Cosa Nostra News

EXPANDED MTV, whose sister network VH1 gave us the reality show Mob Wives (which fueled millions of hits on this blog), is now training the spotlight on a younger generation of mob offspring, with the new series Made in Staten Island , which has among its trio of producers Mob Wives star Karen Gravano. Gravano, daughter of former Gambino crime family underboss Sammy (The Bull) Gravano , is also the mother of Made in Staten Island star Karina. The show debuts January 14, and as AM New York notes, "it’ll most likely bring a flood of renewed attention to the borough along with it: buzz from those who love to watch, those who hate to watch and those who just can’t seem to look away. "The “forgotten borough” knows this rhythm well." “Made in Staten Island” follows a group of young Staten Islanders who "work to step out from the shadows of the once mob-driven island. These friends will either choose wisely or fall prey to the mistakes of past generation...

Make way for the Mob Granddaughters.... (Or Families of the Mafia, we should say? This restaurant was featured in a recent episode of the new MTV reality show that -- we thought -- would be about Sammy the Bull, but isnt....) They have the same names as their moms and are near identical in looks too.... RaMona Rizzo and Karen Gravano, the daughters of the women many of us know from  the reality TV series Mob Wives , have opened an Italian eatery named Pizza Nostra.  The combination restaurant/pizzeria opened Friday on Union Blvd in Totowa, New Jersey. ( It took us three drafts before we realized that they are the daughters and not the Mob Wives themselves ....) The 45-seat Italian eatery has wood tables. Complementing the decor are family photos and newspaper clippings about their families' criminal doings and Mafia connections. ( Not a sentence we'd have expected to write. ..) The executive chef is Ryan Vargo of Edgewater, who told NorthJers...

UPDATED It could've been a scene on reality television...  Mob Wives creator  Jennifer Graziano and  Carla Facciolo, star   of the VH1 cultural touchstone Mob Wives, which was cancelled, pay  a terminally ill  Angela (Big Ang) Raiola  a hospital visit. Bi g Ang debuted in season two and early on was a fan favorite... Where are our favorite ladies from the last season finale? At some point during the hospital visit, Big Ang told the two women, from her hospital bed, what's highlighted as a seemingly selfless and rousing admonition.  "T he show must go on," she said .... Big Ang was suffering from cancer and died after filming of the sixth and final season of Mob Wives in 2016. That's the scenario described in a recent Staten Island Advance report. However, Big Ang's sister, Janine Detore, blasted the Mob Wives reboot in an interview of her own , as well as a YouTube video, below. Detore, owner of the Country Mouse , a children's clo...

UPDATED Gambino soldier Joseph Sclafani caught a break a year ago, when he successfully got his prison sentence reduced. Joseph Sclafani  Now, according to a motion filed Monday , Jan. 18, in Brooklyn federal court, he's trying to get more time whacked off his sentence, perhaps as much as three years.  In January of 2015, Sclafani's original 2013 sentence of 15 years for drug trafficking was reduced by about a year. This was a result of changes made to sentencing guidelines. Now, however, his lawyer is arguing that Sclafani still was improperly sentenced last year and deserves more time off his sentence.

Mob Niece starting to cast new show called "Mob Wives." Who'd have thunk it'd be this easy? From Boston.com : Are you a woman with a personality that pops and a connection to Boston’s criminal underworld? Boston Mob Wives, a new reality show in production, could be your big break. The first casting call is scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. on Sunday, February 22 at the Four Points Sheraton in Revere. Henry “Nacho” Laun, Jenna DeRose, and Timothy Baker are looking to cast the new Boston-based reality show. Laun is a former member of Mark Wahlberg’s original real-life entourage. He has had bit parts in numerous Wahlberg films, including The Departed, The Fighter, Ted, and Ted 2. He plays himself on Wahlburgers.

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...

Karen Gravano may have been on to something when she said someone wanted her off the show. But according to a source who spoke with Cosa Nostra News on condition of anonymity, that someone is Lee D'Avanzo , not Eddie Garofalo. Lee and Drita D'Avanzo. We wrote in a previous post  that Alicia DiMichele 's husband, Edward "Tall Guy" Garofalo, is "figuring to be a major star" in the upcoming season. This was based on a Jerry Capeci story in which Karen Gravano was the source (there were two other sources, but only Karen went on record). Karen had a theory about why Jennifer had revamped most of the cast of "Mob Wives" -- supposedly to make DiMichele and Garofalo's former marriage a centerpiece of the show. The Tall Guy has been in jail for three years and will soon head off to prison to serve his seven years  sentence . Alicia learns her fate in January, as we noted . According to Karen, it was the Tall Guy who secured his wife a ...

William  Cutolo dances  with daughter BJ.  ( CNNews ; Cutolos) Cosa Nostra News Exclusive Thanks to the American public's ongoing obsession with La Cosa Nostra – duly noted by the constant airing of shows like Mob Wives, I Married a Mobster, Mobsters, Bill Kurtis, Biography and even National Geographic (as well as the increasingly competitive blog landscape) – those formerly connected to “the life” but now out can still find ways to earn off the mob, lending their insight and perspective to the aforementioned television shows, as well as consulting with filmmakers (lot of money there). The types of people who make money off mob involvement, and their reasons for doing so, are as varied as the people doing it. As the great French filmmaker Jean Renoir famously said: "Everybody has their reasons" -- and those in the audience can react however they like, spanning the full range of emotion, from incredulity to apathy.

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Renee, giving props where due, is the most popular. Karen Gravano won the dubious distinction. Ramona Rizzo is not too far behind.  After only three-four appearances on the show, that is quite a remarkable feat. Anyone could vote in this, and all, Cosa Nostra News polls; in this one, readers could vote for one or two wives, and they could change their votes up until the final moments before the poll closed. I am a bit surprised that Renee could be seen as most loved in that the least amount of people "hate" her -- 38 people, or 11% of the voters. I give her kudos for talking about her depression issues on television. Depression is a major problem in the U.S., and the more the "stars" with the bully pulpits address problems such as this one, the better for society, I believe. Drita and Carla fared much, much better than Gravano and Rizzo, running about neck-and-neck with each other, close behind Renee -- with 18% (61 votes) and 17% (60 votes)...

Ramona, right after Drita bloodied her mouth. We certainly don't condone violence against women, but this one had it coming by partaking in a premeditated ambush. Stop. Being. So. Nice!!!! Only Ramona Rizzo would say that about Karen "the Bull" Gravano... and many Cosa Nostra News readers seem to agree. So far, to no one's surprise, Karen is far and away the most hated wife, as per our ongoing poll, with Ramona Rizzo not too far behind; her ties to Karen can't be helping. We know the producers need a story line, even if it is  "reality TV" but if they think pairing Karen and Ramona against Drita is an equal match they are mistaken. Our poll, which 300 readers have partaken in, so far, clearly indicates this story line is a case of good versus bad, with Drita personifying the good. We have to admit surprise that she is more disliked than Renee, the self-pitying manipulator who clearly is the "sweetheart" of the show -- and Renee's nu...

The "Mob Wives," bitches And the new addition... Tonight is the night that some of us have been waiting for, the return of the "Mob Wives," and to fill you in on tonight's agenda, we cut to the Examiner -- but first, we feel compelled to note that the article was a tad misleading in that the whole first episode was a buildup to a fight we won't get to see until next week; the episode merely set the stage for something that wasn't shown tonight (also, we will have our own review of tonight's episode in the next day or two): The premiere of “Mob Wives” season 2 picks up exactly where season 1 left off: Karen and Drita hating each other. We all remember that season 1 of “Mob Wives” ended with Drita grabbing and punching Karen (with Renee stuck in the middle of the fight) over the idea that Karen once slept with her man (something she denied last summer). For more on Mob Wives, and TV entertainment in general, join our growing Facebook fan ...

Renee Graziano recently celebrated her birthday party -- and MafiaLife Chris, mob entrepreneur/enthusiast was there to take some footage of her when she walked in to the crowd. Check it out here . If you don't know who she is, here is a bio from  VH1.com : Renee is second from the right; here she is with the other Mob Wives. Renee Graziano is the daughter of Anthony Graziano, who according to the Federal Government was a high ranking member of La Cosa Nostra. Renee grew up during the heyday of the mob -- when things still fell off trucks and people still dropped off envelopes even when it wasn't your birthday. Immersed in the culture since birth, she embraced the lifestyle as her own and became a "mob loyalist". Renee eventually married (then divorced) Junior. Together they have one son, AJ. When Renee was young her best friend was arrested and sentenced to many years behind bars. This was her first real introduction to prison, but unfortunately not her last....