Mob Wives

Our first post on "Mob Wives," which was published on Monday, April 18, 2011, went viral due to the fact that the New York Daily News ran our blog feed on a web page the newspaper had dedicated to the Mafia (to our dismay the News pulled the plug on that page a couple months later). We have kept reporting on the show ever since writing that first story:

Cast Named for VH1's 'Mob Wives' Reality Show: "VH1 has picked up "Mob Wives," a new reality series created by Jennifer Graziano, a daughter of Bonanno capo Anthony (T.G.) Graziano (according to Reality Wives). This is Ms. Graziano's first producer/writer credit, according to IMDB.com. The cast list, as indicated on Bourgy (a website that follows reality shows), is Renee Graziano (another daughter of Anthony Graziano?), Drita D’Avanzo (wife of Lee D’Avanzo), Carla Facciolo (wife of Joey Ferragamo) and Karen Gravano (daughter of Sammy “The Bull” Gravano)."

Today, not much news in that story, from today's POV -- but in a shameless self-promotion we need to point out our remarkably prescient observation written way back then:

Find Here: Top "Mob Wives" stories from this blog:

"A little nugget we dug up about one of the "mobsters," which, if true, should make for a bit more interesting show: The New York Daily News reported that Lee D’Avanzo was romantically linked to the daughter of Sammy "Bull" Gravano, who, along with her brother, pleaded guilty to their role in the operation set up by their father that peddled drugs to kids.) "

Also of note: Renee's ex-husband, Hector "Junior" Pagan, also is a figure we have written plenty of verbiage about. In season five, though he's not been on the show in years, his past actions are fueling some of Mob Wives' most recent drama.

As we reported in one recent story, Brooklyn Federal Judge John Gleeson doled out to Hector "Junior" Pagan an 11-year prison term for a criminal career overflowing with drug dealing and the violence of armed robberies and kidnapping.



Pagan was the shooter who killed Luchese associate James Donovan during a street heist for which two of Pagan's former cohorts have gone away for 36 years each, due in part to Pagan's own testimony.

Are Some Mob Wives Turning on Each Other?: "Since I hyped a story about Big Ang's daughter, I feel it's only fair to balance the scales by alerting you all to this story, which says that the story was actually a complete fabrication deliberately spread by Renee Graziano and Carla Murino... [By the way one of the linked stories mentions that Ramona Rizzo ended it with her fiancé, presumably based on the fact he'll be in the joint for the next 15 years for dealing cocaine. Drugs are the last surefire way any mobster with balls enough can still get wealthy. A commodity requiring no advertising with a huge markup! Easier than skimming from unions, I guess. Even easier than loansharking. Just gotta watch you don't get caught.]"

DiMichele's 'Mob Wives' Salary Revealed by Prosecutors: "Alicia DiMichele, who is to be sentenced tomorrow for her role in a Colombo crime family-related embezzlement scam, earns $8,000 per episode of "Mob Wives," for a total of $96,000. That is according to papers prosecutors filed in Brooklyn federal court last Friday. DiMichele is, in fact, so flush from her earnings from "Mob Wives" and her two Philadelphia boutique stories that she faces a hefty fine of up to $116,000  for embezzling $40,000 from a trucking company, according to prosecutors."

Unflattering View of "Mob Wives" Appeared in Federal Court: ""[That show] is scripted and edited like any other [show], with scenes and lines taken out of context for dramatic effect." "In reality the show is about a group of women, loosely connected by their so-called affiliation with organized crime, arguing and fighting amongst themselves over petty grievances for the viewing pleasure of people who have no lives of their own." "The sad fact of 21st century life is that people will pay large sums of money to produce shows of this nature, which pander to the basest instincts of a society growing less intelligent by the day." Those are just a few salient points made about the reality show "Mob Wives" by John Wallenstein, attorney for Alicia DiMichele, in a statement filed in Brooklyn federal court last week when DiMichele presented herself before the judge for sentencing. Wallenstein, like any good advocate, is trying to get his client the best deal possible."

Bull Victim's Son Prompts 'Mob Wives' Reboot: Karen Gravano: "Alicia DiMichele, who was formerly married to a Colombo associate, will star on the show "Mob Wives" when it debuts -- with DiMichele and another Philadelphia mob wife replacing Karen Gravano, Ramona Rizzo and Carla Facciolo. (And to think of all the fuss made over the Love Majewski firing...) Not exactly breaking news, we know, but what is interesting is some other information that Jerry broke on his Gangland site last week."

Top 10 Likely Reasons Love's Leaving 'Mob Wives': "Well, Love Majewski is no longer on "Mob Wives," it seems. Unless there is an elaborate hoax going on, the season three finale is Love's swan song on the show. She's been fired and based on tweets I have seen flowing on Twitter from the lady herself it would seem there is some sort of non-disclosure agreement which would prevent her from discussing too much about the split publicly... Still, this has become a social media event, as has so much of "Mob Wives"... "

For the Sins of the Daughters...: "REVISED: Mob Wives Chicago was cancelled for a variety of reasons, foremost among them the cast members' lack of credible ties to the mob -- or the Outfit, the name by which the organized crime entity is better known in the Windy City. Carla and soon-to-be-former husband. It could be argued that really only one Chicago mob wife, Nora, had legit ties -- primarily through her deceased former-hit man father. The bottom line: None of the other women were mob wives in that they were not married or otherwise related to bona fide members of the Outfit (which says a lot about the Outfit, and how seriously even its women honor old-world codes)."

Click the following links for:
Philadelphia Mob Wives Page We love the new additions to "Mob Wives" -- namely, Alicia DiMichelle and Natalie Guercio, which doesn't mean we don't still love some of our New York Mob Wives... We know we've been hard on Alicia, but we can't let our biases influence our reporting. Yes, we love her, too -- a young mother faced with the possibility of going off to prison (minute as it is) is heartbreaking... And  Natalie...what can I say already about this cool, heart-stoppingly lovely lady? Click about link to find out... 
Renee Graziano Page Big Renee fan, are you? We figure either that -- or a hater... Well. whomever you are, here are some heavy doses of Renee ...
Lee D'Avanzo Mob Ties Page: "Between December 2000 and May 2001, the FBI met with Chris Paciello the eight times and conducted 15 hours of interviews. During those meetings, Paciello detailed not only his own criminal history, but those of dozens of his Mob colleagues, including Lee D'Avanzo."



Comments

  1. Should be renamed Mob Ho Bags

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just in time fo Christmas, ho ho ho!

      Delete
  2. You do know this show is fake as far as the storylines? I hope so.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment