Joe Bruno's Mobsters - Six Volume Set

by Bruno, Joe

  JB - They are doing the show because they NEED THE MONEY!

  Wow, I’m so sorry for Renee and AJ. Jr. is the lowest dirtbag scum. You are a strong woman. My deepest sympathy.

  JB - Junior Pagan is lower than the lowest dirt scumbag.

  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 being a snitch. I’m utterly disgusted that someone could be so conniving, wow!

  JB - The producers are just as conniving as Junior for keeping us in the dark about him being a rat.

  You get the idea.

  I’m as startled as anyone as to the extent of the national attention given to a TV show that is so bad, it makes my eyebrows hurt.

  Why is this show so popular?

  It’s not realistic.

  The acting is horrible.

  There is no story line to speak of, except, this wife hates that wife, and the other wife is friends with wife No. 1, so she can’t be friends with wife No. 2.

  Ad infinitum… UGH…

  Then there’s the Hector “Junior” Pagan thing, which is the most newsworthy subject-line in the show.

  It’s been common knowledge for months that Pagan is an informant for the FBI. Yet, if you watch the show, and don’t read or watch the news on television, you’d never know this fact. Not once has anyone on the show attempted to set the record straight. And this could be done easily with a disclaimer as the show starts, stating something like, “Since we recorded this show, Junior Pagan has become an FBI informant. Sorry for any confusion the following show might cause.”

  Was that so hard?

  But I guess the producers thought the truth would reduce the viewership of the show.

  And money always trumps the truth.

  PS — The final stats for the day were: 16,953 hits on Joe Bruno on the Mob; 4,564 hits alone on the article Renee Graziano and Rat Ex- Husband Hector Pagan Back Together.

  Responses to “My Website Gets Bombarded With Mob Wives Hits”

  All - My sentiments exactly on Mob Wives! People are eating this s__t up, including my well-educated, Republican older sister. It’s pure escapism for her while she’s recovering from cancer. Mindless!

  Hea - My heart goes out to Renee & AJ. I can’t even imagine what they are going through. I think that Junior using her to get to her father is SICK and I think that he is lower than whale poop!! And after putting his son through so much emotional torture he should be stripped of the title “Dad.”

  Sug - Well, I just found this blog today and there is some great info here! I Love It!! And you said it makes your eyebrows hurt. How about every time I watch this show I drive my husband crazy - talking like Drita. I can’t help myself nor can I stop! It’s loud and a little painful.

  JB - Sug, This show’s a bad joke made for people who never lived in a mob-related neighborhood. This show is for people who live on the Moon. Or maybe even Mars.

  Pluto, anyone?

  Hel - THEY JUST NEED TO GET HIS (JUNIOR’S) ASS IN JAIL FOR BEING A RAT (IN ANG’S VOICE).

  Chr - I did catch Basketball Wives and Baseball Wives, and both are 10 times worse than Mob Wives.

  The Producers of Mob Wives Show No Shame

  March 27, 2012

  So now I know exactly why my site, Joe Bruno on the Mob, got bombarded with so many hits yesterday – March 25, 2012. (16,953 to be exact)

  I had recorded the last two shows of Mob Wives, but frankly, the show is so bad, I couldn’t bring myself to watch them. But I knew something must have happened on the show to cause all the commotion on my blog. When I finally found out what it was, I got sick to my stomach.

  The world has known for the past few months that Renee Graziano’s ex-husband, Hector “Junior“ Pagan, has turned into a government informant – rat, canary, stool pigeon – you pick the term. Yet, the show has gone on like nothing has happened, and week after week it’s the Renee and Junior love-in.

  Will they get back together? Will Renee again marry her true love, who had cheated on her almost from the day they first married?

  Like anyone with half a brain would really care.

  However, on the March 25 show, instead of finally telling the viewers the truth about Junior’s turncoat act, Mob Wives put on a disgusting performance that started with Renee finding a letter from Junior saying that he had “self-surrendered” himself to the law. (This actually meant that the FBI had pulled Pagan off the streets so that he wouldn’t get killed when all the facts on him being an FBI informant came to light.)

  Then the hysteria on Mob Wives accelerated into full gear.

  The rest of the show was Renee literally weeping and screaming that “she’s losing her mind.”

  I was ready to lose my own mind, when he show thankfully ended with Renee on the phone to her father’s house (looking for information on Junior).

  As she was speaking on the phone to whomever, the police arrived (at her father’s house) and arrested her father, Anthony Graziano.

  Renee’s howling then became more spirited.

  “Don’t arrest my fathaaa!” she yelled into the phone; repeatedly.

  Renee’s hysterics then reached a fever pitch. She shrieked, cried, moaned, rolled her eyes, and she looked like she’s ready to barf on the floor. Renee did basically everything melodramatically possible except literally pull the hairs out of her own head.

  It was sickening and disgusting, and an extremely painful scene to watch.

  Then the producers of the show cut to a promo for the following week’s show, when the viewers, ignorant to the real story, may (and I say may) finally be told the truth: Pagan is an FBI informant; Pagan wore a wire while speaking to Anthony Graziano, and that’s why the elder Graziano was arrested; Pagan never had any intention of getting back with Renee Graziano; he was using her to get close to her father, and her father’s friends, so he could wear a wire on as many as men he could.

  As a result, the FBI had a field day - arresting several alleged organized crime figures, who are now awaiting trial, with Pagan in the wings as a major witness against them.

  So, to shamelessly boost the following week’s ratings, VH1’s Mob Wives will drag out the misery for at least another week.

  I’ve always written how bad the program Mob Wives is, but this was way beyond bad; it was beyond any semblance of common decency to see a woman literally go out of her mind on television. Maybe she was acting; maybe she wasn’t.

  And then there’s the question of whether everything was happening in real time? Or were the histrionics staged after the fact for maximum effect?

  No matter which way you cut it, the entire scene was way over-the-top.

  Sure, I feel sorry for Renee Graziano and her son AJ, who is an innocent victim. But to stoop so low as to graphically display a woman’s agony (faked or real), when the truth has been known for many months, is beyond dishonest.

  Shame on VH1. And shame on the producers of Mob Wives, which includes Renee’s sister Jennifer Graziano. I’d rather watch the lions eat Christian in the Roman Coliseum than see Renee go through her convulsions again. Severed body parts would be less terrifying than what I witnessed on the March 25 show of Mob Wives.

  One thing’s for sure: next week’s ratings for Mob Wives will be off the charts. And that’s all they care about anyway.

  P.S. — I have 320 articles on my blog Joe Bruno on the Mob. Only 16 have anything to do with the show Mob Wives; some peripherally. That’s five percent. Yet Mob Wives’ articles get 80 percent of all hits on my blog. This proves how distorted our society has really become.

  More to come next week. Hopefully for the last time.

  Responses to “The Producers of Mob Wives Show No Shame”

  Kat - If you actually look at the moment when she’s talking on the phone with her friends in the kitchen, her fingernail polish makes a drastic change from purple to red. That tells me
they edited that whole thing. Just shows how staged and ridiculous this show really is.

  JB - Kat, only an observant woman like you would have noticed that. I completely missed it. But you’re right. They did the scene in different takes.

  Eva - Actually, if you watch it closely you will notice she was actually wearing two different color nail polishes; red on one hand and a darker color on another. My wife tells me that’s a trend these days.

  Eri - If it was real, in all fairness, no one is being forced to be on the show! It’s a VH1's job to bring in the viewers, so these women knew that if there was a juicy drama in their lives it was going to end up on TV. Plus, these women have been having men coming in and out of their lives from jail since they were children. And they knew that wasn’t going to change as long as they were in that life. So, chances were that that would end up on TV and they all still made the choice to do the show.

  JB - Eri, these women are on the show for one reason – MONEY!! There’s a ton of money to be made, no matter how much they embarrass themselves and their families. And don’t forget, the producer of the show is Jennifer Graziano - Renee’s sister.

  Vit - Of course he’s (Pagan) a rat! She (Renee) never should have gotten involved out of the Italian culture!

  And – Ha-ha! I remember Sammy the Bull and a lot of other ITALIANS turning rats so it has nothing to do with him being Latino. The Italian culture stopped being a culture after the 60’s.

  JB – Right, And. I could write a few books on all the Italian FBI informants, especially in the last decade. Joe Valachi was the first to rat in the 60’s, but years went by before the rodents started chirping again.

  Ita - Actually, I watched the scene again, and in one scene Renee did wear dark purple on both hands and in the very next clip she had red nails on both hands. Hmmmm.

  JB – So it’s obvious they did two different takes on the same scene. All staged.

  Ter - I have no sympathy for any of these women anyway. If they’re going to enjoy the money rolling in that their husbands make off other people’s misery, then they need to balls-up and not whine when it’s their time for some of the misery.

  Duc - I pray that Karen can be a good friend to Renee. As a woman who also stuck around way too long for a man in and out of the system, I can only hope Renee grows stronger, as I did, and that her and her son stay safe.

  It’s hard to comprehend what Junior Pagan was thinking, but I feel it was a very selfish move on his part. As usual, the families suffer. Let it end with Renee, and I hope she rises up to realize her own strengths and possibilities in this life. Her life.

  Duk - It’s not just money, it’s a sickness being in an emotionally chaotic relationship; one that I saw growing up and continued on with my life. I chose to end it after I figured out I deserved a better life and saw how negatively it affected me and my children. I’m quite content to live without the drama. I hope Renee stops the cycle and starts living a healthy life. She deserves it!

  Mia - Ok, I grew up in a N.J. suburb just a half hour from NYC (how the crow flies). Growing up, one of my best friend’s father was in the mob. In fact, at one point they just packed up and moved away. Overnight. No word. No calls (Before email).

  She never liked the rumors and whispers. Her father was a muscled-up tough guy, as were all of his friends. Half her cousins ended up in jail over the years. So what if they take a few takes? It’s TV, but I do think it’s as close to reality as they can show on TV.

  JB – Mia, I disagree. I lived in Italian and so-called mob neighborhoods for 48 years.

  I never met women like the ones on Mob Wives. Everything is over-exaggerated; especially the cursing and constant theatrics. All bogus.

  Bgy - I like the show Mob Wives. I feel bad for Renee.

  Mar - MOBSTERS DO NOT DIE!! THEY GET FAT AND MOVE TO MIAMI.

  Deb - I think Junior did a flip to get away from that crazy woman. I don’t think it’s right at all, but I don’t see any other way for him to get away from her.

  JB - Deb, they were divorced. He could have just split. But the Feds put him back in bed with Renee so they could get the goods on her father (Anthony Graziano) and her father’s friends. Sure, Renee’s a nut. But what Pagan did was inexcusable.

  Deb - You’re right, Joe, Renee just makes me nuts.

  Jos - For some reason, when I think about this “show,” I can’t help but think of Willie Moretti. He was brought before the Kefauver hearings in 1950. He never divulged anything about mob activities, but he joked around quite a bit and put on a “show,” and was gunned down for it. In the old days, someone like Junior Pagan would have been popped for even being on a program or for cheating on a boss’ daughter. If you do a Google search, he actually poses for a promotional photo for the show. OMG, in the old days he would have been so gone!

  JB - Jos, Willie Moretti was whacked because his brain was shot from venereal disease and the mob was afraid he would blab by accident. It was considered a mercy killing by the mob.

  Dee - It may be staged and maybe it isn’t. But the fact that the editors cut, paste and splice things up does not determine whether the scenes are “staged” or not. But it’s a “reality” show, so it’s all contrived to begin with. BTW, that Big Ang is a blast.

  Ki - This site may answer some of the questioning in regards to the nail polish discrepancies. According to this site, Renee was rushed to the hospital after receiving the news, which would explain the retakes and fakeness of the show.

  JB - Sec, thanks for the information. I wrote a blog on Renee being rushed to the hospital the day after it happened. But now I feel the show is basically one big embellishment on the truth after another. I wouldn’t be surprised if all this was staged for the benefit of increasing the viewership. I wouldn’t put anything past the producers of this show.

  Junior was arrested in mid-November and the world knew, if they read the newspapers or went on the Internet, that he had become a government informant. But it wasn’t until last week that the show even hinted at the truth.

  Sure the show is shot months in advance, but a simple disclaimer at the beginning of each show would have set the record straight. But they were afraid that doing the right thing might decrease their viewership.

  Shameful.

  Facebook Responses to “The Producers of Mob Wives Show No Shame”

  Fan - It was definitely staged. While Renee is in the kitchen - having her extremely long hysterical breakdown - her nails start out dark blue and instantly change to a vibrant red. How sad they can't even get a minor detail right - such as the color of her nails needed to be the same, just like the outfit she was wearing the last time they were shooting.

  As far as feeling sorry for any of the wives; can't muster it up. If you play - you pay. They reap what they sow.

  JB – Fan, great observation. Only a woman would have noticed the change in the color of Renee's nails. This shows how amateurish the producers of the show really are. They can't even get the color of Renee's nails right, when they are doing multiple takes of the same staged scene. Simply amazing.

  Mor - The good old days are unfortunately gone. I have no respect for a man who used his wive’s family ties to save his ass. HONOR AND LOYALTY I see only in the face of my dog.

  Chr - Do you think the Feds should have investigated Renee for nail tampering? Or use her hysterical screaming as evidence of felonious fakery?

  Jam - First off - if you glorify this lifestyle, then you should be able to handle the pitfalls that come with it. Secondly - how many times did she defend that piece of crap Junior - saying “don't talk bad about my son's father” - acting like he was supposed to be immune from anyone saying what he really is? You, Renee, looked foolish then and plain stupid now. Also, why do these women think they are too good for "civilian" men with real jobs? I think civilians have good qualities and good character. And at least I’m not a snitch.

  The Families of Sammy Gravano’s Victims Want Karen Gravano Arrested for Shooting a Gun at
Legal Gun Range

  March 30, 2012

  Think what you want about the ridiculously bad TV show Mob Wives, but this seems to be much ado about nothing.

  During the March 18 showing of Mob Wives, Karen Gravano, along with three of the other wives, including Renee Graziano, took a trip to the Poconos for a change of scenery. The first night there they wound up in a redneck bar, and were verbally abused by a drunk, who if this had happened in New York City, would have wound up in the hospital, if not in the morgue.

  The next day the girls decide to blow off a little steam by going to an outdoor gun-firing range. There, under the supervision of a gun expert, the ladies fire all sorts of guns at paper targets, and empty soda and beer cans.

  The ladies giggled, cursed, and screamed, like they do on every show, but certainly no laws were broken.

  Then out of nowhere, the families of the victims of Karen Gravano’s father, Sammy “The Bull,” want Karen arrested because she legally fired a gun. This silly rationale was echoed by Linda Milito, wife of Gravano victim, mobster Louie Milito.

  She said, “Sammy was a psychotic killer. And I do believe genes are inherited. What about the people Sammy killed, and their extended family? How can Karen be allowed to shoot a gun? The apple does not fall far from the tree and crime does not pay.”

  In 2000, Karen Gravano was arrested in the same Arizona drug deal that imprisoned her father for 19 years. She was given no jail time and went off parole in 2003.

  Karen told the New York Post, “My probation terms have been over since 2003. At that time, I filed a motion to have my constitutional rights restored and to my knowledge, they have been restored. They’re doing everything they can to discredit me because of their personal issues with my father.”