Joe Bruno's Mobsters - Six Volume Set

by Bruno, Joe

  As for the “JB” in the responses; that’s little old me.

  ====================

  Sammy “The Bull’s” Daughter to Write Tell-All Book

  August 28, 2011

  Yeah, right. If you believe Karen Gravano, a star in the VH1 reality show Mob Wives, is going to tell the complete truth about her life as the daughter of Sammy “The Bull/Rat” Gravano, I have a condo in Libya I’d like to sell you.

  First of all, I’ve never seen the program Mob Wives and I never will see the program Mob Wives (I meant it when I said it, but things change). I grew up in New York City’s Little Italy and television programs like Mob Wives and Jersey Shore do nothing but besmirch the reputations of hard-working Italian-Americans, who are overwhelmingly the vast majority of Italian-Americans in America. So any show which flaunts the escapades of the “Guidos” or “Guidettes,” I want nothing to do with it.

  As for Karen Gravano’s book – Who cares?

  I made the mistake of reading her father’s biography “Underboss,” written by Peter Maas in 1997. And as we found out later, the book turned out to be a pack of lies and half-truths. How can you believe anything a rat like Sammy the Bull (Crap) says anyway? Or even care?

  As for his daughter Karen’s life story, I’d rather read the Encyclopedia Britannica; from cover to cover. I might not enjoy the actual act of reading, but at least I’ll learn something of value.

  Reading Karen Gravano’s book is like reading the cartoons in Sunday’s newspapers.

  Only not as entertaining.

  Anthony Graziano Is Back in Jail

  December 2, 2012

  One thing for sure - if you’re a mobster these days, don’t talk to anyone without first checking if that person is wearing a wire. Or better yet, speak to people naked in a steam bath where they can’t wear a wire (but make sure they aren’t wearing a wrist watch, where transmitters are hidden these days by the Feds).

  Anthony Graziano, whose daughter Renee is one of the four principals in the TV program Mob Wives, is back in jail because he spoke to someone he trusted about collecting a loansharking debt dating back to at least 2005. In 2003, Graziano was sentenced to nine years in prison for tax evasion and racketeering charges. He was released to a halfway house in early summer of 2011 to serve the end of that sentence, then to home confinement about a month later. But that didn’t stop him from talking to a longtime associate who had recently gone over to Team America.

  According to the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration, Graziano was heard speaking to an unnamed informant saying things he shouldn’t have said to anyone.

  According to the transcripts of the wired conversation on Aug. 16, Graziano allegedly said, “You remember this guy…? He owed me 150 thousand.”

  The informant, a Bonanno soldier with a history of violence, told the 71-year-old Graziano that the debtor was “a panicky mess, worried about threats he had recently received.”

  “I went to see the guy, the guy was crying hysterically on the boardwalk. I said, ‘Listen, you know Anthony would never do anything to you,’” the informant said.

  “Never,” Graziano said.

  “And I’m not here to do anything to you either,” the informant said.

  “Listen to me. Tell him … ‘Listen Anthony, come to the house’,” Graziano said.

  On November 9, Graziano, who is known by the nicknames “TG” and “the Little Guy,” was recorded again speaking to the informant about a resolution of the old debt.

  Graziano allegedly said to the informant, “Let me see what he. If he got $25k, I’ll take the $25k and call it even. ‘You belong to me, anything you do, let me know. Maybe I can make some money with you.’ ”

  Graziano’s lawyer, Patrick Parrotta, denies the recent allegations against his client.

  As was posted in the Staten Island Advance, Parrotta said, “My client is going to finish serving out the rest of his previous sentence in 2012, and in the interim, we are preparing to fight the allegations by way of a trial shortly thereafter.”

  Sounds like typical lawyer-speak. But the only way Graziano will be able to beat this case is if his lawyer attacks the tapes as idle conversation pertaining to something other than loansharking. Unless there are more tape recordings than the ones mentioned in the Staten Island Advance, and since there is no mention in this conversation of “vig” or “points,” the conversation could apply to a straight loan given from one friend to another, which the last time I looked, isn’t against the law.

  However, once the law gets their teeth into anyone allegedly associated with the Mafia, they dig their teeth in deep, and don’t let go until the accused is away in the slammer.

  But remember, an indictment is not a conviction and this one could go either way.

  Ex-Son-in-Law Rats on Anthony Graziano

  December 2, 2011

  If VHI wants to run another show to complement Mob Wives named Rat Ex-Husbands of Mob Wives, Hector “Junior” Pagan would undoubtedly be the star.

  In a shocking development, Pagan, who was married to Mob Wives co-star Renee Graziano, and was a constant presence on the show last season, has joined Team America, and the first person he ratted out was his ex-father-in-law, reputed Bonanno crime family capo Anthony Graziano.

  According to published reports on Jerry Capeci’s Gangland website (ganglandnews.com), Pagan was looking at big time in the can for the armed robbery of a high-stakes poker game. Instead of doing his time like a man, Pagan agreed to wear a wire while talking to Graziano, as Graziano was finishing up the last stage of an eight-year prison bit in home detention. On this wire, Graziano allegedly instructed Pagan to collect $25,000 to smooth over a long-stand loansharking debt of $150,000.

  Since Mob Wives is advertised as a “Reality Show,” the news of her rat ex-brother-in-law didn’t seem to faze the show’s creator Jennifer Graziano, who is, amazingly enough, another daughter of Anthony Graziano.

  Jennifer Graziano said, “It is a reality show, and I knew this was going to be personal to me going into this. But I didn’t know this was going to happen. We’re making a reality show, and this is the reality of what’s going on.”

  It sure is.

  Since the show started last season, Anthony Graziano, because he didn’t like his two daughters airing out their dirty laundry in public, has refused to talk to either Jennifer or Renee. In light of recent developments, it’s a safe bet Anthony Graziano now wishes he hadn’t talked to his ex-son-in-law, Hector “Junior” Pagan, either.

  Responses to - “Ex-Son-in-Law Rats on Anthony Graziano”

  Tin - I hate rat ass bitches that don’t how to keep their big mouths closed

  Ash - U gotta be f*****g kidding me…what happened to the loyalty? Renee, keep your head up. You still got AJ (Renee’s son) and he needs his mother. I’m watching you on TV right now and I can tell it took a lot for you to let this episode air. That was real s**t, and you have me over here in tears. Loyalty is a must!

  Mar - Renee, keep your head up, please. Don't let this stress you out; you’re a strong woman. I'm sorry this happened to you. All I know is there is no way I would sit in jail for life -then be snitch.

  What the hell! l can't stand a rat bitch; anybody who can't hold their own. In my book, your husband is a bitch!

  Renee Graziano and Rat Ex-Husband Hector “Junior” Pagan Are Back Together

  January 17, 2012

  Real life is stranger than fiction.

  This is a classic love story. Girl meets boy. Girl marries boy. Boy cheats on girl. Boy and girl get divorced. Boy wears a wire while talking to girl’s father. Girl’s father goes back to jail.

  Boy and girl get back together. Live happily ever after.

  What???

  You gotta be kidding me!!!

  Renee Graziano, co-star of the ridiculously bad reality TV show Mob Wives, is back with her ex-hubby, Hector “Junior” Pagan. This is after it became big news that Pagan was wearing a wire when he recently spoke with Graz
iano’s father, reputed Bonanno crime family capo Anthony Graziano. On this wire, Graziano Sr. was allegedly heard telling Pagan to collect on a long-overdue usurious loan. If this wasn’t bad enough for Graziano Sr., he was on the last leg of an eight-year prison term (home detention), and subsequently because of the tape, Graziano Sr. was sent back to jail. (He did not pass “Go” and he did not collect the customary $200.)

  The original reason why Renee Graziano broke up with Pagan was because he was a cheating fool with other women. On a January episode of Mafia Wives, Renee Graziano and Pagan were featured explaining their past problems.

  Renee told Pagan: “You went into prison at 18 years old. You came home at 22. We were married two years later. We were kids! We got off to a very rocky start right from the beginning. We didn’t have the most successful marriage.”

  Pagan cooed back: “Listen, I made mistakes; tons of them. So did you. But I did the most damage.”

  Renee said, tears in her eyes, “You’ve never admitted any of this ever. It’s 22 years I’ve been waiting for this. I’ve been in therapy for this for 22 years! I’ve been waiting for you to just acknowledge that it hurt. That was it.”

  “I didn’t know it was hurting,” Pagan said. “I didn’t know what I was doing. I think with life’s experience now, we can make it that much better. I’m having a good time. We are talking without fighting.”

  Renee, crying now, said, “I’ve been waiting for this for years. For years I’ve been in love with you, only you!”

  “We are exclusive,” Junior said.

  Then, while the show was airing, Renee Graziano tweeted, “I have so much love in my heart 4 my son’s father that it hurts @ times.”

  This is the cue for all of us to puke.

  Since Renee Graziano has co-starred in Mob Wives (with several other gaudy guidettes) in a show produced by her sister, Jennifer Graziano, Graziano Sr. has not spoken to either of his daughters. Nevertheless, it boggles the mind how Renee Graziano could ever go back to the man who just put her father back in prison.

  Real life is stranger than fiction.

  Responses to – “Renee Graziano and Rat Ex-Husband Hector “Junior” Pagan Are Back Together.”

  Poo - After everything she said about the other girl and her father for being a rat, she is going to stay with the rat that turned in her father and wore a wire? No wonder her father doesn’t speak to her.

  Kel -As of today, March 25, 2012, does anyone know for sure if Renee is back with Junior? It really is no one’s business, but the only person she has to answer to at the end of the day is herself. Hope she can handle it!!

  JB - Kel, as of December 2011, Junior is officially in the Witness Protection Program. No getting back with Renee. Pagan put her father back in jail; wore a wire while speaking to her father. But you’d never know that watching the show.

  Dee - Hector messed up his whole life. I don’t think he was really thinking, because now if he is in the Witness Protection Program, he’s not supposed to have any contact with his son. But I guess it was more important to him to put an old man in jail, so he didn’t have to do his time.

  I don’t know how Renee can ever forgive him. He doesn’t deserve it.

  Cyn - Where is AJ? With Renee’s husband?

  Eri -Wow, it’s crazy how Junior gave the impression of a true gangster in the show, and he is nothing but a low-down RAT! That’s why Renee should have never talked all the dirt she did about that other RAT Sammy the Bull!!! It just came back and bit her in the ass! And if she got back with that RAT, she’s as bad as him!!!!!

  JB - Wasn’t it cute the way Karen Gravano was trying to console Renee? Both girls hugging and crying. What an act!

  The - Mr. B: how does one bother to get into witness protection after having his face all over the television? What’s the point?

  JB - The fact is - it’s better than doing life in jail. Plus, he can get plastic surgery like Sammy the Bull did; grow a beard - things like that. Henry Hill has been out in public for 20 years. Nothing’s ever happened to him yet (Hill recently died of a heart attack- like he had a heart to start with).

  The - A New Yorker being exiled to Arizona is as close to being in prison as one could possibly get. Frankly Mr. B., Sammy the Bull with plastic surgery looked like Sammy the Bull with a bad nose job and a chemical peel. His plastic surgeon should have been arrested.

  Regarding Junior, Renee should have known that she was going to have a problem, because no one as old as he is should still be called Junior. From the way in which he acted, perhaps he should have been called Peter Pan. Remember those rumors that said that Junior only married Rene because of her father, and that without Rene he was just a loser? Hmmm …

  JB -There are so many rats in witness protection; they might have to send Junior to Hawaii. Maybe he’ll choke on a pineapple.

  Sug -I have always thought it was customary for people in the mob to insist there is no such thing as a mob. But now you have these women on national television telling stories that I’m sure were never supposed to have been told. So I’m thinking that’s bad news for those mob guys who are trying to make a living. And while it’s entertaining for those of us that are really not part of the mob, it’s like picking up the winning duck at the fair for the FBI!

  The-Sug, you obviously do not watch the show. The only “family” secrets that have been divulged on Mob Wives were apparently done by Junior. For the most part, the show is about four unemployed and undereducated single mothers trying to make a living to support their children, because their significant others are either too pathological, or too stupid, to stay out of jail.

  The FBI must be very disappointed, since the only information that they get is on old-school mobsters who died of old age, whom anyone could have seen in the movies or read about in the New York Post. Two of the so-called wives’ husbands went to prison for white-collar crimes, and weren’t very good at it because they got caught. And right out of the halfway house one is appearing on the show. This isn’t the mob, just their relatives who quote a lot of Jerry Capeci.

  Mik - What a punk! Now he’s got to walk around branded and feel as low as a pedophile. You do the crime - you do the time. A lot of guys act like wiseguys but when it comes down to it, everyone chooses to live their lives the way they wish. You choose that lifestyle; you go by the codes of their ethics. If it weren’t for rats, more OG’s would make it. Wish you luck, sir. (Pagan)

  Kat-I don’t understand the hatred these folks have for “rats.” Sure, it’s lowdown to snitch on your own associates. But, in that culture, they MURDER their own associates! Think about the ability to INTENTIONALLY make widows of the women in your inner circle. And it’s worse to snitch?? Really???

  JB - Kat, in that culture (I lived in Manhattan’s Little Italy for 48 years), agree with it or not, a rat is worse than anything other than a child molester, or a rapist. Murderers are ranked much higher on the food chain than a rat. But I can understand if someone who wasn’t exposed to this type of culture wouldn’t understand the rationale. Murder is part of the life.

  Women don’t enter into the equation. They know what they are getting themselves into when they marry into the life. They know if their husband is in the life, there’s a good chance he won’t come home someday. But they like the fancy cars and fancy clothes, and the jewelry. And they willingly choose this life rather than marrying someone else with a legitimate job.

  There are no secrets in the neighborhood about who does what. Everyone knows the cast of characters.

  But a rat is alien to everything people in the life have been taught since the day they were born. And even people, like myself, who are not in the life, detest rats. When you inform on someone, you are stripped of your manhood. You become the lowest of the low.

  It’s just the way it is and will always be.

  Nad -I’ve been watching the show since it started, and I have to admit that the first thing I thought was “here we go again, more woman on TV who can’t take of t
hemselves, and have to live off their husband’s names.”

  But the more I watched, the more I saw that living that kind of life ain’t no joke. Loyalty is huge, and when that loyalty is betrayed the way Pagan did to his wife, son and especially to a father-in-law who treated him like his own son, that’s just wrong. I’m not Italian, but RAT means the same thing no matter what language you speak, and so does FAMILY. How does someone live with that kind of guilt and selfishness?

  JB - Nad, I doubt Pagan suffers any pangs of guilt. He obviously has no conscience. He only cares about himself.

  Vit -What do you expect? Junior’s not MADE; he is a PR - not an Italian. This problem with rats is because Charlie “Lucky” Luciano let in Italians from all over Italy into La Cosa Nostra. It was exclusive when only we Sicilians were able to be members. He let in the bad blood.

  Bra - If Junior had a conscience he wouldn't have ratted. Being a rat is only for one's self-interest; for avoiding serious prison time. Sure you avoid jail, but you’re just a marked individual for the rest of your life. You live with that fear; looking over your shoulder all the time. Well said, Mr. Bruno. A rat is always DETESTED!

  The - Last Friday, April 13, 2012, Renee Graziano stated on “The View” that she was completely done with Junior because he was a rat, and that she did not deal with rats. She also stated that it took her a while to believe what Junior had done. We’ll see if she means what she says.

  Aud - I've heard several radio interviews with Renee and she's said every time that this betrayal sealed the deal for her. She said her family (her father) comes first. Obviously, Junior had no interest in being a part of her family. In my eyes he was a complete wimp, a coward.

  I'm sure most people will disagree with me and say that a rat is a rat, regardless. However, I'd have to say that the only rat I can sort of understand was Sammy "The Bull" Gravano. Only because it was obvious that John Gotti wasn't in that lifestyle for anything more than himself.