The women breaking mafia code of silence to reveal what life is really like ...

They have long inspired movie and television producers, with everything from The Godfather to The Sopranos taking their lead from New York's infamous mob clans.

But as a new series reveals, the reality is far less glamorous for the families behind the city's shady organised crime network.

I Married A Mobster sees eight former wives break the so-called 'code of silence' to reveal what it was like to have fallen for a mafia don.

The first episode, which airs next month, tells the story of Cheryl and Phil 'Philly' Caruso.

The glamorous blonde, from King's Point, Long Island, reveals how she had no idea that her husband was involved in organised crime, believing that his 'printing company' was funding their lavish lifestyle - but her world fell apart when Caruso was convicted of racketeering and drug dealing.

The devastating turn of events left her broke, and alone in raising their two daughters.

She told the New York Post: 'I heard the judge say, "That's it, guilty, 15 to life." I didn't know what to do. I never expected to hear those words.

'Those were the only words I understood. That was the end of my fairytale. It was just hell after that.'

Equally compelling is the tale of Staten Island mother and daughter 'Big Linda' Schiro and 'Little Linda' Scarpa.

Big Linda married the so-called 'Grim Reaper', Greg Scarpa, as a teenager, following a love triangle that the Colombo mafia family, who used him as their hit man, was forced to resolve.

She was a doting wife surviving gang war and the loss of a child.

Despite his sinister profession, she says Scarpa, who died of Aids in 1994, was 'caring, giving to those he loved.'

Her daughter, Little Linda, was the apple of Scarpa's eye. But when she was drawn into the crossfire of the Colombo family war, the body count hit close to home.

'If you did him wrong, he would kill you,' Big Linda admitted.

Indeed for those born into mob families, it seems it can be near impossible for a woman to escape the mafia grip.

Angela Calvacante had moved from Howard Beach, NY, to Maspeth in an effort to cut her ties with organised crime - but she still ended up falling for Sal Bonina, son of Nick 'The Baron' Bonina of the high-ranking Luchese crime family.

But Bonina's problems with drink and drugs made him violent - and his attachment to the Luchese family made it near impossible for her to leave him. She would eventually divorce him though, while her husband died homeless and a drug addict.

'Grave' goof wont spring Colombo family mobsters from prison ...

A Manhattan federal court has upheld the life sentences of former Colombo crime family boss Alphonse “Allie Boy” Persico and his henchman John “Jackie” DeRoss for the murder of fellow mobster William “Wild Bill” Cutolo. The mobsters wanted their convictions in 2007 to be overturned because the body of Cutolo was found by the FBI buried on Long Island instead of buried at sea like prosecutors claimed it was during the trial.

Alphonse Persico is the son of long time Colombo family boss Carmine “The Snake” Persico who is also in prison serving a life sentence. The feds claim that Persico had Cutolo whacked in 1999 because he feared that he would stage a coup to take over the crime family while Persico served time in jail on weapons charges.

The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that there was “no likelihood that innocent men have been convicted , no injustice in the guilty verdicts and no error or abuse of discretion in the court’s conclusion that the finding of Cutolo’s body did not warrant the granting of a new trial”. With this ruling Allie Boy Persico and DeRoss will remain behind bars with the majority of the Colombo family leadership. The Colombo family has been over run with rats and has seen many of its high ranking members convicted over the last several years. The status of the Colombo family is thought by many to be uncertain at this point as they look to fill the top spots in the organization with who over is left on the streets.

Colombo Crime Family, Carmine Persico, Joe Gallo, Gerard Pappa, William Cutolo, Sr. , Joe Profaci, Vincenzo Aloi, Dominick Cataldo

Mafia Son, The Scarpa Mob Family, the FBI, and a Story of Betrayal

Bosses of the Colombo Crime Family, Carmine Persico, Joe Profaci, Vincenzo Aloi, Joseph Colombo, Joseph Magliocco, Joel Cacace, Thomas Gioeli

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