The explosive trailer for season 2 of Mob Wives featured quite a bit of the newest cast member Ramona Rizzo. From all indications she’s going to play a major role in this upcoming season so I thought I’d break it down with a little meet and greet for the Staten Island sister who’s definitely got the credentials to bring it.
We need a little Ramona theme music:
First up lets get to a summary of her bio as provided by VH1.
Being as hot as Ramona is you might be inclined to believe that she was a stretch for the show so they could get some added eye candy. Well you’d be freakin’ wrong pal because Rizzo’s got the mafia in her blood. She just so happens to be the granddaughter of Benjamin “Lefty Guns” Ruggiero. Lefty was infamously portrayed by Al Pacino in the film Donnie Brasco. Yes, that Donnie Brasco and yes, that Al Pacino.
Ramona and her grandfather were real close and I wouldn’t advise you discussing the film with our girl too much. In the flick Ruggiero is identified as the man who got FBI informant Joe Pistone, aka Donnie Brasco, deep inside the organization. Pistone ended up becoming an FBI legend for his six-year undercover work and he was tutored a great deal by Ruggiero. In turn Ruggiero provided Pistone with a wealth of information about the inner workings and acts committed by the Bonanno crime family.
^Ramona Rizzo Mob Wives
In an interview with Page 6 Ramona has quite a bit to say about the film that made her granddaddy infamous including the film’s questionable wardrobe choices:
“Our mom went to F.I.T. And my grandma owned a clothing store. They were really high-end dressers, and the clothing alone that [Pacino] wore in the movie — my grandmother must have been turning over in her grave. It also didn’t tell the whole story. My grandfather didn’t bring this guy [FBI undercover agent Joe Pistone, the character played by Johnny Depp] into it. It took me a long time to watch that movie. It depicted [my grandfather] in a false light. I wasn’t a big fan.”
After receiving a copy of the script Ramona did make her way to the set to speak to Pacino personally about how he should portray her grandfather. Rizzo told Page 6:
“I told him [Pacino], ‘When it comes to my grandfather, regarding his family life, if you could depict him in the light of a man who loved his family more than anything, just do that.’ My grandfather was a man whose heart was open and a man who was full of love for us. He died on Thanksgiving, in Sloan-Kettering, of cancer. He spent 13 years in prison and we got him for only a measly year and a half”
Mob Wives creator Jennifer Graziano highlighted the importance of Ramona’s connection to Lefty. “Her grandfather is the one person — aside from her father — who’s probably Ramona’s biggest hero.”
Now that we’ve established that Ramona certainly has the street cred for the show lets find out a little bit more about her personal side. Ramona and fellow cast member Karen Gravano were very close growing up. The two made their first communions together and even refer to each other as “cousins.” The main difference between the two is that Ramona’s family diligently tried to keep their family connection a secret, even in their own community.
^Ramona Rizzo with fellow Mob Wives cast member Karen Gravano
The vast amount of time Ramona’s grandfather spent in prison broke her heart and for a while this turned her desires away form the “lifestyle.” As it goes though, she still had a taste for the finer things in life and married a wealthy man of Arab decent who had ties in his professional dealings to organized crime.
Ramona ran off with him and together they had four children. She lived in various mansions in the U.S. and palaces in the Middle East during their union (what a life). But Ramona grew tired of the marriage and tried to divorce the man but he refused to allow her to leave and she ended up in Jordan for two years until she managed to return to the States with her children.
Once Ramona got back she found herself on the wrong end of two criminal cases because of her husband’s business ventures. She’s currently on her own raising her four children while trying to reestablish her life.
Ramona recently spoke with Dr. Drew during a discussion about who’s happier, stay-at-home moms or working moms. She said:
“I’m basically in the middle because I had both sides of the coin and I know what it is to look at each side and have an opinion on bot. It is a hard call.”
Well, nows ya know about Ramona, capiche?
You can keep up with the latest in Ramona’s world via her Twitter account @RaMonaRizzo888. She also has a newly launched Facebook page you can check out here.
Here’s one more parting shot of Ramona with fellow cast member Renee Graziano:
^Mob Wives Ramona Rizzo and Renee Graziano pose together
