Mob Wives: The Ugly Duckling Buries The Mob

Once upon a time there was an ugly duckling….

We’ve all read the story of The Ugly Duckling.  Well those of us who can read and put down the Molly.  Not all of us are born beautiful.  Not all of us are cute kids.  Well don’t tell our mothers that.  But you all know what I am typing about.  Most of us aren’t Shirley Temples in training or adorable Cosby kids, think Raven Simone.  Many of us aren’t Alyssa Milano of Who’s The Boss either.  And some of us could’ve been Bugs Bunny teeth’s stunt double.

At the end of the day, I don’t know about y’all but I have a 4th grade picture that’ll make the one above look like Miss America Jr.!  I have to keep it honest.

Back to the duckling….  I can also type:

The duckling has turned into a svelte Frederick of Hollywoodish swan.  I ain’t mad at her, work it honey.

Who know cocktail umbrella’s were hair accessories? Natalie Guercio did!

See I am not as mean as some of you claim I am.  Either I need a new eye prescription or it looks like some cosmetic surgery and braces have done Miss Guercio good; forget about the milk.  Anyhow, rumor has it Natalie Guericio during season 4 didn’t work at the family’s funeral home.  Frankly, the storyline of a beauty assisting with burying mobsters did nothing for me.  You can’t please everyone, right?

Jennifer Graziano has been very mean to us.  She hasn’t dropped the official date of when season 5 of Mob Wives will drop.  We can’t wait around here.  Well we can.  But you know we’re a M.O.B. Wives blog.  We gotta type what we want to around here.  Tune into VH1 in December 2014.  It just wouldn’t be Christmas without a season of Mob Wives on the air.

Mob Wives: Big Ang Goes Crazy During Filming

Remember my blog on Season 5 Alliances a couple of days ago? If not, you really need to keep up with your reading. Things are happening faster than we can blog them! Would you believe that Big Ang, lifelong friend of the Graziano family, turned on Renee and Karen? Well, I guess Switzerland, the peacemaker, has flipped (out).

I don't know what is going on in Season 5, but no one may come out alive! The Daily News is reporting that Big Ang went crazy during a filming session and tried to attack Renee! She called Renee and Karen "rats!" For all the details check out the Daily News article which is hot off the presses.

I can't even close my eyes at night and get some sleep without missing out on something! Stay tuned!

Picture credit: Big Ang's Facebook

Mob Wives: Karen and Natalie's Season 5 Twitter War!

Karen sure looks cool, calm and collected!

Just as I predicted, the events of a day of filming spill out on to the world of Twitter! Something is definitely going on between Natalie and Karen Gravano. Who still thinks Karen isn't filming Season 5? A war broke out last night between cool Karen and batsh*t crazy Natalie and what kind of blogger would I be if I didn't make mention of it? Looks like my alliances were on the money so far, as the New Blood team attacks Original Girls team Karen and Renee. But enough of my opinions, let's see how this went down in black and white (and blue). 

Natalie has the audacity to attack Karen as a mother? She calls her a dead beat Mom?Yes Karen left her young daughter in Arizona with HER mother, while she came back to film Mob Wives and write her New York Times best selling book Mob Daughter. Karen was worried about her daughter's safety in New York. She was protecting her from possible danger. She wasn't sure if the show would be a success and didn't want to uproot her. She flew back and forth to see her more times than I can count. If that is a bad mother, then Natalie is delusional. But Karen can defend herself.

Natalie drags Renee into her lunatic rant!

Anyone think Karen and Renee are afraid?

Let's face it. Natalie is losing it. The show doesn't premiere till December and she is already attacking Karen and Renee. What's her beef with them anyway? She is just Alicia's sidekick. Note to Natalie: If you can't take the heat in New York, please go back to South Philly and your dead clients!

Where do you suppose Natalie will find

those hard truths and reality?

(I have my suspicions)

Karen had a few choice words of her own. Notice Karen's demeanor. Does she sound concerned? Upset? Worried? Nope. Karen laughs her way through the exchange with a few good pieces of advice for Gnatalie.

Karen just swats her like the annoying little Gnat she is!

So there you have it. The wars are just starting. This is just a little more of a taste of Season 5! Looks like things are heating up on the set and on fire with the cast. Stay tuned because we are on the case!

Picture credit: Karen and Natalie's Twitter Accounts

Mob Wives: Joe and Raquel Getting Married!

A gift from Jennifer Graziano!

How long ago has it been since we first saw Joseph Ferragamo and Raquel on Mob Wives? If I remember correctly, Joe was released from prison and appeared on the show at the end of season two. Then, he and Raquel appeared in season three of Mob Wives, creating a storyline for ex-Mob Wife, Carla Facciolo. Joe and Raquel have been together ever since, and they are soon approaching their wedding day. Looks like the couple is very happy and Joe is getting a second chance in life.

The happy couple finalizing wedding details!

Wedding bells will soon be ringing next month for Joe and Raquel. Joe is making sure to dot all the "i"s and cross all the "t's" as he fills out his application for a wedding license (below).

He looks so serious!

We wish them both a lifetime of happiness and hope to post wedding pictures when the big event occurs.

Congratulations and Best Wishes from our blogging team!

Mob Wives: Season 5 Alliances

I can see this being a scene!

No one in the cast is tweeting much at all these days. I guess they are too busy filming or has VH1 placed a gag order on all of them? Used to be we'd get a few juicy Twitter wars that carried over from the day's events, but everyone is being cautious not to let anything slip. No one is allowed to say Karen is or isn't back this season, even though she seems to be living in New York since the beginning of summer when filming started. No one is saying whether or not Alicia took back her resignation, which made the news, but I don't recall if VH1 accepted it? Still, the cast can't help but tweet a picture here and there and that is enough to make this blogger happy enough to spin it into a blog. So who is aligned with who in Season 5 of Mob Wives? (as if we didn't know).

First we have New Blood, Alicia and Natalie from SOUTH Philly. They are as thick as "thieves," literally and figuratively. Alicia got away with paying a little restitution on the money she admitted taking from the truckers' pension fund and is free to rejoin the cast. Here she is with her "sidekick," Princess Funeral Home, all lovey dovey.

Next we have the "Switzerland" pairing of Ang and Drita (the ex-boxer) who play peacemaker while stabbing their friend, Renee, in the back. That's what they did all last season, and I have no doubt they will do it again this season. Remember how sympathetic they were over poor, poor, pitiful Alicia's pending court case, while at the same time they didn't try to help Renee, who was spiraling out of control with her addiction relapse? Yeah, they are neutral (insert big eye roll). Here is what they have been up to during filming:

and

"always being by my side"

How touching!

Now who does that leave? Hmmm, let me think. Oh yes, the Original Girls, Renee Graziano and Karen Gravano. I don't need anyone to make it official for me, my gut doesn't lie, Karen is back. From yesterday's blog, the dynamic duo together again:

And there you have it! Three teams, which I suspect are going to be two teams when Switzerland forms an alliance with New Blood. I never did trust Switzerland. Who's team will you be on? 

Mob Wives: A "Taste" of Season 5

Renee Tweets this picture on September 10th . . .

Karen is still in New York!

What’s a blogger to do when the show they blog is filming and no one is leaking information? Well, you have to be creative, you have to look for clues, and you have to put the pieces together and try to make sense out of what you know and find on Twitter. That’s what I’m doing, and here is a mixture of fact and speculation for season five, due to premiere in December.

Natalie is still harassing Renee on Twitter

You can see who she is aligned with: Alicia, Drita, Ang

Who’s in the cast next season? Old Blood + New Blood = Bad Blood. We know that Natalie is officially returning, even though I couldn’t figure out why. She is Alicia’s sidekick and Alicia resigned from the show. Natalie has no storyline or “mob ties” in the true sense of the word. She works at her grandfather’s funeral home. She does hair and makeup for clients who can’t complain. Enough said. As for Alicia, I think she is returning to the show, although no one has said so. I come to this conclusion because the long awaiting sentencing and restitution part of her criminal case is over. She doesn’t have to worry about her “image” as a mother. And the girl has to earning a living. You might think I would be disgusted with her return, but I’m not. More on why I’m not will follow below.

Renee Tweeted this picture recently

We definitely know that Drita and Big Ang are returning. That is official. The two “peacemakers,” who manage to stir up trouble while “trying” to calm their friends down, are back to play “Switzerland.” They are never really neutral or show loyalty to “Old Blood.” We saw this play out last season when they sided with Alicia and Natalie (who they both couldn’t stand) against Renee. Renee, who suffered a relapse in her addiction, couldn’t get an ounce of sympathy or compassion from either of her so called “friends.” And you may remember how Drita attacked Renee on the Reunion Show, blindsiding her with things that happened back in season one. It was ugly and left Renee stunned, hurt, and speechless. Renee is not about to forget that.

Yesterday, Renee tweeted this.

In fact, Renee was so upset she wrote a little blog on Instagram about it!

Click to enlarge

Of course Renee is returning. She has plenty to confront Drita about from last season. I hope she confronts Ang too. They both deserve it after last season. But Renee needs an ally. She was out numbered last season when “old blood” became “bad blood.” What to do?

Bring back Karen Gravano! Nothing is official about Karen coming back in season five, but I listed plenty of “evidence” that she is spending a lot of time in New York the past three months. I speculate that Karen will come back and save Mob Wives! Karen has a big beef with Alicia. In the first episode of season four, Alicia opened a can of worms by attacking Karen and her father over the murder of her father in law (a man she never knew). Karen wasn’t able to tell her story, so we wrote a blog trying to cover a little of it for readers, Now, Karen can come back and handle her issues with Alicia face to face. Great storyline, great ratings! And that’s why I will not be upset to see Alicia back in the cast. This season Alicia will earn her money, Karen will see to that.

Mob Wives: Is Karen Gravano Coming Back?

 

You tell me! I have been doing a little detective work and it seems to me that Karen Gravano has been in New York all summer long. Coincidently, Mob Wives has started filming season 5. I can never resist speculation, especially when the facts add up to the conclusion I want . . . Karen is BACK!

Before you get too excited, I can't exactly confirm my theory with either Jennifer Graziano or Karen because they are locked into that Omerta Code of silence like the gold in Fort Knox. But, I have some tweets that make me think I am right about this . . . please let me know what you think after reading.

Here she is in NYC for July 4th!

On July 12th she is partying with Carla!

On July 16 or 17th she is hanging out with Love!

On July 23rd she is chilling with Renee!

On August 1st she is "Back at it" with Ramona!

On August 12th she is at the gym with Jennifer!

So today, like a good blogger who is really devoted to just one show and one show alone, I reach out to Jenn and ask her to give me something to blog about . . . she replies

"they'll be plenty of that!!"

So we will have plenty to talk about? I already do. Here's a little tidbit that kind of eliminates any doubts I have about Karen coming back. On August 11th, she was here in NYC and LOOKING FOR FURNITURE! Hello!

Is this undeniable proof or what?

So tell me, what do you think? Is Karen coming back to Mob Wives? Or am I delusional and relying on wishful thinking? I sure as hell hope it's true because I don't think I can get through season 5 without her!

Mob Wives: Alicia DiMichele Finally Gets Sentenced!

Alicia tweeted her fans after sentencing

It sure as hell took long enough, but Alicia DiMichele finally got sentenced for her part in the embezzlement from the pension fund of employees in a trucking company she owned with her husband, Edward "Tall Guy" Garofalo. Alicia agreed to make restitution of $40,000 (well below the 3 million the union was seeking), said she was sorry and embarassed for her role, and received four years probation. Maybe crime does pay?

Alicia resigned from Mob Wives while her sentencing was pending for fear that being on the show and glamorizing the mob life, would make her "look bad" when facing the judge and result in a harsher sentence. Now that she has made her peace with the justice system and is free to do as she pleases, will she return to the show, which has been filming and due to premiere in December (last I heard)? I think there is a good chance she will. So far they have filmed a garage sale that Big Ang had . . . excuse me if I dont jump for joy.

Meanwhile, I have always hoped that Karen Gravano would return to the show she played a large part in getting on the air. Unfortunately, I can't confirm anything, as both Jenn Graziano and Karen Gravano seem to live by the Omerta code of silence when asked questions. However, wouldn't it be great if Karen and Alicia returned for season five and Karen got the opportunity to address Alicia's comments about her and her father, Sammy? That's a beef that needs to be settled and it's a great storyline. I guess time will tell.

Picture Credit: Alicia's Twitter Account

Real Housewives of New York: Ramona and Mario Split

From the Bravo Blog Oct 15, 2010 titled "Together Forever?"

to this Tweet from Ramona . . .

There has been a ton of speculation over whether Mario allegedly cheated on Ramona with Kasey Dexter, or whether it was just a ploy to get the RHONY bigger ratings. They never did use this as a storyline on the show and Ramona was not willing to talk about it at all on part 2 of the Reunion show three days ago. But, soon after the show aired, Ramona tweeted that her marriage to Mario was over. According to reports Mario claimed to have called it off with his "mistress" this spring, but apparently he has been still seeing her and not discretely. They have been photographed together, dining, kissing, and holding hands this summer. Ramona allegedly threw Mario out at the end of July. However, despite Andy's relentless questioning on the Reunion show, Ramona insisted the couple was still together and rumors of Mario's cheating were simply "allegations." LuAnn seemed to contradict Ramona, saying "It's hard when your other half cheats on you." She indicated that Ramona said some cruel things to her regarding the breakup of her marriage and, while she has been very supportive of Ramona during this time, she seemed to get some satisfaction in saying, "Karma's a b*tch." 

I guess Ramona finally realized that when you live your life in a public forum and make your living from being on a reality tv show, you cannot keep certain painful aspects of your life private. As hard as she tried it was impossible to hide when Mario was out flaunting his alleged affair for all the world to see and photograph. He even had the audacity to say on the show "The best cheaters never get caught." Mario didn't try very hard not to get caught. Ramona seems to be done being in denial about it. 

Picture Credit: BRAVO

Real Housewives of New York: Carole's "Open Relationship" with Russ

Click on picture for larger view and let me know

if I earned my million dollars!

Did anyone hear Carole say she had an open relationship with her then boyfriend, Russ Irwin, last season. Aviva heard it. I could swear I heard it. But, did it really happen or did we imagine it? This is the kind of controversy I love to get to the bottom of. Like most viewers, I love Carole and what she brings to the show: intelligence, wit, a calming influence, good sense, and humor. I love Carole, but I don’t hate Aviva. Aviva brings the drama. I feel some compassion towards her. Her life wasn’t all a piece of cake. She lost her leg, she lost her mother, she was married to Harry and she was raised by a sex maniac. So I am going to cut Aviva plenty of slack and if she is right about this open relationship I want to see it for myself and perhaps earn the million dollars Carole offered to anyone who heard her say she was in an “open relationship,” because she denies it ever saying it.

First of all, what is an “open relationship?” By definition, an open relationship is defined as a couple being in a committed relationship, but are free to “see” other people. What I remember Carole saying that when Russ was in town they were together and when he traveled they were free to “date” other people. But, let’s see if Aviva and I need our ears cleaned or a lesson in open relationships. What did other people hear? Let’s go back in time to before the controversy became a controversy . . .

In August 2012, “Wetpaint” says: “Carole Radizwell . . . her casual, seemingly open relationship with rocker Russ Irwin.” I wonder where they got that from?

In July 2012, “Starcasm” reports: “Carole Radziwill has been extremely open with the fact that her and Russ Irwin have an open relationship. Carole lives in New York City and Russ lives in Los Angeles, and it seems this unconventional arrangement works for them! When they are in the same city, they reunite and do normal boyfriend/girlfriend activities. When they are apart, they live as single people — they even go on dates! ‘Russ and I are dating, but that doesn’t mean I can’t go to dinner with another man, or meet someone else for drinks,’ Carole explains.” That certainly seems to fit the definition.

In June, 2012, Vulture.com writes: “But it don’t mean a thing to Carole, nor to Russ. They are adults in a long-distance, ‘cool, casual’ (which I guess just means open) long-distance relationship.”

In fact, if you Google Carole Radizwell and “open relationship,” you will get literally dozens of blogs all saying that Carole had an open relationship with Russ. Did we all make the same mistake as Aviva? Or, did Carole’s choice of words describing her relationship lead us all to believe the same thing? 

And then there’s the July 2012 article by the New York Daily News who interviewed Russ Irwin at the time and this is what Russ had to say: ““It’s not easy to date or to try to have a relationship when you’re on the road,” he says, “but Carole and I get along great, and we keep the relationship open, and that’s one of the ways we make it work.” So even Russ understood it was an open relationship!

Finally, the June 11, 2012 BRAVO Blog says: “Over furs, Carole gives Aviva in update about her dating life. She's in a "situation" with Russ. They date when he's around, but when he's on the road (playing AEROSMITH SONGS) they are their own people.” 

It seems to me the evidence is pretty conclusive that even if Carole didn’t use the words “open relationship,” everyone heard “open relationship.” Aviva and I don’t need our ears cleaned. We don’t need a lesson on open relationships. Carole needs to own what she said or implied because even Russ thought the relationship was open and wouldn't he know? What is right, is right. Aviva is right. Did I earn the one million Carole offered? I would love to collect it!