Mob Wives: Where Is The IRS?

Does anyone know if the Mob Wives, on VH1’s new show, pay taxes? They seem to have a lot of money for four women who do not work and whose husbands and fathers spend most of their time in prison. Imagine if neither you or nor husband worked and yet you lived in a million dollar home, had a gym memberships, wore the best jewelry and designer wardrobe, flashed money at clubs, promised your son a new car if he got all 80’s on a report card and even paid five dollars for a pack of gum. Don’t you think the IRS would be raising it’s proverbial “eyebrows” at you?

I know I’d like to know where the money is stashed. The IRS knows where all my money comes from, but are these women getting a free pass? Is the IRS looking the other way? I mean they are even on television flaunting their wealth, which we all know by now, has been gotten through various illegal activities. I decided to add up some of the financial details we know so far.

Renee Graziano Pagan lives in a home in Staten Island, allegedly valued at approximately $850,000. She goes out clubbing regularly with her girlfriends and seems to have a fistful of money for drinks. She, along with her son and ex-husband, Junior, all have memberships to a gym. She gets her hair and nails done, spray tans, and makeup. Her clothing, though not to my taste (as I prefer my fur coats with sleeves) looks expensive. She and her ex, Junior, have no problem promising their 17 year old son, AJ, a new car for a report card that has all 80’s on it. She just took a trip to Florida, got back in time for AJ’s birthday, and I suspect she flew first class. Recently, she got frustrated with her ex-husband’s lack of parenting and decided she needed to go shopping for a new fur coat. She didn’t even blink an eye at the $6,000 price tag.

Carla Facciolo lives in a home in Staten Island that is allegedly valued at 600-650,000 thousand dollars. I also see that Carla allegedly owns a condo in Boca Raton, Florida worth about 100,000. I guess stock fraud pays well. Carla also has a gym membership and will drop everything to go have a drink with a friend when called on. Carla seems to like very nice clothes and getting her nails and hair done too. Carla is, by her own admission on Twitter, starting a clothing line. Now, forgive me if I am wrong, but doesn’t it take “capital” to start a business? Just saw a new tweet from Carla and I quote, “Loved catching all the good sales today! I bought shoes, shoes and more shoes…” Where does all the money come from?

Drita D’avanzo allegedly lives in a home that may be worth 900 thousand to 1.1 million. No wonder she prepares care packages for Lee. Even with him being gone 10 out of 12 years of marriage, he is clearly still providing well for his family. I wonder how many banks he had to rob to be able to afford such expensive digs? For that matter, who among us has given a kid $100 for losing a tooth, like Lee has? According to her VH1 bio, Drita studied to become a makeup artist and works for “various high-end cosmetic companies.“ Can someone fax me her resume, because I’m not buying it. Also, Drita tweets she just spent $5 on a pack of gum and, at those prices, she isn’t sharing any of it with her friends. Drita likes to party, dance and drink and thinks nothing of going out to the club. It’s obvious to me she isn’t living on any kind of budget.

That leaves Karen Gravano. Karen seems not to be as affluent as the other women. Her home in Arizona is allegedly worth 210 to 245,000 thousand dollars. Of course the cost of living could be a lot less in Arizona than New York. I notice Karen’s wardrobe isn’t as flashy either. In her VH1 bio, they say she closed up a “lucrative spa” to return to Staten Island shoot ten episodes of Mob Wives. Sure, that makes sense. On the second episode of the show, Karen says she is moving into her new “apartment.” Maybe JustJenn productions offered to pay for her housing to entice her to relocate to Staten Island or maybe her publisher advanced her some money on her new book, entitled “Shadow of The Bull,” due out this summer. In any case, at least the book and the show are legitimate sources of income.

But, isn’t the IRS interested in how these women have been able to afford to live so affluently, in houses that cost serious money to maintain, while they all seem to be stay-at-home moms? Are we to think Renee’s Greeting Card company for inmates is generating the income for her lifestyle? Do you believe Carla, as the alleged sales rep for a juice company, earns the income that provides for the upkeep of her home, her glamorous outfits, or the start up of a clothing line? I sure don’t.


You would think the curiosity of the IRS would be peaked by all this, because mine sure is.
Picture credit: VH1 and the IRS

Disclaimer: I do not know where these women live, I do not know their addresses. I based these property values based on places and neighborhoods where they may have lived at some point and only to prove a point.