by Bruno, Joe
Or the verse in the Bible, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”
People need to show a little compassion. They’ll never know when they’ll need a little compassion themselves.
Responses to “Renee Graziano Weeps in Court”
Joe - As an Italian-American I have such mixed feelings about these types of shows. On the one hand epics like the Godfather are art. Even shows like Goodfellas, The Bronx Tale… etc….are entertaining.
The thing that slays me about this show is that everyone acts like a victim here. Are you kidding me? Choices guys! You chose the life. Even those of you who were born into can find their way out.
Rat Pagan May Be Implicated in a Murder
February 14, 2012
They say what comes around goes around.
It looks like Hector Junior Pagan, resident rat of the popular VHI TV show Mob Wives, could be facing a murder rap, even though he became an informant whose actions resulted in the arrests of several alleged mob figures, including his former father-in-law Anthony Graziano.
According to an article in the New York Post, Pagan, who allegedly secretly began wearing a wire around the same time he was appearing in cameos on Mob Wives, allegedly took part in the robbery-murder of James Donovan, a Lucchese family associate, in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn in July 2010. According to the Post, “attorneys Ronald Fischetti and Eric Franz (who are representing Vincent “Vinny TV” Badalamenti) wrote to Brooklyn federal prosecutors, asking for information about Pagan’s role in the Donovan murder.”
Badalamenti is one of the alleged mob figures whom Pagan secretly taped, and those tapes are one of the reasons Badalamenti was arrested in late January.
Pagan is the ex-husband of Mob Wives star Renee Graziano, who says she was as surprised as anyone when it was revealed Pagan had become an informant. Renee has recently denounced Pagan and says she supports her father “100 percent.”
The kicker here is, even though Pagan may have been promised a reduced sentence for his cooperation, he was most likely under obligation to reveal every crime he had committed in the past to get that deal. If Pagan didn’t reveal his role in the Donovan murder and it can be proven that he indeed was involved, his deal with the government could go right out the window.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
Responses to “Rat Pagan May Be Implicated in a Murder”
Ani - I’d rather pull my teeth out one by one than to watch Renee “AKA Lunatic” cry, scream aggghh… And what’s up with big Ang…This is some crazy s**t!!
JB - The show is really a comedy show. Only the producers didn’t intend it to be. Nobody involved with the show should quit their day jobs.
And Ani, I’ve already pulled all my teeth watching the show. I’m starting on my nose next.
Non - The old guard were men of honor. I’m glad my grandfather passed away when he did so he did not have to see the fall of the empire. So very sad. PS Free Frankie Loc.
Hector Pagan to Testify Against Vinny TV
February 16, 2012
According to an indictment brought by the Federal government, Vincent “Vinny TV” Badalamenti, an alleged top Bonanno crime family banana, dispatched three tough guys to “have a little chat” with mob informant Hector “Junior” Pagan, who was allegedly delinquent on a $5,000 loan. And the chief witness against Badalamenti in his upcoming trial is Pagan himself, who had been wearing a wire while talking to various alleged mobsters, including his ex-father-in-law Anthony Graziano, the father of Pagan’s ex-wife Renee Graziano, one of the co-stars of VH1’s Mob Wives.
However, Badalamenti’s lawyers expect to have a field day grilling Pagan on the stand when it comes time for Pagan’s to perform his rat act in court.
“We intend to attack his credibility and expose his motive to testify falsely for the government,” Ronald Fischetti, Badalamenti’s defense lawyer, told the New York Post.
As was reported yesterday in this blog, Fischetti, along with his co-counsel Eric Franz, intend to allege that Pagan was involved in the murder of alleged Lucchese crime family associate James Donovan in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn in 2010. In fact, Fischetti and Franz have written to Brooklyn federal prosecutors asking for information about “Pagan’s role in Donovan’s murder.”
If there is evidence that Pagan was involved in Donovan’s murder, Badalamenti’s lawyers will allege that Pagan is just making up tales out of school in order to save his own skin.
It wouldn’t be the first time a mob canary testified against former pals in order to get a reduced sentence. As far back as 1941, Abe “Kid Twist” Reles, one of Murder Incorporated’s top killers, turned state’s evidence and began testifying against his former associates. Reles’ testimony helped put killers like Harry “Pittsburg Phil” Strauss, Mendy Weiss, and Louie “Lepke” Buchalter right into the Sing Sing electric chair.
However, on November 12, 1941, before Reles could testify against other Murder Inc. alumni like Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, Frankie Carbo, and Albert Anastasia, Reles went flying out of the 6th floor window of the Half Moon Hotel in Coney Island, while supposedly under 24-hour New York City police guard.
The official New York police department report was that Reles “fell” out of the window while trying to escape. However, mob boss Frank Costello said years later that he spread $50,000 around the N.Y. City police department in order to quicken Reles’ demise. In fact, Costello said the cops who were supposed to be guarding Reles, were the ones who actually flung Reles out the window.
But times have changed, and Pagan is now in the Witness Protection Program, safe as a newborn baby in his mother’s arms.
Stay tuned for further developments.
Responses to “Hector Pagan to Testify Against Vinny TV”
Kir - I think this is wrong because - what about the government and the dirty stuff they do? What’s up with that? People like us do something - they are crucified. I hope that everybody goes free. I hate this dirty government.
Sug - OMG! I bet that is why he (Pagan) was wigging out at that Halloween party!! That guy (some random guy) came up to Junior at that party and was talking about being a cop or something? I can’t remember exactly what he said, but no one knew the guy. He could’ve been the thug that was sent to shake old Junior up and he knew it. He sure got the heck out of Dodge after that! Anyway, I agree with the last comment our government is just as corrupt as the mob. They can get away with it, though.
Amy - I want some of JR. He’s sexy
JB - Amy, JR is sexy?? Are you in jail??
Nat - That is one of the unfortunate routs in this life style. You go into it thinking you’re getting trust and loyalty, and a family, and in the end your friends become your enemies, and your enemies become your friends. It’s a damn shame. I feel for Rene’s family I couldn’t even watch the show without crying because this is so devastating. CRAZY that things like that could happen. It just boggles my f*****g mind, and her emotions show. I can’t imagine how much shame Junior must be feeling.
I hope the judge finds out all the stuff he actually did and makes the D. A forget about his little deal. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime. Point-blank.
JB - I doubt Junior is feeling any shame. He’s probably gloating that he’s not going to jail. Guys like Junior don’t feel any shame.
Is the Bonanno Crime Family Rudderless?
February 19, 2012
The LAW is gloating that the Bonanno crime family is basically a non-entity, or maybe even extinct, but I’m not so sure they are right.
According to Joseph Ponzi, chief investigator for the Brooklyn DA’s office, the recent arrest of acting Bonanno boss Vincent “Vinny TV” Badalamenti was the “last man standing” in the Bonanno hierarchy, and that the Bonannos presently have no one in charge. Badalamenti was arrested with the help of mob rat Hector “Junior” Pagan, who is the ex-husband of Mob Wives reality star Renee Graziano. Pagan also wore a wire while speaking to his ex-father-in
-law Anthony Graziano, which resulted in Graziano’s arrest.
The FBI is also gloating about the recent arrests of the top Bonannos.
“They keep setting ’em up, and we keep knocking ’em down,” said Seamus McElearney, the leader of the FBI squad assigned to the Bonanno crime family.
If the FBI and New York City law enforcement have learned one thing in the past 80 years or so of chasing the mob, it should be that as soon as one mob boss goes down, by either getting whacked or being put into prison, another mob boss rises from the ashes, or gets “bumped up” to take their place. So it surprises me how smug both the Brooklyn DA and the FBI are with their statements about the demise of the Bonannos.
If the law enforcement groups really feel they have their Bonanno problem licked, I’m sure there are a few smiling faces in the Bonanno ranks, hoping the law has let down their guard, so that the mob can continue with business as usual.
Hector Pagan Still Showcased on Mob Wives
February 21, 2012
Because this is the work I choose to do, I decided to watch Mob Wives for a second time, just to see what the young ladies were up too, especially Renee Graziano (I know this is dirty work, but someone has to do it). Because of my impeccable timing, I was able to watch two shows in a row; the rerun of the 2/12/2012 show at 7 p.m., and the regularly scheduled 2/19 show at 8 p.m. Plus, I was given a silly show called “Sitdown” from 9-9:30 pm.
Right off the bat, I was amazed that Hector “Junior” Pagan is still featured on the show, two months after it was revealed in the press that Pagan is now an informant for the government. Pagan even wore a wire while talking to Mob Wives star Renee Graziano’s father, Anthony Graziano, which resulted in her father being sent back to prison. Yet the show is on, like nothing has ever happened concerning Pagan’s flipping to the Feds.
I know the show was shot before all this came to light, but the fact that VH1 is still running episodes, without even a disclaimer on the screen to set the viewers straight, is disingenuous at best.
In the two episodes I watched, Pagan is still schmoozing with Renee, like they are two love birds in a wonderful nest, with nary a care in the world. And that’s misleading and disgraceful, considering what has transpired in the past two months since Pagan turned canary.
There were a few scenes concerning Renee and Pagan that were downright laughable. In one scene, Renee snatches Pagan’s cell phone without his knowledge, and mischievously searches for phone numbers of his old girlfriends.
I was screaming at my TV set, “Look for the phone numbers of the FBI, you fool!”
In another scene Renee and Pagan are seeing a marriage counselor. In the presence of the marriage counselor Renee tells Junior, “You said I wasn’t skinny enough for you; that I was fat. I was 135 pounds, I wasn’t fat.”
Pagan just shrugs at the remark, like he’s thinking, “You’re still too fat for me.” Then he says with a shrug and no smile, “Now you’re thinner.”
Renee looks like she’s ready to pull out her own hair.
She screams, “You’re making me paranoid!”
In light of future developments, she had every right to be paranoid, but not because of her weight.
The marriage counselor finally opened his mouth and asked the obvious question. “Why are you two trying to get back together?”
Pagan, the sensitive bloke that he is, just shrugs and says, “I don’t know,” knowing that at that exact moment he’s talking to the Feds and there isn’t the slightest chance in the world he and Renee will ever get back together again; especially after he rats on her father, and her father’s pals, like Vincent “Vinnie TV” Badalamenti, who was also arrested because of Pagan being a stool pigeon.
There was a telling scene where Renee is sitting on a park bench outside the Criminal Court building with another mob wife, the name of which escapes me, if I ever knew it in the first place.
First Renee says, referring to Junior, “What kind of man are you, or a father to your kids if you abuse me as a woman?”
Her saying this makes you wonder why she ever attempted to get back with Pagan in the first place. Renee Graziano must be a glutton for punishment.
Then Renee blasts out the best line of the show; maybe in the history of the show, or even in the history of television.
Pointing to the door of the Criminal Courts building she says, “Once a man walks through that door, the chances that he doesn’t go to jail are slim to none; unless he’s a rat.”
Ta-da!!
As for the show Sitdown, it might be the worst show on television, except that distinction goes to “Mob Wives” itself.
The moderator of the show is a blond Kewpie doll named Carrie Keagan. Keagan, who looks like a young Christie Brinkley, asks stupid questions, and from the mob wives she has featured on this particular show, she gets stupid answers.
In one segment, Keagan hands out three cue cards to the guests. One says “Marry him,” another says “Date him,” and the third says something like “Dump him,” or “Incarcerate him.” (This show is so intellectual, I tend to forget.) Then Keagan blurts out the name of a famous male and the girls turn over their cue cards to give their verdicts.
I’ve just turned my cue card over on the show Sitdown and it says “Dump the show now!”
Only intellectually challenged (brain dead) people would watch this show anyway. (Remember, I have an excuse; this is my job.)
As for Mob Wives, it’s obviously a big moneymaker for all involved. But in the interest of fairness, someone connected with the show should have the integrity to somehow relay to the viewers that, although Hector Pagan still appears on the show, because of his present status as an FBI informant, he’s “persona non grata,” with everyone connected with the show, especially with Renee Graziano and her sister Jennifer Graziano, who is the producer of the show.
But I won’t hold my breath waiting for this to happen. The word “integrity” and the show Mob Wives should never appear in the same sentence.
Editor’s note: There’s a woman on the show who isn’t specifically one of the “mob wives,” but rather a friend of theirs. Her name is “Big Ang,” and believe me, Big Ang is big. Big Ang is not fat, but “big” because she claims she wears a triple-J bra. Big Ang is actually quite pleasant, and one of the bright spots of the show - if there is a bright spot in this monstrosity of a show.
Big Ang, who is slightly older than the other ladies, adds spice to every scene she’s in, and she seems to have a pleasant disposition, not like the other ladies, who always look like they’re ready to bite the head off a rattlesnake.
Responses to “Hector Pagan Still Showcased on Mob Wives”
Den - I agree with you – dumb show. Have to point out that Carrie Keagan is very smart and funny in other environments.
JB - Den - If Carrie Keagan is smart, then she should stay in those environments. She is a very pretty girl. This show could be a career killer for her.
Dar - Carrie Keagan is just not the right person for that show. She doesn't fit in and quite frankly a short Barbie should never be caught dead with those women. But, I got to say I love watching them!
Val - Those women all need Jesus, and that’s all I have to say.
Ter - Hey, what happens to Hector Pagan now? WPP?
JB - Ter, Pagan is already in the Witness Protection Program. I don’t know what kind of deal he made with the Feds, so I don’t know how much jail time he will get, if any. But he will have to testify in the upcoming mob trials of the men he wore wires on; including the trial of his ex-father-in-law, Anthony Graziano. That should be fun.
Ter - Sorry, read up and now know about the Witness Protection Program. I watch the show every week and was shocked to read about it. Looks like next week Renee finds out on the show (about Pagan). Their poor son. I already felt bad for the kid, and now this. I have a question though: when these women don’t work, how can they afford these homes when their husbands are locked up most of the time.
&nb
sp; JB - Ter - That’s the reason they did the show in the first place. Money. They need the money.
Son - I know they obviously receive money for the show, but how come Renee said she has none? “just peanut butter and jelly” money ???
JB - I guess these mob wives lie about money, too. Renee’s not broke; she not rich, but she’s not broke either.
Son – OK, so I must first admit I watch the show every weekend, as crazy as it is it makes me feel; like my issues are not that bad – LOL! Apparently I’ve been living under a rock because I didn’t know about Junior becoming a snitch. I’m utterly disgusted that someone could be so conniving, wow!
JB - Son, That’s why the producers of the show are being so disingenuous. They don’t tell their viewers that since these shows were shot, Junior has become a rat.
Son - I don’t know, to me this is just unforgivable. To do that to those who have been there for him for years is just disgusting. We know there have been rats before, but I think this bothers me because we actually see it play out and affect everyone. It is kind of heartbreaking.
And as for being in the Witness Protection Program, he was on TV - how well can he really “blend in?” I’m not saying that murder or extortion or theft is OK by any means, but I think it’s a part of life unfortunately, even by those in the judicial system.
But I believe that what goes around comes around, and if other people wouldn’t give these “mobsters” a reason to do what they do (in their mind), then all this wouldn’t happen as much, in my opinion. So there is no good excuse for that kind of betrayal. Ugh (exhales deeply).
JB - I didn’t see the show for the past few weeks; it’s easy to miss. But I have it recorded and maybe I’ll watch to see what all the fuss is about. I’ve had over 14,000 hits on my blog this morning!!
Ang - I think stool pigeon was on the show to make money… No love or respect at all. I hope Renee stays loyal to the man who gave her life!