Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Video: Mob Wives Premieres, "A Rat Is A Rat Is A Rat"
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 18, 2011
Modified Apr 18, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 18, 2011
Modified Apr 18, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The show all of Staten Island has been waiting for—VH1's Mob Wives—premiered last night and it was straight out of the Real Housewives playbook, crossed with Jersey Shore, with conflict and lots of makeup and cleavage and curses and big jewelry and drinking and Staten Island accents. Plus, there are pretty shots of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge!
The reality show follows Carla Facciolo (her dad went to prison), Drita D'avanzo (wife of Lee D'avanzo, alleged lead of a Bonanno and Colombo crime family farm team), Renee Graziano (daughter of alleged high-ranking La Cosa Nostra member Anthony Graziano and Karen Gravano (daughter of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, who was a government witness against John Gotti) in Shaolin and most of the tension is about Karen's return from Arizona, where her family moved after Sammy The Bull told on the mafia. Renee is very much about the Omerta, so Renee freaks out when Karen comes back—she says of her friends, "These f—in’ bitches set me up!" and "A rat is a rat is a rat. A snitch is a snitch":
Mob Wives |Karen Gravano |Renee Graziano |Reality TV Shows
Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker writes that the show is "funny, appalling, and frightening...swiftly paced, reality-TV at its most effusively dismaying." SILive.com readers aren't as pleased: "Dam I'm sure glad I am not an Italian" and vow to ban establishments shown in the episode, like Fushimi, South Fin and "Lee's Tavern?? OMG, my pal must be rolling in his grave. What the heck were they thinking?? After 47 years, you have lost me as a customer, no more clam pies, no more late night calamari... oh, the pain!"
And mob wives are no joke—check out 2:39 of this video:
Tagged
karen gravano
married to the mob
mob wives
staten island
vh1
video
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Published Oct 8, 2026
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
If you're playing tourist in your own town, this is an in-demand option.
By
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
If you're playing tourist in your own town, this is an in-demand option.
By
James Ramsay
What happens when NYC kids take lessons in rock music? Really good bands.
By
Jayson Greene
Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City
By
Sonia Rao
Banned books and Winnie the Pooh: October in NYC libraries
By
Alec Hamilton
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .