes when possible. He was responsible for creating the lucrative New Day Co-Op with Stringer Bell, supplying much of Baltimore with heroin brought into the city by "The Greeks". Joe was a portly and amiable presence, but was often a match in wits for rival drug lords Avon Barksdale and Marlo Stanfield, and was able to manipulate most situations to his advantage. His nickname stemmed from his trademark phrase "I've got a proposition for you", going back to his days selling test answers on the school yard. Along with Poot Carr, Wee-Bey Brice, Omar Little, and Bubbles, he is one of the few characters from the drug trade to appear in every season.

Biography

Season one

Joe first appears at an annual basketball game, the Eastside Projects' team versus the Westside Projects. Joe plays on Avon Barksdale's pride, goading him into doubling their wager on the outcome, then bringing in a ringer at the last minute to win the game. That same day, he is visited by stick-up-man Omar Little, who gives Joe some of the Barksdale Organization's stolen narcotics in exchange for Barksdale's pager number. Omar uses the information in an unsuccessful attempt on Barksdale's life but Joe's role in Omar's attack is never revealed to Barksdale. Joe later serves as a neutral go-between, organizing a meeting between Barksdale's business partner Stringer Bell and Omar to discuss a truce.