Cosa Nostra News

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...

John Gotti John J. Gotti, who took control of the Gambino crime family in one of the most storied gangland coups in modern times, died on June 10, 2002, at age 61. He's been described as one of the 20th century's most popular Cosa Nostra bosses, usually in the same breath as Al Capone of 1920s Chicago. The closest the American Mafia has had to a " boss of bosses" since Carlo Gambino , Gotti breathed fire into New York wiseguys tired and nearly decimated by a stream of major RICO indictments, including the Commission Trial and Concrete and Windows cases .

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.

This year Mob Wives really lived up to its tagline: Trust No One.... This year most of the drama on Mob Wives occurred off screen and after the season ended following a two-part reunion that got heated enough to make Vivica Fox weep. (It almost makes you forget she did a pretty good job kicking ass herself in Kill Bill. See pic--->.) Since episode one, the major dynamic of the entire season was proclaimed loud and clear: this year it's all about the bitch called pay back that ultimately took the form of an implied major confrontation between Natalie Guercio and Natalie DiDonato. But the big fistfight or shootout or whatever we all expected never happened. (Nor did we relish the thought of it. We don't like the idea of two women fighting.... we want women to act, well, womanly, not like dudes...And, yes, we did interview one of the cast members and we will get to her following some prefatory remarks.)

What is interesting about the Waterfront Commission case, to us anyway, is that it involves Mario Gallo , one of the three shooters convicted of murdering Costabile "Gus" Farace , who the New York mob sentenced to death for  killing undercover DEA agent Everett Hatcher . The killing of Hatcher in 1989 brought down such intense heat on the five families, it was decided that Farace needed to be killed and his body found. Mario Gallo was part of the hit team that killed "Gus" Farace. Gus was not alone on the night of his death; Joseph Sclafani was driving him. Sclafani himself was shot out of his shoes during the hit but survived. He was arrested once out of the hospital. It is because of Sclafani that  John Gotti   had ordered the deaths of the entire Farace hit team; Sclafani was the son of a trusted Gotti capo and was himself connected to the Gambino family, as well as former  Mob Wife   Ramona Rizzo  (she'd been engaged to Sclafani, un...

Alicia DiMichele, wife of a member of the Colombo crime family, will star on VH1's "Mob Wives" when it debuts this year -- with DiMichele and another Philadelphia mob wife replacing Karen Gravano, Ramona Rizzo and Carla Facciolo. Not exactly breaking news, we know, but what is interesting is some other information posted on Gang Land News last week. Alicia DiMichele Namely that DiMichele's husband, Edward "Tall Guy" Garofalo, is "figuring to be a major star" in the upcoming season. DiMichele and Garofalo's former marriage is supposedly going to form a centerpiece of the show, according to three sources, Capeci reported, one of them being Karen Gravano.

CelebrityNetWorth.com, founded in October 2009 in Los Angeles, claims it has grown into "one of the most popular and influential celebrity finance outlets on the Internet." "Whether you're looking for the latest net worth and salary of your favorite celebrity or you want to stay up to date on all the most expensive products and gizmos in the world, Celebritynetworth has you covered," the site declares. Drita D'Avanzo is up there but Big Ang is the wealthiest of all... All its figures and articles are thoroughly researched, scrutinized and fact checked by writers and financial analysts, the site notes, adding that the figures are acquired from publicly available information, including salaries, real estate holdings, divorces, record sales, royalties and endorsements. The estimated net worths come from a formula that takes out taxes, manager’s fees, agents’ fees, and lifestyle. So, of course, we immediately checked out what the low-down was, ...

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...