Monday, May 21, 2012

I Married A Mobster: Toni Marie Ricci Interview

Toni Marie Ricci happily married today.

One of the perks of blogging is getting to talk to sometimes just very real, humble and honest individuals.  Toni Marie was definitely one of those individuals.  I have to share she has been the most guarded out of all my interviews.  I know her history.  So I fully understand.  I'm just very thankful she took time out of her day to speak to me on a subject aired last night during VH1's Mob Wives Reunion.

Congratulations on being cast in season 2 of I Married a Mobster!  Why did you decide to go public & share an aspect of you life within the lifestyle?
Thank you!  First I was invited to do Mob Wives.  I thought about it.  I decided it wasn't my cup of tea.  I wanted to tell my story without the fighting & interruptions.  I started reading my name on some sites, it was hurtful for strangers to be writing about my dirty laundry. 

We know you are a wife and mother?  Do you feel comfortable telling us about your son & current husband?
My son is an unbelievable man.  He's my hero.  He kept me going through the dark times.  He helped me move on.  My husband is my savior.  Besides my son he's the best thing that ever happened to me.  That's all I'm comfortable with discussing.

Fair enough, you are the former wife of Michael DiLeonardo a.k.a. Mickey Scars, correct?
 Yes.

How long were you married?
 17 years.

Were you faithful?
 Yes.

Michael "Mickey Scar" DiLeonardo
Was he faithful?
 No, I can't get into too many details due to my upcoming episode on I Married A Mobster.

Without giving away too much in regards, to your episode what do you think the viewers we learn from your experience?
When an individual is groomed within the context of a certain lifestyle, it's all they know.  They don't know any other way to live.  You can't fault them.  I also hope those who suffer abuse whether physical or mental learn they can get through anything.  I didn't believe I could do it alone.  I discovered I could.  I did stand up on my own.  Let me be clear there are those who've had it harder than me.  I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a child.

We’ve learned that you know some of the cast from Mob Wives?  Can you tell us which ones you know & your relationship with each of them.
I've met Ramona once not too long ago.  I've known of Renee for over 20 years.  You know how it works in the boroughs; everyone knows everyone.  I met with her a couple of times. I just like a person to be real, not too gossipy.  If we are friends, then we are friends.  Karen is younger than me.  Some of my family were friendly with her father.  We went to her family's 4th of July & Christmas parties.  That's how I know Karen.

You went to the Gravanos' parties?! You have to tell me what they were like, I've heard about them.
She laughs.  Yeah they did it up.  I don't know what to tell you.  I do it up a little too, just not so loud.  4th of July tends to be one of our biggest parties.

Would you ever consider being part of a series on a continual basis?
I did consider Mob Wives as I mentioned earlier.  I have to be honest.  I thought about the opportunity to get a hold of Carla.  However, that's not me.  I don't want to conduct myself in that manner.  The arguing & fighting isn't me.  It isn't how I want to portray myself.   I've watched Mob Wives.  I don't get why someone would sign up for a reality show and not be real.  Carla's acting touched a nerve.  She's not being real.  I come from Brooklyn.  I don't take people's feelings lightly.  Everyone makes mistakes.  However, when I watched the scene with Drita confiding in her about Lee's cheating, I saw no empathy from Carla.  She's just not a nice person.  She doesn't own her actions or the pain she caused.  She was Mickey's goumada and knew about me.  I admit last night on Twitter I got a little vicious.  

Toni Marie doesn't hold back on Twitter after years of silence.
So you watched the Mob Wives Reunion part 1?
Yes, there was a reunion moment when Carla claimed Ramona was lying.  I caught Ramona say, "...we had a deal..."  Well Carla didn't take the cue to let it go.  She kept going.  She basically gave herself up.

How did you feel with Karen dropped the bomb of her effing an uncle (within the lifestyle)?
Honestly I felt happy.  Carla Facciolo doesn't want anyone to talk about her family and her business.   She freely talks about the other Mob Wives' family & their business.  Why is she hiding?  I was glad the truth came out.  It was long overdue.  I thought, 'You got yourself caught up into it.'

Thank you Toni Marie for your time & honesty.  I was thinking about something.  Did my post on Carla allegedly having an affair with your ex-husband hurt you?
Yes, it irked me.  I lived it.  It was a really painful time.  When you see my episode you'll understand.

Well I'm sorry.  It's never my intent to hurt anyone.
You don't need to apologize.

No, I do.  I want you to know that I am sincerely sorry.  It's never my intention to cause anyone pain. 
It's okay.  Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.

Thank you Toni Marie.  We're looking forward to your episode on I Married A Mobster on Discovery ID to air.  We're excited about watching it. Take care, good bye.
You have a great day, bye.

We'll definitely be tuning into Discovery ID's season 2 of I Married A Mobster.  We believe it airs this summer.  It's getting hot in Mob Wives land.

Photo Credit: Toni Marie Ricci & Associated Press

28 comments:

Nisha Keys said...

Great read! I have never really watched the series...guess I better catch up for the next season.

As for the Carla revelations- I'm not surprised she has a few skeletons or graveyards in her closet. You always have to keep an eye on the quiet ones.

Chiara Soprano said...

Wonderful Interview. Toni Marie sounds like a down to earth, sincere lady and I am so glad to hear that she has a wonderful son and husband. I'm definitely watching her episode and recapping it for the blog.

Anonymous said...

Toni Marie sounds really nice.

I cant get over the Carla thing...
....-_-....
From watching the show, I always thought she seemed
very traditional,very classy, and like a virgin.
I may have laughed at some of the things Carla said and did, but I would have never in a million years thought anything like this about her.
Chiara it feels like the eye of the storm, when everything gets really quiet...but u know its going 2 get worse.
(Silence of the Lambs)
Enjoy ur Day!

Chiara Soprano said...

Funlady every show on I Married A Mobster is self contained and doesn't continue so you have all the time you need. The two best episodes from season one Were Love Majewski's Love Hurts and Diondre Nicosia's Ebony and Ivory. You may be able to watch them online.

Cee Cee you had Carla pegged wrong LOL!

Cinnamon said...

I think it shows that Carla has been acting on the show, not real in the least bit! She tries to portray herself as this classy mother who always has something to say about cheaters. She is a homewrecker, plain and simple. Tisk Tisk Carla! Now if that ain't the pot calling the kettle black.

TWEETPOLICE said...

I must say this was a great interview. Toni's honesty was such a breathe of fresh air. It is obvious this is a woman who truly lived the real life of a mob wife. She could have threw dirt at Carla at any point over the last 2 seasons but didn't because she has integrity. It is also obvious that Carla just didn't know when to stop talking, she dug her own grave then put the dirt back on it. I look forward to watching I Married a Mobster and seeing her episode. Although it did get ugly last night on Twitter I am hoping that it has lifted any burden it may have had on Toni AND taught Carla a lesson about throwing stones at glass houses.

Anonymous said...

I'm just so glad somebody finally pulled carlas botox filed mask off i could count 6 married men she slept with and i havent even met her. her vagina is her trademark in staten island she hands it out like a busines card

Anonymous said...

Really great interview again! You two are really solid interviewers. Your interviews may contain some interesting information or explosive truths, but as a reader I always get a feel for who the person is. Thanks for maintaining the quality of this blog. You guys are the best when it comes to Mob Wives & I Married A Mobster. Some could learn a thing or two from this site.

Rosey said...

It was good learning the Carla was a "side kick" not a wife but I felt Mrs. Ricci pain when you talked about Carla and her husband. Thank you for apologizing for all of us as we forget this outted Carla but it also hurt his wife of 17years!
Carla did not seem like she had any sympathy when Dritas' husband Lee cheated. Her attitude was like get over it. I am so glad Joe, her husband, was seeing a young 20 something. Fair karma is your husband cheating on you and you hurting.

Anonymous said...

Twitter Anon
I saw her name and wondered what her 'relationship' was to all this. Now I know! So 'innocent' Carla was turning for the husband of others huh? You know I mentioned on todays blog about how some of the MV are 'selective' about there 'lifestyle' integrity and this is a good example. In the day, this type of thing rarely occured between the wives that is. Carla is fortunate that Toni Marie Ricci is not vindictive. Well it only goes to show, that it is infact the quiet ones that sometimes do the most barking.

Deana3452 said...

Well, this is interesting to say the LEAST! Thank you for the great interview... She seems very down to earth.

Anonymous said...

Toni Marie is the type a woman I'm use to, good for her! In the boroughs we all know Carla was passed around between the men. The _oe became a housewife.

HAM said...

toni is super real.

Diondrea Nicosia said...

Thank you Chiara, I agree...Love & I did have the best 2 episodes of the 1st season, thats why we were saved for last ;-)
You know this is topic I'm quite familiar with, as my husband was married when we met but I must say that though messing w/a married man is never right, some situations are just more bad than others. For example, many of the men in this lifestyle have wives that they know they will never leave (some don't even desire to) , yet they'll have a girlfriend on the side for years & these girlfriends will just go along w/the relationship as long as the man wants to. This is totally wrong & shameful in my opinion. How long can you be someones side chick/secret & how long can you come behind another woman? I could never have done it for the long term...I'm too important to myself.
My husband & I met out of the blue, 2 totally different people from 2 totally different worlds & when there was such a strong attraction we both knew it was something deep. My husband was miserable w/his then wife & had been for many years, so when we he found happiness w/me he knew he wanted to be w/me & thats what he did. He didn't stay w/his wife to show face & appear to have a perfect happy family yet keep a piece on the side for years on end. I think THAT would have been more disrespectful to his then wife, his family & me. I think all these men need to be stand up guys in all they do, not just in the case of "omerta" & "ratting" but in their marriages too. If you aren't in love w/your wife & don't want to be w/her, leave her. If you like bangin various vajayjays, be single & bang who you want but don't continuously disrespect your wife & your children/family by cheating & having long term relationships w/other women. I've always looked at the men who I've known in this "lifestyle" who do that & the women they do it with like WOW...THIS SHIT'S CRAY (as Kanya would say); how does he have a wife & a girlfriend thats like his wife on the side?!

The truth said...

Carla shouldn't even be on the show. If it wasn't for her drama with renee and drita's shoulder to "lie" on, she'll have no purpose!!!

Anon said...

Yes I do agree with you. There are also some wives that know what their husbands do on the side but just shrug it off cause of the lifestyle they live. I can't imagine as a woman how that's even possible. I don't care if I had the most expensive home, car, wardrobe and stacks under the mattress I couldn't live that way. It's just not worth it. But again if that's what your used to cause that's the way you grew up you know know different. Well Carla admitted to it and she was 19 not that age has anything to do with it. But when your young you think your in love and I'm sure he was showering her with gifts. Carla is an adult now with two beautiful kids. When we are young we all do stupid things right?

Julie M. said...

MOB MISTRESS great interview thanks for the blog and introducing us to Toni Marie Ricci. She sounds like a true GEM and im sincere when I say that she's rear ........As for Carla I have to laugh the CAT IS OUT IF THE BAG lol NO SHAME TO HER GAME for sure.

Anonymous said...

Karma...sooo sweet
Getting satisfaction on national television...PRICELESS

Anonymous said...

I grew up in the same neighborhood as Carla. Although we were never close friends, she used to hang out with my brother. She and my brother had something going on for a minute, then he found out she was banging another dude. She was 18 at the time. She has a reputation around town. Her character on the show us just for show.

Mob Mistress said...

"Carla is an adult now with two beautiful kids. When we are young we all do stupid things right?"

Carla was an adult back then.

Anonymous said...

Mm great valid true fact!!!!!! Now if only some other people would remember that next time they talk outta their butts about other people on the show, the world would be a better place!

Anonymous said...

I know Toni personally, she is beautiful inside and out and has an anbelievable shape. She dresses with class and acts like a complete lady. She is a wonderful mother and kept a beautiful home. Why he cheated on her with this one is the big question? I guess all men go through a midlife crisis. It is so unfornuate that Carlas husband also went through to. She was adult enough to know that he was married with a child and she should not flaunt her relationship and brag about it

Anonymous said...

I heard she is also a doctors mistress for years

Anonymous said...

When Drita spoke to Carla about her husband cheating, Carla could not even put her head up and guilt was written all over her ugly face. She looks like and acts like a witch. She could lie and say that she was young when she dated a married man, but she was in her mid 20s and older enough to understand that she was not doing the right thing, it took her five years to realize?Did'nt she feel used and abused?????

PsychoSisterWife said...

I suggest to all of this blog's readers to watch I married a mobster. It's my #1 favorite show. There are a lot of sad stories on there. MW is my 2nd favorite show. But I married a mobster does really get the women's story out. The saddest one was Angela Decalvelante's story (I don't know if I spelled it right). It's an awesome show.

PsychoSisterWife said...

Oh, 1 more thing. I wonder If Drita knew that b/c she looked at Carla like "WTF?" or was it just me that took it that way?

Mob Mistress said...

Angela's story may be sad. However, she is a truly vile & disgusting woman today in my opinion.

As far as IMAM season 1, my favorites were Love Majewski, Andrea Giovino, Dion Nicosia, The Famas and Cheryl Caruso's.

Taylor said...

Renee is the only one of the MW/IMAM characters who is truly forthcoming and tells the truth, and perhaps Karen. I look fwd to following Ricci as she seems as if she has real CLASS.Some of the others, depending on what blog or story you read, tells different stories.For instance, attempting to define their relationship with a married man as ok and not as bad as others when the truth is that you were with him several years before he married you. Well,that situation is no better than that of a women who has been a mistress for several years with perhaps no possibility of marriage yet. That's hypocritical talk.Or to say that your husband was a "mob associate" but that he was just a family man collecting his pay. It can't be both ways. I stopped watching Mob Wives after the 3rd episode of the fist season and have not watched either episode of the Chicago Mob Wives. It's just too much bickering and foolishness going on. I do however find it interesting to read the blogs from time to time. I just can't seem to watch it on TV. my daughter looks forward to it. Big Ang and Renee!!!