Mob Wives

yesterday marked the 1 year anniversary of my boyfriends Dad sudden passing from liver cancer - and well what came to mind was MOB WIVES! - Joe's Dad was ALL into that stuff and ALWAYS had a story to tell me, as i was always all ears! - stories are endless of the times in NYC when 'Smurf' grew up and the mob!

for those who may not know - Joe (boyfriend) is born, raised, and lives in Staten Island NY - the "scene" for the new reality series Mob Wives on VH1 - let me just tell you, HYSTERICAL!

The cast features:

 Karen Gravano, daughter of mob turncoat Sammy Gravano, moved to Arizona with her father and the rest of her family as part of the federal government's witness protection program in the mid-1990s - But her father could not stay on the straight and narrow and, in 2002, pleaded guilty to running a drug ring that sold 30,000 doses of ecstasy a week.  -  Karen, her brother and mother were also implicated in the drug ring and Karen served three years of probation.  -  Now, she's moved back on Staten Island, where the daughter of the mob's most famous rat is not exactly welcome.  -  In what will likely be one of the biggest flash points in the series, Karen is the former girl friend of the husband of another "Wives" cast member, Drita D'avanzo.

Renee Graziano is the daughter of Anthony "The Little Guy" Graziano, the reputed consigliere in the Bonanno crime family.  -  She is divorced from mobster Hector Pagan Jr., who was convicted of running a huge marijuana distribution ring -- with the aid of Renee's sister, Jennifer, then a grad student at NYU.  -  Jennifer Graziano is credited as the creator and executive producer of "Mob Wives."

Drita D'avanzo is married to Bonanno family soldier Lee D'avanzo, who dated Karen Gravano before getting married.  -  Lee is currently serving time in federal prison for drug and bank robbery charges.  -  It is Drita who goes after Renee in the strangulation scene, though the reason is not clear

Carla Facciolo grew up around the mob in Brooklyn, but she thought she was getting out of the life when she married Joey Ferragamo, a stockbroker, according to a biography posted yesterday on the VH1 Web site -  It turns out that her husband wasn't what he appeared to be  -  In 2006, he was convicted of running a boiler room operation and sentenced to 88 months in prison in a case brought by then-federal prosecutor, now New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

ANYONE WATCHING THIS REALITY SHOW?!?!

1st Joe knows this 'crew' - i def wouldn't say the 'mob' is running Staten Island any more (but it's there, Joe to this day always has to point out who's house is who for me, and what happened where, and how this person is related to that person) - when Joe was growing up, it defiantly was part of his world - his friends and friends of friends - and that whole bit - Staten Island is a small place - people know people - Joe's Dad  (Smurf rip 4.27.2010) grew up in NYC in the whole 'Italian culture' - so a show like "Mob Wives" which is made up of a cast from Staten Island (all the men are currently locked up) - i knew Joe would be ALL IN on this one - and sure enough, he's hooked! (poor guy has to suffer through shows like 'Say Yes to the Dress' and 'America's Next Top Model' - at least we have 1 show we both can enjoy - oh and yes, i totally am the remote holder, if you couldn't tell by my personality yet)

Little about Staten Island, NY

no secrete the ONLY reason i go to Staten Island is for restaurants, pizza, HomeGoods/TJMaxx shopping, and to see Joe's family! - everything else about SI, i could do without!

• streets are 1 big pot hole
• yes the women there DO talk/act like that (let's say i'm glad Joe has sisters, b/c they got my back)
• police are corrupt as they get
• houses are built pretty much on top of one another
• yes there are a lot of famous people who live there (off Todt Hill mainly)
• you'll always find a random Lamborghini driving down Hylan Blvd
• people still talk about WuTang all the time
• Fushimi is the place they ate at the first episode (it's in a strip mall and has valet parking, i swear it's a SI thing, restaurants in strip malls with valet parking, go figure!) - it's a Asian/Sushi place (we ate lunch there alfresco yesterday)
• SI is filled with what i call "half of houses", ie duplexes, these are rare in the Jersey burbs
• Seeing random fights go down is nothing new there
• road rage is insane, i think it's bread into them
• Staten Island turning lights are backwards, you get the turn light AFTER the red
• There is a small boardwalk, no shops or anything, there is a restaurant off it tho  (South Fin, where once of the fights went down on the show)- it's nice to bike ride on since it's right off the beach (Joe lives a couple blocks from the beach n boardwalk)
• SI was once just a garbage dump, but they have been attempting to clean it up and have been building a lot on the other side of the island
• deer swim across the river from Jersey to Staten Island - go figure!
• Wild turkeys run wild around the island, especially by one of the hospitals
• there are some nice nature paths to hike through
• Buddha Lounge is located on the other side of the island where it getting more developed now (this is where the 2 girls had the huge blow out at the birthday party)
• SI is broken down into neighborhoods - in Jersey they would be towns
• they have a zoo - but not sure 'zoo' is what it should be called tho
• St. Johns University and Wagner College are located in Staten Island
• Vinny from the Jersey Shore lives there
• there's only 1 mall on the island and it's horro! - great for people watching tho! - a mall without Saks, Bloomies or Nordy - what's the sense?!?!

WHO ELSE IS WATCHING MOB WIVES?!

Sunday's at 8pm on VH1

(i admit, i'm a reality show junky; they make me laugh until my stomach hurts!)



 pssst. Smurf my cabinets are working out fantastic, such amazing work, i'm forever thankful i have a piece of you in my home - hope i'm taking care of them the way you would want me too! - miss you big time Smurf - can't believe it's been 1 year!)

i will repost with actual photos of all the places the Mob Wives go - been to everywhere so far - just gotta download the pics - give a "real" perspective of where this show is filmed ..