Cosa Nostra News

People can change, we believe.... A person guilty and convicted of a crime, even murder, can become someone who would never commit that crime again. Hector Pagan American society at large disagrees with that basic premise. Consider: Those convicted of certain crimes (not only murder) get mandatory sentences that surpass the average human lifespan. In many instances such lifelong sentences may seem more than warranted. But occasionally, considering variables such as mitigating factors, especially with first-time offenders, such sentences could seem unfair. Consider: Law enforcement generally investigates a crime by? In a murder case, among other things, they  generally do so by interviewing people close to "the victim." If you are among those who knew the victim and you have a criminal record (especially a felony record) detectives will only grudgingly leave you alone  after you've passed the lie detector test and your solid alibi proved unbreakable de...

Drita D'Avanzo UPDATE #2 : Drita D'Avanzo , a cast member of VH1's Mob Wives , was arrested on Tuesday, the NYPD confirmed. Reportedly, she had engaged in a "verbal dispute" with a woman on Staten Island. D'Avanzo "attacked" the woman and punched her repeatedly, then fled, police said. Of course "the woman" -- a former chef on Staten Island -- wants money before she'll even respond to press inquiries....  And it seems she found a buyer! See below for details....how much do they apparently pay, I wonder...

   "[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. DiMichele , 39, faces up to six ...

Kenji Gallo, Colombo turncoat who  wrote Breakshot. “Alicia has chosen to humiliate my nephew Edward and our entire family in the name of my brother who she never even knew. The show’s stupid. I think it’s disgraceful. It’s blood money. It’s my brother’s blood.” That's what Emmanuel "Manny" Garofalo had to say about Alicia DiMichele and "Mob Wives" in an interview with the New York Daily News . Manny added that he is so sickened by this "exploitation" of the murder of his brother, Eddie "The Chink," that he's thinking of selling his home and moving to a place where he won't be recognized.

Alicia DiMichele's "Mob Wives" salary was 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. Prosecutors seem to be taking their cue from the Honorable Sandra L. Townes, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York.

Heath Norman Wasserman holds the copyright for the brand Mobcandy (yes, one word, but it doesn't matter) in all but one of the product categories in which Renee Graziano has launched lines under the same brand name . Wasserman and Frank DiMatteo, owner/publisher of Mob Candy magazine, are partners, Cosa Nostra News has learned from DiMatteo. DiMatteo also said that two cease-and-desist letters were so far sent to Graziano regarding her use of the Mob Candy brand; to his knowledge, they were both ignored, he said. A meeting is scheduled for next week, the 23rd, DiMatteo said. Lawyers will be involved. The agenda: what to do next. Wasserman also has dibs on the Mob Candy name in many product categories in addition to the categories in which Renee has launched products -- except for jewelry, which Graziano has properly copyrighted, DiMatteo said. Wasserman, who is in the arcade machine vending business in Chicago, is planning on extending the Mob Candy brand into add...

New mob wives Alicia, left, and Natalie. When the New York Post makes a cover story out of you visiting a courthouse to hear a judge sentence your husband to prison and focuses much of the reporting on the clothes you are wearing, you can pretty much conclude your 15 minutes have begun. It was the day after the "Mob Wives" premiere, at which at least one party goer was brought to the hospital following the major brawl that busted out  there, and Alicia DiMichele, a new star on the show, was off to attend the sentencing of her husband, reputed Colombo enforcer Edward "Tall Guy" Garofalo, Jr. , at Brooklyn Federal Court. Federal Judge Sandra Townes sentenced the mobster to seven years in prison for murder conspiracy, extortion and witness tampering. Next month the judge will sentence DiMichele, 40, for embezzling union funds from a trucking company she and her husband once owned. Like most of us would be in in her shoes, she is concerned, she told Radar...

Thomas (Tommy Karate) Pitera, made member of the Bonanno crime family, in his most recent effort to get out of prison, sought to use DNA evidence to shift blame for several murders on a former partner in crime. Moment of Truth: Tommy Karate, nose busted, comprehending  his career's end. Pitera's appeal was crushed (just like his nose when the DEA arrested him) by a dead judge, who while alive penned the legal documents that validated the denial. As Forbes reported: "A federal court of appeals yesterday denied a criminal defendant’s Motion To Compel Post-Conviction Relief in the form of DNA testing of six items related to the crimes at issue. "The defendant/appellant, Thomas Pitera, alleges that genetic testing of those items would exonerate him by showing that the guilty party was in fact Frank Gangi, whom the court determined to be his accomplice. In United States v. Pitera (2d Cir. Apr. 3, 2012), the Second Circuit determined after very careful a...

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). So "Mob Wives & Daughters" would be a better title, no? (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.) ...