2 Mob Wives' Stars Urged Not to Attend Big Ang's Funeral Because of Their Fathers

Karen Gravano & Brittany Fogarty were discouraged from attending all memorial services

By Corinne Heller Feb 21, 2016 10:16 PMTags
Angela 'Big Ang' RaiolaAstrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

Not all of Angela "Big Ang" Raiola's Mob Wives co-stars are reportedly welcome at her memorial services.

The 55-year-old niece of Salvatore Lombardi, aka Sally Dogs of the Genovese crime family, died Thursday after a long battle with cancer. Visitations for her are being held in New York over the weekend, while her funeral is set to take place in a Catholic church in the city Monday.

A source told E! News Sunday Mob Wives stars Brittany Fogarty and Karen Gravano were told "it's not a good idea" to attend any of the services. This is because of their dads' past cooperation with authorities, E! News has learned.

The source did not specify who said this to them. Big Ang's rep had no immediate comment.

"It's just years of history between the fathers," the source said, adding, "It's a shame but they understand to a point. No one wants to have conflict at a funeral."

The source said Karen and Brittany will make separate plans to pay respect to Big Ang on their own.

Getty Images

Brittany is the daughter of mobster John Fogarty, who spent time with his family in the Witness Protection Program. He also served time in prison, where he became friends with Karen's father.

Karen is the daughter of Salvatore Gravano, also known as Sammy the Bull, a former underboss of the Gambino crime family who served as the right-hand man to notorious New York mob leader John Gotti. Salvatore later became a government witness and helped bring down his boss.

Karen and another cast member, Carla Facciolo, had visited Big Ang in her final moments. Karen told E! News she looked "beautiful." She, Brittany and other co-stars had also paid tribute to Big Ang on social media.

Facciolo and fellow Mob Wives star Renee Graziano attended one of the visitation services for Big Ang Saturday. They both shared on Instagram Saturday a photo showing them having drinks with friends Kim Capone and Etty Reish.

"If Big Ang taught me anything, it was to be thankful for my lifelong girlfriends," Graziano wrote. "And as you can see, I'm happy to be reminiscing about our time with Ang."

Watch: "Mob Wives" Stars Mourn the Loss of Big Ang