Joe Bruno's Mobsters - Six Volume Set (97 page)

The bottom line is this: whereas what Karen Gravano is doing by appearing on
Mob
Wives
, and writing her book about her “Life With Father,” may stink to high heaven, I still don’t see how the families of her father’s victims have a legitimate case under the “Son of Sam Law,” which basically says you can’t profit from crimes you have committed by either writing a book, or having a movie made based on your life (T-shirts and coolie cups are out, too). The law says nothing about members of your family being banned from doing the same thing.

Can the law be changed?

It’s doubtful, but that doesn’t stop the victim’s families from trying to do something. Laura Garofalo admitted as much when she said in a letter to the
Arizona AG
., “We hope at least to get the law changed so it has more teeth.”

Good luck trying. But I think this lawsuit will reach the inevitable “dead end.”

Dead End
, starring Humphrey Bogart, was a mob movie too.

Karen Gravano on the Cover of Mob Candy Magazine

March 4, 2012

I must admit I vaguely heard of
Mob Candy
, but I wasn’t sure exactly what it was (was a magazine selling chocolate in the shape of a gun?).

So I went to Mob Candy’s website, and lo and behold, there was a video posted that was aired on the VH1 Show
Mob
Wives
, which features an interview with Karen Gravano, daughter of mob rat Sammy “The Bull” Gravano. The reason for the interview was - get this -
Mob Candy
is not only publishing the interview with Karen, but they are also displaying a seductive photo of her on the cover of
Mob Candy
.

I got a sneak preview of the cover, and there Karen was, dressed in a black and white dress, her hands on her hips, lips pursed in a snarl, which seems to say, “Yeah, that’s right! What about it!”

Not very sexy; sort of like a Mack truck glaring down at a tiny Volkswagen before it crushes the smaller car under its wheels.

My first reaction to the cover was that Karen looks about 30 pounds lighter than she does on
Mob
Wives
. Then I saw on the same page a previous cover with Renee Graziano as the cover girl. Renee looks much lighter than she does on
Mob
Wives,
too. But unlike Karen, Renee looks downright foxy - white wraparound dress with right shoulder exposed - black belt and black sequined gloves, with the forefinger of her left hand placed gently between her pursed lips.

Very sexy indeed.
 

No doubt, Hector “Junior” Pagan,” another rat like Sammy, wasn’t good-looking enough for this woman.

Renee’s just not my type of gal, but alluring nevertheless.

However, both covers give praise to the wonders of Photoshop. Heck, with the proper technique,
Mob Candy
could make Camryn Manheim look 50 pounds lighter; Michael Moore too.

Mob Candy
had some big lug with a Brooklyn accent and a loopy smile, and wearing a stupid cap, conducting the interview with Karen; asking questions
Mob Candy
claims nobody else had the nerve to ask.  

After Karen made her grand entrance and proclaimed, “Now I feel like a Mob Princess,” the interview went something like this:

MC – “What do you say to our readers who say your father disgraced the Mafia by ratting on his best friend?

KG – “If they don’t understand the Mafia, then they shouldn’t speak about it.”

JB - (That’s me) “Karen, the problem is that people do understand the Mafia; do understand the rules and regulations; what you should do and what you must never do. That’s why some people are outraged your father became a government informant.”

MC – “Would you have done the same thing as your father; given the same situation as your father? (Become a government informant)

KG – (Hesitates) “It’s hard for me to answer that because I wasn’t in his situation.”

JB – “That sound like a definite maybe to me.”

MC – “Has anyone messed with you since you’ve been back? (in New York)”

KG – (Defiant) “Messed with me? You could call my father Sammy the Bull, or Sammy the Rat. But he’s still family; he’s still my father. So if you mess with me, you’re going to have a problem. Point-blank! Period!”

JB – (Almost speechless, but not quite) I guess that was a roundabout promo for future episodes of
Mob Wives
.

Ladies, go back to your corners and wait for the bell to ring. Then come out wailing.

Nails and teeth are allowed; no guns, knives, bats, or chains.

Sorry, I won’t be around to see it.

I’d rather watch reruns of the Lawrence Welk Show.

Responses to “Karen Gravano on the Cover of Mob Candy Magazine”

Bru
- Karen the cow.

Lis
- Seriously....no one wants to see Karen trying to be sexy. She looks like a man in heels.

Mob Wives – March 4 Show

March 7, 2012

In a startling turn of developments, on Monday, March 5, I had an amazing 1104 hits (in one day) on my blog
Joe Bruno on the Mob
. And more than 90 percent came on previous articles I had written on the show
Mob Wives
, or on the characters appearing on the show: Renee Graziano, her ex-husband-turned-government-informant Hector “Junior” Pagan, or on Karen Gravano, the daughter of mob turncoat Sammy “The Bull” Gravano.

So, in the interest of giving the public what it wants, your humble news correspondent (no, I don’t mean Bill O’Reilly) has voluntarily undertaken the task of giving the public periodic updates on the goings-on of the show
Mob
Wives
;  a show so infantile and annoying, it makes my nose hairs hurt.

I know - it’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it. Besides, let’s face it, I need the readership.

Because I’m such a lucky guy, on Monday, March 5, I was able to see a rerun of the last
Mob
Wives
show, which aired on Sunday night, March 4. The premise of the show was that two mob wives, who have severe animosities towards each other, have decided to throw separate Halloween parties on the same night.

Putting that aside, because it’s hardly newsworthy (if anything on
Mob Wives
is), I’ll get to the meat of the show, which was the interaction between Renee Graziano and her ex-husband Pagan, who when this show was shot last October, were inexplicably trying to get back together; or at least Renee thought so, since Pagan was already a couple of months into being a mob informant, and was secretly taping every mob associate in sight, including Renee’s father Anthony Graziano and reputed Bonanno capo Anthony “TV” Badalamenti.

As I’ve stated before, both the producer of the show and VH1 are being disingenuous by not giving the viewing audience a clue as to the present situation with Pagan now being a government informant (unknown then, but very known now). It’s obvious that Renee was basically wasting her time in the past episodes, trying to make a relationship work with a man who had no intention of ever getting back together with her; unless Pagan expected Renee, and their son AJ to join him in the Witness Protection Program, which could never happen. But I’ve harped on this before, and still there has been no attempt from the producer of the show, Jennifer Graziano (Renee’s sister), or VH1, to set the record straight. They proceed as if Pagan has never been arrested, and has never worn a wire, and is not presently in the Witness Protection Program.

Be that as it may, I continue…

In the previous show, Renee and Pagan had been seeing a marriage counselor to see if they could make a second go-around on a marriage that didn’t work out so good the first time around. (Again, Pagan was just going through the motions because he was already in bed with Team America.)

The March 4 show starts with Renee speaking to the camera and saying, “After seeing the marriage counselor, things are not getting better (between her and Pagan) they are getting worse!”

Then the camera cuts to a tender living room scene in which Renee is sitting opposite Pagan, who looks like he’d rather be sitting in Rikers Island prison than in the same room with his ex-wife.

Renee to Pagan – “You in a bad mood?”

Pagan to Renee – “You know I am.”

Renee - “OK. What can I do to make it better?”

Pagan – “Time.”

Now here is where it gets a little confusing.

Did Pagan mean he wishes he was doing his time in prison already? Or did he mean he wishes Renee was doing time in prison instead? Or was he just uttering the generic term “time?”

Like it makes a difference.

So we continue…

Renee to the camera – “We go to the marriage counselor to talk about things from the past, and now he’s mad at me?”

Back to the living room with the two love birds.

Renee to Pagan – “If you are mad at me for what I said to the marriage counselor, you must be crazy!”

Pagan to Renee – “I’m crazy?”

Renee – “I said what I said on purpose to get you mad.”

Pagan (starting to stand) – “You want me to leave; I’ll go pack my bags and leave.”

Renee (in tears) – “I don’t want you to leave. (more tears) I apologize for what I said.”

Pagan (defiant) – “An apology doesn’t change the way I feel.”

Cut to Renee back in the studio. She says to the camera, “He’s lucky I didn’t hit him in the head with a frying pan!”

By this time, I’d like to hit myself in the hand with a frying pan for watching this stupid program. But as your humble news correspondent (blah, blah, blah), I force myself to continue viewing something that reminds me of the Titanic slamming into that damn iceberg.

Back to Renee and Pagan in the living room.

Renee to Pagan – “You’re making me crazy!”

Pagan puts his hands to his ears to drown out Renee’s shrill screams.

Then, without saying a word, he gets up, exits the room, and starts climbing the stairs to the upper floor.

Renee yells at Pagan’s back – “You’re running from the truth again! You’re real good at that!”

The show is not half-over, but I decide to tape the rest, so that I can take a few Valium to calm my nerves from all the melodrama (I don’t have Valium, so I guess a bottle of Scotch will have to do). There’s only so much your humble news correspondent can take in one sitting.

End of Part 1.

Stay tuned for part 2.

Responses to “Mob Wives – March 4 Show”

Sal
- Thanks for keeping everyone updated. Good work and will look at your reports more.

JB
- Thanks, Sal. Check out my Facebook page: Mobsters Gangs. I have more information there.

Mob Wives – March 4 Show – Part 2

March 10, 2012

At the end of
 Part 1 of VH1’s
Mob Wives
(the March 4
edition), we saw our little lovebirds, Renee Graziano and Hector “Junior” Pagan, arguing in Renee’s living room, when Pagan, in a huff, storms out of the living room and bounds up the stairs, presumably to his (their?) bedroom.

At this point, the show was annoying me so much, I had to stop watching and record the rest.

But as your humble news correspondent, I have a job to do, and by golly, I’m going to do my job no matter how much it distresses, or depresses me. Plus, whenever I write anything about the show
Mob
Wives
, my blog readership goes through the roof.

After all, as Michael Corleone said in
Godfather II
, “I am not a communist.”

As
 you may recall, as Junior climbs the steps away from Renee to avoid her hysterical rantings, Renee screams after him, “You’re running from the truth again! You’re real good at that!”

Cut to Renee in the studio addressing the audience.

Renee – “I just want to settle my mind and get to a place where I am happy. I’d give my life to just have a normal family. Even if I pull my hair all day long. I just want to be normal.”

Editor’s note: How could this woman ever lead a “normal life” when her father is in prison and her ex-husband, is now a rat against her father and his pals, and is presently in the Witness Protection Program, practicing his little speech he’ll give in court that will put
 all the defendants away for a very long time?

Oh, I forgot, these episodes were shot before it was discovered Pagan was a canary, and anyone watching this show and not familiar with what has transpired since, will be none the wiser. Shame on VH1 and the producer of the show, Jennifer Graziano, Renee’s sister, for not issuing a disclaimer before the show, and after every commercial, setting the record straight (I think I’ve said this before – many times - but it bears repeating).

The plain truth is, all these shows portraying Renee and Junior Pagan as getting back together are a bold-faced lie. Renee may have been sincere, but Pagan was lying through his teeth.

In any event, I continue…

Fade in: Back to the living room, with Renee and Pagan discussing their past, present, and future lives.

Pagan – referring to their meeting with a marriage counselor. “I think the way it should have been was to work from here on in, and not look back into the past.”

I have to stop right here for a moment. This guy is talking to the Feds, wearing a wire on his friends and his ex-father-in-law, so that he can avoid big time in jail. Of course he’s “working from here on in,” but for only himself, and damn everybody else.

But I digress.

Cut to: Renee – in the studio — to the audience – “I think Junior’s upbringing made it very hard for him to express himself, but we are trying to make it work.”

Wrong Renee. The last thing on Pagan’s mind is his relationship with you. He’s too busy trying to figure out if the wire he is wearing for the Feds is making him look fat.

Still, we continue.

Fade in: Back to the living room.

Renee to Pagan – “I know everything is not going to be a bed of roses, but I just want to settle my friendships, and settle my marriage and just be happy.”

Pagan to Renee, with a straight face – “It might make us closer.”

Renee (radiant) “That’s why I love you. I just want you to help me.”

Pagan – (scoffs) “Help you? I can’t even help myself.”

(Editor’s note:
 I think it’s quite obvious that Pagan is helping himself quite well by talking to the Feds.)

Renee to Junior – “That’s why I’m here. You have me for that.”

Junior just smiles, like he’s thinking,
“If she only knew.”

Cut to: Renee back in the studio - to the audience. “I know that Junior and I will somehow get back together. I’ve always been in love with him and he’ll always be in love with me.”

Talk about delusional.

Cut to: The living room
 — Renee to Pagan – “I need a hug.”

She gets up from her chairs, hugs Pagan, and kisses him on the forehead.

Renee to Pagan – “I love you so much.”

I immediately lose my lunch.

As a bit of comic relief, Renee and Pagan show up at a Halloween party thrown in a chic restaurant by one of the other mob wives. They are dressed in identical orange prison jumpsuits, with serial numbers on the front, and “Department of Correction” on the back. Also at the party is Karen Gravano, dressed as a “naughty nurse.”

That’s all I’m going to say about that.

Cut to: A festive party in a tony restaurant:  A well-dressed middle-aged man is having a great time by entertaining all the girls. He’s dancing; the girls are dancing. Life is wonderful.

Cut to: A burly man whispers something in Pagan’s ear. Pagan looks like he just swallowed a skunk.

Cut to: Renee back in the studio — to the audience – “Something strange is definitely going on with Junior. He’s acting so strange and paranoid. I’ve seen that look on his face before and it always ends up bad.”

It turns out that the guy having such a great time at the party is a cop. And Pagan just hates cops. It’s the FBI Pagan’s in love with.

The camera pans to the exit of the restaurant. We see their backs, as Pagan and Renee storm out of the party.

Fade out: Over and out.

I can’t wait for the next episode of
Mob
Wives
. Just like I can’t wait for Dr. Riveter to drill out my diseased tooth.

Responses to “Mob Wives – March 4 Show – Part 2”

Tif
- I really hate to admit this but I actually like
Mob
Wives
. I’m from a very small town in North Carolina and I never really thought this lifestyle was real. I guess I just assumed it was just from the movies. I just watched the episode where JR “self-surrenders” and I had to know what happened.  So I googled “Hector Pagan.” And I came across the things you have written, and I truly enjoy them!

After reading all you have written, I am questioning what it’s like to be in “the lifestyle.” Is this show totally different than the actual mob life? I have so many questions. I feel like a small town southern girl who knows nothing; as if I’ve been sheltered from what’s really out there. I truly enjoy reading your blog and hope to read more.

JB
- Tif, I was born and lived in Manhattan’s Little Italy for 48 years, and I never met women like the ones in
Mob
Wives
. And I’ve met plenty of so-called “mob wives.”

The show is totally exaggerated, and the people from New York City and the surrounding areas know this.

To me it’s like watching
Looney Tunes
cartoon characters run wild – like Wylie Coyote chasing the Road Runner.

Ready! Set! Zoom!

Beep! Beep!

Wylie Coyote runs into a wall, or falls off the cliff.

Smash! Splatter!

Beep! Beep!

And the Road Runner lives to see another day.

Sufferin’ Succotash!

Sorry - that’s Sylvester the Cat.

In addition to the over-the-top comical aspects of the show, the foul language in
Mob Wives
is totally out of line; the characters are hyperbolic and the melodrama is inflated.

But like you said,
Tif, if you’re from a small town in North Carolina, how would you know this?

You wouldn’t.

Tif
- I now see what you mean. VH1 shows the reruns over and over again, and the more I watch it, the more I see what you are saying.

Am I wrong in saying that Renee is the most overdramatic person on the show? If you live a “true mob lifestyle” why would you do a show like this?

When watching the show it’s hard to tell what these women are talking about due to all the bleeps. It seems more far-fetched this season than last season to me. Renee seems more dramatic this season as well (if that’s even possible).

Apr
- I’m confused as to why you think there should have been a disclaimer at the beginning of the show? I mean, most people that do watch get that it‘s overdone, exaggerated reality. If they were to put a disclaimer about Junior Pagan being a rat etc… it pretty much ruins the show’s story line. Like you said they are doing it all for ratings.

Glad I found your site though. That is the only good thing I can say about
Mob
Wives
- the show. That I found this site because, that show is not even worth wasting an hour of my life anymore.

JB
- Apr, it’s intellectually dishonest for a show to portray two people with marriage problems trying to get back together, when it’s common knowledge that Junior Pagan has been in the Witness Protection Program for months. All they had to do was say something like (or run a flowing line sequence), “Since the filming of this episode, Junior Pagan has been placed in the Witness Protection Program. This show and all future shows will display the sequence of events in the order in which they occurred. Sorry for the confusion.”

Would this hurt their ratings? Maybe; maybe not.

However, you keep your integrity this way. Most people who read the newspapers, especially in N.Y. City, know the situation already.

But I’ve learned, I should never use the words
integrity
and
Mob
Wives
in the same sentence.

And April, thanks for the kind words about my blog.

Bru
- That fat cow! How could she think anyone would want to back with her? Ha ha - what a train wreck of a woman, or a beast.

Bru
- Does Karen care more about her father, or the rat Junior?  Or that she looks like (the size of) five people on TV.

JB
- Tif, the women are on this show for one reason and one reason only — MONEY!! They are probably all broke now, with their husbands either in jail, or divorced from them.

Ang
- I have to say that I came across your blog to read about the show
Mob
Wives
having no clue who you were or much about the mob for that matter. In one day I have become completely fascinated by them because of your writing. Well done. Can’t wait to finish reading it all even though it seems it might take me years! (And I just may need a mob translator to understand some of the terms, ha-ha) Have a great day!

JB
- Thanks Ang. Enjoy!!

And I can do translating for you – for an added fee, of course.

Vic
- How could anyone be in love with a nutcase, drama-bitch (Renee)? She is sooo stupid !!! She even makes her own son sick.

Vic
- I have to say that Drita is so sickening with her foul mouth. I’d love to see her get her ass beat. A real lady, huh???

Apr
- I think it is a bunch of bull. Yeah, sure she is going to lose her sh&&^% family, but come on already. It’s as if a vein exploded in her head the way she is acting. It’s WAY over the top. Renee complaining about money and throwing the Wonder Bread on the counter last week; saying that’s all she had was comical, considering she just had all that plastic surgery that went wrong and she was in the hospital with a life-threatening infection.

Hol
- I think I may be in love with you. Your sense of humor - while not as great as mine - is wonderful. I can tell you actually feel sorry for Renee and that means a lot. I have to admit I watch this show because of the “Train Wreck Effect.” I just can’t stop looking! Your input is much appreciated!

JB
- Hol, thanks for the kind remarks. And the check is in the mail.

Joe Bruno on the Mob
Gets Bombarded With
Mob Wives
 Hits

March 26, 2012

I had no idea what was going on, but on Monday, March 26, my blog
Joe Bruno on the Mob
hit TILT!

My blog got an amazing 14,000 hits; and this is before 1 p.m. The most I ever got in one day was 1,100 hits, and that was a great day!

The good thing about having a blog on WordPress.com is that they give you detailed stats; tells you what search terms were used to get to your blog, and also the search engines used. They also tell you exactly what articles (I have 320 total on my blog) are getting hits. And the overwhelming majority of the hits this morning were on the 16 articles I wrote on the VH1 TV program
Mob
Wives
.