Exclusive: RealityAired.com’s Big Night with Mob Wives’ ‘Big Ang’ and Friends

Only one person seems to be able to capture a lot of attention on Mob Wives without being in knock down drag outs – that’s Anglea “Big Ang” Raiola – the new larger-than-life addition to the cast and “godmother” to the women on the show.

Since it looks like she’s becoming the new star, we wanted to find out more about Big Ang, why people are drawn to her, and about her life off camera. So on Wednesday night RealityAired.com stopped by the Drunken Money – the Staten Island bar Big Ang owns with her cousin, Sallyann Lombardi. We even found out the real story behind Big Ang’s nickname.

photo: Adam Woomer - © RealityAired.com

Afterwards, Big Ang’s friend of more than 20 years, Angelina Malerba, invited us over to her local business. Tom Cruise and Danny Devito are among the celebrities who’ve dined at Angelina’s Ristorante. Btw, Angelina tells us her 27-year-old daughter, Christina, has been dating Vinny Guadagnino from Jersey Shore for the past “four or five” months.

We have picture galleries from both stops taken exclusively by our photographer Adam Woomer.

The Drunken Monkey has been on the show.  It’s a dimly lit, comfortable Cheers-like bar where there’s a lot of monkeying around. There are monkeys everywhere – from stuffed toy monkeys hanging from the ceilings to monkeys painted on walls carrying trays of food and wearing biker jackets.

Soul oldies like “Sex Machine,” “Kung Fu Fighting,” and the theme from the 1970s film, Superfly, were tunes playing from the jukebox; and there was a little dancing here and there. Also in the mix were Big Ang’s sister, Janine Detore, who told us some funny stories about growing up with Big Ang and their big family of seven siblings.

The night started off with us almost walking right by Big Ang without recognizing her. Yes, those signature big lips and big boobs are there – but in person she’s not the super tall and heavier set woman she appears to be on the show. Below the bustline she has a pretty tiny body and her voice sounds slightly higher and more feminine than on T.V.

Dressed in a gray Love Pink hoodie and matching sweats with big white hoop earrings, she was working the bar and chilling with patrons and friends. Might we add Big Ang has big bar skills too. She makes a kick ass Cosmopolitan.

“She’s a character,” says Angelina. “Angela needs her own reality show. She’s a sweetheart and a great person. Sometimes you need to be strong, but Big Ang walks away from fights.”

Big Ang’s friend of 30 years, Sandy Wright, agrees. “She’s got a heart the size of her boobs.”

“Angela is a legend. Everybody knows her,” Angelina adds, from Puerto Rico, to Florida, to Miami to Italy, to New York.”

“Actually California too,” Janine adds. She helps keep up her sister’s Facebook and Twitter stuff. “She’s the monkey, I’m the mouse,” Janine says. Janine’s owns the nearby Country Mouse fine children’s wear and gift shop.

“One day I said to her, ‘Be my buyer,’ and she comes back with this order – like 100 dresses and all these gumballs. I have a small boutique,” Janine says. She notes Big Ang just loves to shop. “My father was a clothes horse. His nickname was Sonny Sport because he always dressed nice.”

Janine and Big Ang were born and raised in Brooklyn. Their parents are now deceased. Father, Fiorenzo, was a chef; and their mother, Angelina Jean, was a bartender.

One of Janine’s favorite memories of growing up is the story of Big Ang’s first tattoo. “My mother tried to scrub it off with a Brillo pad,” Janine explains. “She (Big Ang) jumped out the window (of the first floor to get away), she planned to come back, but when she came back the window was locked.”

When Janine was getting married to her first husband, she remembers that on the wedding day Big Ang wanted her sister to forget the whole thing. “She was my maid of honor, and she said, ‘Let’s make a break for it. It’s now or never.’ She was right. I got divorced six weeks later.”

“Angela growing up was crazy and wild,” Sallyann told us, laughing. They were very close and that’s one of the reasons they went into business together. “I’m 52 and we’re about 10 months apart,” Sallyann explains. Sallyann is the daughter of Salvatore “Sally Dogs” Lombardi, a deceased captain of the Genovese crime family.

“We spent Fourth of Julys together and Christmas,” Sallyann remembers. She says the family would have card games on holidays that would last for days. Included among the players – Sallyann’s 97-year-old grandmother, Anna Banana.

On to Big Ang herself »