[size:14pt][/size]I was womdering what kind of women mob guys like 2 marry. I was under the belief they marry women who r good mothers wives and some1 that is respectable. But this past wkend I met a alleged LCN member who's wife was a former stripper . Even though she was smoking hot wouldn't this make hjis fellow family members look down on him and go against mob rules ??

A romantic notion, for sure. There are far more Karen Hills (a junkie drug dealer herself), than there are Mama Corleones. From my experience, these women are usually half nuts themselves, and always suffer from low self-esteem.

Welcome to the boards, Barber.

My guess would be that as soon as he proposed to her and she agreed to take his name, that was the last night she stripped. Other "family" members would most likely never bring that up again. The "Fellas" can break each others' balls about goomars and such but wives are usually off limits...especially if they have kids together.

You have a point, Mark. But I've also known of a few made guys who married strippers (mostly from 'Scores'). The truth is, it really takes a woman with a skewed view of the world to be attracted to the criminal type.

Absolutely agree, PB. My brother in law used to work as a DJ in a strip club and said 90% of the girls were a walking talking Jerry Springer show. Even though they are VERY physically attractive, the drugs, childhood molestation, alcohol abuse, domestic abuse, etc...quickly made them quite "ugly". The good "working my way through to pay for college girl" was very few and far between. DISCLAIMER - I am not bashing anybody...some of the lives those girls experience is very heart breaking and sad. My sympathies. Like you said - no Mama Corleones in that crowd!

From what I've seen of Karen Hill (not just "GoodFellas" and the book "Wiseguy" but also interviews of people who knew/know her), I don't see any real evidence she suffered from low self-esteem. She may have, but I don't think there's any evidence of it. If anything, I thought there was evidence to the contrary--she seemed like someone who stood up for herself and asserted herself--for example, her reaction when she found out about Henry's affair with Janice (Janice's name in real life was Linda).

You may be right about her self esteem, Vito. Who knows?

But as far as asserting herself against Henry's girlfriends, I think that was poetic license in the film. You should read "On the Run," by Greg and Gina Hill, and "The Heist," by Ernest Volkman and John Cummings. There is a ton of evidence suggesting that Henry and Karen had a VERY open marriage, including drug fueled orgies and whatnot. Henry's second wife, Kelly, actually had her own room in the same house with Henry and Karen prior to their divorce. Karen only got really upset when she thought Henry was falling in love.

She's a very kinky girl....

Karen's reaction to Janice/Linda was not just in the movie--it was also taken from "Wiseguy," where Pileggi interviewed both her and Henry and they both said it happened. So while your general comments about their marriage may be accurate, I think this particular incident did really occur. It wasn't just something Scorsese made up for the film. Perhaps, as you say, Karen thought Henry was in love with her--indeed, in the movie she asks "Do you love her?" as she holds a gun to his face.

Also, remember that "On the Run" (as it's title suggests) focuses on a later time period than GoodFellas and Wiseguy do--when the family was living in the witness protection program. It seems that by this point, Henry and Karen used drugs much more than before. In fact, we see this starting in the last part of GoodFellas (which occurs years after the incident over Henry's affair with Janice).

You're right about "On the Run." Vito. But "The Heist," by Ernest Volkman and John Cummings, was published in July of 1986, just seven months after "Wiseguy." And it states that the Hills had an open marriage back in the '70s (it even suggests that Henry bedded a man in his Long Island home, while Karen got high in another room). And like I said, it was published on the heels of "Wiseguy, " four years before Henry Hill became a household name through the film. If you haven't read it, I think you'll enjoy it.

Mark u make some really good points about them having to respect her once they get married. U always have to respect another members family

Thanks, Barber. Good question you brought up. Welcome to the BB!

i guess also it must take a special type of women to be a mob wife. I am sure they r not all the nice family oriented housewives we see portrayed in the sopranos. Especially now a days with young wiseguys being more flashy and hanging in clubs and strip clubs it makes more sense they might want a trophy wife to complete there image

She's a very kinky girl....

If you think she was kinky try Linda Schiro (Greg Scarpa's longtime women)
She not only married another bloke (not a mob guy) but continued to see Greg and even had Gregs kids!!!!!
After the marriage to the legit guy failed she continued with Greg but also started seeing another guy (who was connected)
How the hell the Colombos tolerated this I dont know
Its no suprise that after Gregs death, Allie Boy Persico cut her off completely (gave her no money).

Then theres the story of Theresa Ferrara - a silly girl who got in over her head

i wud b forced to think the older mafioso wud look down on a member marrying a former stripper cause of there strong family values but as times have changed mayb it wud b acceptable now.

I've been reading for awhile now, and this is the thread where I finally get my feet wet. lol

Having both a father and a husband that are from Sicily (and my husband only being in the US for 18 years now), I can say it is more of a cultural notion to not marry a stripper, or ex-stripper. What would their mother think to bring this girl home, etc etc..

We go back to Sicily almost every summer for visiting family; and, although even Sicily is coming out of the dark ages, certain things are still frowned upon. So, I'd say it doesn't necessarily have to do with being mafioso, per se, but the culture in general. They ALL have strong family values.
Of course, they all want their "nice" wife to be a whore in the bedroom too....

LOL very good points carmela. My mother is from sicily and i cant c her and a former stripper bonding over the stove. The prob is most wiseguys these days r italian-americans born and raised here in the states and i am not so sure they have as strong of values

Carmela - "Welcome too-dah fam-lee"! Great to have you here. Good insight and please share more of your Sicily stories. My grandfather was from Palermo.

Thank you for the welcome.

There really is a world of difference between mafioso in US and Italy. In Sicily, they are everywhere, yet you don't even know it. They are average people. You don't see the big fancy houses and cars and $3,000 suits, or whatever. It's not about the money, but the respect.
You hear, I'm sure, about how long they stay on the lam,and in the meantime, they live in catacombs and holes under the house, etc. They have the respect and the honor and that's what it's about.
And when they are found, eventually, they are in, or very near their own town. To leave their country is weak. They are very territorial in Italy. When they leave, they lose command and respect of their family.

Anyway, I've yet to even see a stripper or a strip club in all my years going to sicily. There are whores, though, like anywhere else and you'd be hardpressed to find and marry a virgin anymore, like in the old days. lol

My husband comes from Porto Empedocle, Agrigento and that has been called the most backward and mob-infested province in Sicily. Sicily, overall is beautiful and I know that island like the back of my hand.
He also has relatives in Palermo, which you mentioned, Mark. So, we go there too. Palermo, being the capitol of Sicily, is more modern and really beautiful. Cefalu is wonderful to visit. If you could ever get there, I would recommend.

Sorry, if this is too off topic. I could type forever on this. lol

this past thursday i was at a local strip club when i ran into another person i know who is a connected guy but not a member (not yet at least he is only my age 25) when i asked him what he was doing there he said he girlfriend worked there . So mayb strippers are the future mob wives. As the yrs go on and values changes mayb the younger more flashy mobsters of these times wanna keep that materialistic image going with there wives also

Strippers are never the future mafia wives of men in Italy, as I said before. Mafioso in Italy and what is considered mafioso here in the US, is night and day though. As I said before, men in Italy, in general, are not taking strippers as wives. The values of gangsters in America has already changed. So who the hell cares who they marry, look at the rest of their values, or lack thereof.

The "stripper, pierced, tattooed generation" is right here and now. Looks like it has spilled over into the American LCN?

this topic recently came up in a mr mafioso in ask men. He said mob guys do try to marry wome who have good values cause they will b the mother of there children. Also since most of these guys are extremely masculine they want a housewife type of women who will have there dinner ready at night.

That would be great in a perfect world for me. My wife is just to busy.

I do not see how they can put up with their husbands going out with other women all the time and they no it. I guess it is just part of the lifestyle.

If you're the sort of guy who cheats or is just polygamous it's a perfect set up because the wife is not supposed to ask any questions about your work. You're gone on business for days or even weeks at a time on occasion.
If she asks questions and you tell her the truth she could be in danger from either side of the law. So all in all as she's just better off knowing, but not asking I think.

Again, wanting a wife that takes care of the home and kids and doesn't work outside the home, is more of a cultural thing as far as men in Italy are concerned, as opposed to a mafioso thing. Although, things are changing there, too. Women are getting degrees and working more and more. I don't know much about American mafia in the US, but in Italy, they are more loyal to their women. You don't see the infidelity much, or the whole going out on a friday night with the girlfriend thing. For one thing, there's not the social club type places like here and men (mafioso and other) do not hang out in bars just to sit and talk and drink. They work and they go home. They dont hang out in strip clubs. Like I mentioned, I go almost every year to Sicily and I've yet to even see a strip club. Whether mafiosu or not, the mentality of men vary greatly between Italy and the US.

carmela i appreciate your input and agree with you but i am refering to the american mobsters i am not really interested in what happens in the old country.

Then good luck to you and maybe if you hang out in strip clubs long enough, you'll find your answer.

These kind of threads are full of innuendo and gossip. No one hear really knows what kind of women wiseguys go for, and not all wiseguys are the same, so you can't paint them all with the same brush.