Cosa Nostra News

Nick Christophers, left, with Chuck Zito and  Nick Puccio . Some may have noticed that I haven't been posting lately. It's really annoying because I've got some cool stuff that should've been posted already. The moment I've long dreaded finally arrived, you see. It happened last night. My heretofore loyal desktop computer rather abruptly died, which in turn nearly caused me to die (twas only a fleeting feeling of cardiac arrest). A few deep breaths and a swift pull from a bourbon bottle helped (for about three seconds). I am determined, however, to use whatever resources I can to post content until I get a new computer. That said, since my resources are rather limited: my tablet (which I'm using now), cellphone, and a super portable Acer laptop that's so slow I may smash it to pieces this very night, posting is going to slow down a lot. (It's possible to provide assistance if you're so inclined. )

"I love the name of it. It came about because I love color. Color changes your mood." Renee on her "invention" of the Mob Candy brand, after she posed for this picture. EXCLUSIVE: Both VH1 and Jennifer Graziano today received cease-and-desist letters from an attorney regarding Renee Graziano's continued use of the Mob Candy name on items for which she does not have the rights, according to a source close to the case who sent us a copy of the two letters. Noting that Renee had ignored previous letters sent to her, the copyright holders' law firm is putting both the " Mob Wives " network and Jennifer Graziano herself on notice that the firm has been "instructed to begin legal action against you if you allow these infringements to continue."

Life in the Gallo crew Mob Candy publisher Frank DiMatteo has written a memoir -- now available -- about his life in the crew of Joseph "Crazy Joey" Gallo. Introduction: "I guess you can say each person has a choice of which road to follow in life, sometimes you don't have the power to make that choice. In my case, life came at me so fast that I never had the opportunity to hit the brakes. I grew up around my father's world, a world that few have ever learned to understand or justify. That world has been termed "The Underworld". You might say, I was bred into the Mafia. It was always around me and I was always around it. I knew the ways of the street as well as I knew my ABC's, in fact, I knew the streets better. I knew all these men and they all knew me, most of them watched me grow from a baby to the full grown man I am today, Frank DiMatteo. This was the world I grew up in and to me, it was as normal as family life on televisi...

Post by Mob Entertainment Media .

Nick Christophers  -- whom I have interviewed in the past --  is the well-known editor of Mob Candy . He has done me the honor of writing a guest blog  about Spiro Velentzas, who the feds allege was the boss of the Greek Mafia. He is also the one whom then-Gambino boss John Gotti was referring to when he famously declared: "Y ou tell this punk, I, me, John Gotti... will sever your motherfuckin’ head off!" Spiro is serving life in prison. Christophers, for one, doesn't believe the feds had the goods to support their allegations, nor to impose such a draconian prison sentence. Spiro, now in prison 25 years, still declares his innocence. And I agree that there is more to this than meets the eye, as well. "Fat Pete" Chiodo is the main reason Spiro is behind bars. Fat Pete became a rat after the Lucheses (unjustly) had decided he was an informant and moved to assassinate him. 

Yes (48%) No   (51%) I probably wouldn't stop covering "Mob Wives" in any event; the show is too popular. I don't "do" show recaps (some of the best I've ever read can be found here  and here , to name a couple). But when the show, in some way, shines a bright light on the inner workings of La Cosa Nostra, I try to capture it. As for the too popular comment, of my top 10 posts for the past month, half were related to "Mob Wives": Entry Leaked Court Records Expose D'Avanzo Mob Ties Bull Victim's Son Prompts 'Mob Wives' Reboot: Kare... Wanna Know Each Mob Wife's Net Worth? Read This...... Renee's Mob Candy Line: 'Everything a Mob Princess... Lee D'Avanzo, Not Tall Guy, Behind "Mob Wives" Reb...

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...

We were shocked how many views this story racked up since we first ran it a year ago. Considering the more recent news about the cease-and-desist letters, we thought we'd post this again.... Episode one of season four of “Mob Wives” began with a party in Philadelphia. Renee hired a new model to work with her new clothing line. What line is that, some of you may ask. Well, Mob Candy (by Renee Graziano) is the name of the brand she has been talking up and promoting on the Internet for the past year or so. It includes a a lot of products: Mob Candy Jewelry , Mob Candy Apparel , Mob Candy Shoes , and accessories and t-shirts. Frank DiMatteo, owner, Mob Candy. Folks who look leftward on this very web page will see Renee posing for the cover of Mob Candy magazine ; no, it is not part of her line. Mob Candy magazine was in fact launched in 2007 by others with no ties to her then or now. Prior to the publication, the brand had originally been used for a line of M...

The owners of the  Mob Candy  publishing enterprise partnered with the owners of a Brooklyn cafe to relaunch the place under the Mob Candy umbrella, making it probably the first and only (and ever?) mob-themed cafe. Uncle Frankie and MafiaLife Chris , the monikers by which they are known, had big ideas for the place, transforming it into a social club of sorts in which to record their radio show and hold events for their magazine and book launches, and to provide a cozy place for their fans to hang out (while promoting their brand at the same time). I know them both, and they are good guys -- entrepreneurs with the same interests that I have, who put their money where their mouth is, and who didn't deserve what later happened. Customers could sip cappuccinos and take in the Mafia ambiance, created by the photos of legendary gangsters and other mob memorabilia. Copies of the magazine were on hand, as well as the group's latest book-publishing venture, Brooklyn Gangs...