Mob Wives is called a "documentary soap opera" with good reason. It is a story about people who don't exist because there is no such thing as the Mob or Cosa Nostra or Mafia! But there are those living among us who know better. The housewives, parents, and children of mob and criminal related individuals are shadowy figures who live in the background of their powerful husbands and fathers until the bad guys get caught and must spend time behind bars. Then these formerly quiet and reserves ladies capably take matters in their own hands and go about their lives. The four Mob Wives include a group of friends who support each other while their men are away and it's no easy task to attempt to maintain a lifestyle they've become used to when the main bread winner of the family is away incarcerated. James Molinaro, who is President of the Borough of Staten Island in New York has declared the show is a disgrace because it portrays not only Italian Americans but also Staten Island itself as being lowlife and detrimental.

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