Ramona Rizzo On ‘Families Of The Mafia’: She Gives Karina Advice

Karen Gravano
'Bringing Up Bobby' film premiere, New York, America - 24 Sep 2012

Ramona Rizzo, who appeared on seasons two and three of Mob Wives, pays Karina Seabrook a visit on this week’s episode of Families of the Mafia. Ramona is cousins with Karina’s mom, Karen Gravano, and shows up as a sounding board amidst Karina’s latest issue — a lawsuit filed against her. “Did I tell you how I was opening an LLC?” Karina asks Ramona. “I just wanted to open a business account, so I opened it a few months ago. My business is being sued. I didn’t even tell my mom yet.”

Immediately, Ramona appears worried about what this could mean for Karina, and she urges her to be careful. “You’re a girl in a guy’s game,” she tells her. “Maybe somebody’s trying to sabotage you.” Karina, meanwhile, is confused as to how somebody could be suing her if she didn’t actually do business with them.

“Anyone can sue anybody for anything!” Ramona insists. “But because of your mother’s last name, people think that you’re doing scheisty. They sit there and they say, ‘Karina Seabrook, daughter of Karen Gravano, granddaughter of Sammy The Bull.’ You need to be prepared for everything. You’re a target on every angle, sweetie pie. You need to wake up. You gotta be prepared for what comes with that.”

karen gravano karina seabrook — Karen Gravano and her daughter, Karina Seabrook, at an event together. (MediaPunch/Shutterstock)

Karina’s grandfather is Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, who was the underboss of the Gambino crime family. Families of the Mafia follows the 22-year-old as she tries to make her own name for herself without being connected to her infamous family. With this new lawsuit, though, she’s beginning to learn that she may not be as removed as she’d like.

“This is something that I have to bring to my mom’s attention,” Karina says. “It’s not going to be easy. I’ve done so much to prove to her that I’m ready for this and I’m ready to open an LLC and go out on my own and start growing up, and now I’m getting hit with lawsuits. If my name’s involved in the Eastern District of New York courts…it’s not going to be good at all. I’m getting anxiety speaking about this.” Families of the Mafia airs Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. on MTV.