I Married A Mobster: Cheryl Caruso 'Wised Up' Interview

Cheryl Caruso, today

Interviewing can sometimes be quite interesting.  Sometimes the interviewer has a preconceived notion of who they are about to interview.  Sometimes they have no clue.  After I watched the premiere episode of 'I Married A Mobster', I think I had a good grasp of who I thought Cheryl Caruso was as a woman.  I was pleased when I was right on the money.

How are you doing today Cheryl?
I am good Mob Mistress.  It's crazy around here.  There is so much excitement and commotion going on.


Okay, well let's get started.  What was it about Phil that drew you in?
He was such a romantic.  He wrote me such beautiful love letters.  Phil wined and dined me.  I can hear the smile within her voice. Whenever, he would come to pick me up he'd be playing Michael Jackson's I'll Be There.

Cheryl Herrmann during elementary school

Oh my God that is too cute!  How didn't you know Cheryl?
I was young and naive.  I understand many people will continue to think, 'She had to know!'  The reality is I did not know.  I was spellbound.  I was mesmerized.  I came from a single parent household.  My mother worked hard.  We lived from paycheck to paycheck.  I wasn't raised in the lifestyle.  None of my friends were in the lifestyle.  How was I to know?  We dated for 3 months.  He proposed and I was caught up in planning a wedding for the next 9 months.  We get married.  Then I am pregnant for eight months and a newlywed.  Our marriage was wonderful.  I was happy.  We had a baby then two.  The bills were paid.  He got up every weekday morning and went to work in a suit.  I visited his printing company.  I thought he was a businessman.  He never gave me a reason to doubt him.

Are you telling me you absolutely did not know?
I did not know.  Phil told me nothing.  I grew up in Long Island, not Staten Island.  Phil said he would take care of everything.  He did until the bottom fell out.  I loved Phil with all my heart.  I trusted him.

Fair enough, you know I dated someone connected.  I did not know.
Really?! So you understand where I am coming from!

I do.  More than I care to share.
It was devastating wasn't it?

Yes, I felt like someone had kicked me in my throat.  Enough about that, where are you today as mother and business woman?
My girls are 18 and 20.  My baby is about to join her older sister at the university.  I am so very proud of both of my daughters.  When I look at them all the devastation and jobs were worth it.

Do you worry about them falling for a wise guy?
No, they are very smart.  They aren't naive as I was once upon a time.  We've talked.  I don't have any fears that they'll fall into the lifestyle.  I want them to reach for their dreams.  All I want for them is to live happy lives.  Maybe they'll marry doctors, lawyers, or businessmen.

Cheryl you do mean legit businessmen right?  We both laugh. 
Yes Mistress!  Whatever, their mates' occupations I want them legitimate & legal!

Ms. Caruso's Talero Tequila

Let's get back to the other part of my question earlier; what business ventures are you currently involved in?
Well I partnered with a spirit company.  Together we've developed Talero tequila it's 100% organic.  It's a luxury tequila.  Do you like tequila?

I wonder who told this woman about my table dancing days in an orange bikini in Cabo San Lucas?  Yes, I am a tequila strumpet.
Well I'll send you a bottle!  You'll love it.  I promise.  It has notes of white pepper and citrus.  It's very velvetly with a light taste of spice.  The finish is smooth.

My mouth waters.  I silently pray she sends me two bottles.  Thank you, thank you Cheryl!  I would enjoy that very much.  I know they are rushing you.  Let me ask you one last question.  Why do I Married A Mobster?
Dan Pearson one of the executive producers happens to be a good friend of mine.  We've known one another for years.  He knows my life.  He witnessed me from my naive days to my finding out the truth to who I am today.  He told me that I had an opportunity to tell my journey.  At first I was a bit hestitant, but I feel my sharing my story is finally closing that chapter in my life.  It's addressing all those who assume I did know.  My story is an example to women whatever situation you may find yourself in, we have the strength to get out of it.  They have the power to get out of a bad situation.  Phil was very good to me.  However, keeping me in the dark was ultimately devastating.  I've moved on.  My children are happy and healthy.  I am healthy and happy.  It wasn't an easy road for me to get to happy.  But I did.  I want people to know it's not an all glitz & glamour lifestyle.  It's very destructive.

Thank you so very much Cheryl for your time!  You know when your episode ended. I was like, "Is that it?"  I wanted to watch more of your story.
She laughs. Oh thank you!  I am glad you watched and enjoyed it.  It's quite a story.

Yes it is.  I am glad you made it to the other side.  Bye Cheryl.
Bye Mistress!

Whatever your opinion, at the end of the day Cheryl is adament she didn't know.  Phil "Philly" Caruso confirms he never told her a thing.  I don't know too many marriages which can last without communication on such an important issue.  I wish Cheryl Caruso all the success in the world with Talero Tequila and any other business endeavors.  Discover what Talero Tequila is all about by clicking here.


We hope you tune in with us each Wednesday to watch I Married A Mobster on Investigation Discovery @ 10:30 PM Eastern/Pacific.  For all those who haven't a clue what channel to tune on click here.  Look out for the Drita D'avanzo of Mob Wives interview with Chiara soon.  Oh and we have a new blogger on our volunteer staff Harley's Angel, she's feisty & jaded.  She'll fit right in.

Off topic:  My son just said, "Mother, I love you.  You are a shooting star to me."  I am sitting here with tears running down my face.  Lawd hammercy this kid is going to get every nickel & dime out of me.

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I Married A Mobster: Recap of Episode 1 “Cheryl & Philly: A Love Story”

The women of this new show break the mob rule of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” In “A Love Story,” Cheryl accepts a dinner invitation from Phil even though she was engaged to another man. Phil was very taken by Cheryl and he asks to see her ring. He takes the ring off her finger, throws it across the restaurant and tells her you aren’t engaged any more, you are with me. And that’s how the “Love Story” begins.

Philly brings Cheryl presents every time he picks her up. He romances her. He owns a successful printing business in Manhattan. He never tells her he worked for the Colombo crime family as part of Sonny Franzese’s crew, or that he did printing for Sonny. Philly also laundered money for the mob. They were paying him $150,000 a week. That’s how he made the money that allowed them to take trips to the Bahamas, buy a four bedroom house and he even had car painted pink for her.

One day he calls Cheryl and tells her they are going furniture shopping. Philly picks up Cheryl and he brings her a single red rose. She is so busy talking about the furniture they are going to buy that she doesn’t realize that inside the rose is a 3.5 carat diamond engagement ring. Philly tells her to smell the rose. That’s how he proposed to her. They married and went on honeymoon, taking a 7 day cruise to the islands. Eight months later they had a baby girl, Melissa, and Philly gives Cheryl one million dollars. Two years later they have another daughter. Cheryl says her life was always picture perfect and always full of surprises.

This was far from the life Cheryl had known. Her father abandoned the family when she was five years old. Her mother had to raise four children by herself. Cheryl had three brothers and her hand me downs left a lot to be desired. So Philly’s romancing had swept her totally off her feet.

On September 22, 1993, after three years of marriage, Cheryl had to kiss her fantasy good bye as she woke up to a nightmare. The Feds were after Philly. One day, when he stops to fill up his gas tank, he is surrounded by law enforcement agents and taken into custody. A detective calls Cheryl to let her know. Cheryl says they really wanted to get Sonny Franzese and wanted Philly’s cooperation. They tell him that Sonny is his ticket out of jail and into the witness protection program. But Philly clamed up and gets his father to bail him out of jail. Cheryl still knows nothing about why Philly is in jail. He tells her time and time again not to worry, it’s not serious. Philly thinks he is protecting her by not telling her why he is in trouble. If she doesn’t know anything she can’t say anything. But in the end, Philly ends up being convicted of drug trafficking, racketeering and wire fraud.

Phil Caruso

One day, before he leaves the house, Philly takes off all his jewelry, puts it in his jewelry box and kisses Cheryl good bye. She gets a bad feeling. She decides to go down to the courthouse and arrives for what is the last day of his trial. She walks in during the judges sentencing and hears him read a list of crimes and then pronounce sentence, 15 years to life. That is all Cheryl heard. She didn’t know what to do. Philly was handcuffed and taken away and she was told to go home. The children were in day care for a couple of hours so she knew she needed to pick them up. Philly did not “flip” and refused to talk, so he ended up getting a long sentence. He was a “stand up” guy.

The news media were calling Cheryl, they were saying Philly was pushing cocaine. She didn’t know what to believe so she locks herself up in her house with her girls. Her fairy tale ended and everything after that was hell. She had no income, no money and the bills were coming in. Cheryl went into survival mode and got three jobs, working practically around the clock, 17 hour days, waitressing, hostessing and bartending, while her mother watched her children. She waited for 5 years and even drove the 11 hour trip to the prison, near the Canadian border, to talk to Phil and get answers, but he never told her about his involvement with the mob. She says, she couldn’t do it any more; she couldn’t handle his pain and hers. She stopped going to the prison and didn’t have time to read and answer the ten letters a day he was writing to her.

Reenactment Scene

While Philly was serving time, Cheryl was busy becoming financially independent and stable. She didn’t need Philly any more. When he is released in February 2000, after serving 7 years, he expects to be able to return home and take over, but Cheryl says no, it’s not happening. When they first met she says she was naïve, quiet and fun loving. She didn’t know anything. But, after everything that happened, she now understood everything and she could never go back to the way things were with him. She even gets an order of protection.

Philly felt rejected and he decides to teach her a lesson “mob style.” One day, at 8:00 at night, two sheriffs show up at her door. She thinks Philly has gotten into more trouble and tells them Phil is not there. They tell her they are there for her. Phil’s lawyer convinced a judge that she was abusing her children. They removed Cheryl from the home. She had to prove her innocence and the judge was livid. She also started her divorce case, which lasted five years. Philly was never allowed to come home again.

I found Cheryl’s story interesting. I have heard some skepticism about her claiming she didn’t know Philly was in the mob or where all the money was coming from. But, after watching this episode twice, I really tend to believe Cheryl. She was never involved in the mob or been around that lifestyle as far as we know. Phil had a successful printing business in Manhattan which could have afforded them a lavish lifestyle. I don’t think she had much reason to suspect him of being connected except for one thing which might have been a red flag. She asked about his business associates and he told her that they used to be connected, but weren’t any more. Most people know you do not just “retire or quit” the mob after you’ve made your money. But maybe she was naïve about things like that. It just goes to show she knows nothing about mob life.

The other thing that troubled me was that a year into their marriage, after she had their first child, Philly gives her one million dollars. I would love to know what happened to all that money? He was arrested two years later and she says there was no money, no income. But they already had the house, the furniture, the cars…so where did the million dollars go? I know it would be easy to spend all that money in two years, but Philly was still making money and supporting the family up until his arrest. It’s just a question that nagged at me after I watching the episode again.

I don’t think Cheryl is you typical mob wife. She didn’t “wait” for Philly, she drove to the prison to get answers, and she didn’t let him back into her life when he got out. She just seems to have “fallen” into the mob world, clueless and then pulled herself out for the sake of her girls. I think she did a damn good job.

All written content is exclusive property of The Mob Wives Blogspot and is protected by copyrights or other intellectual property rights. You are prohibited from using, copying, altering, modifying, or changing our work. Unauthorized use of this is strictly prohibited. Violators are punishable under federal law. In simple English, stop f*cking jacking our work.

Picture Credit: Investigation Discovery