Angela Raiola

Angela Joyce Raiola (June 30, 1960 – February 18, 2016), better known by her nickname Big Ang (pronounced Anj) was an American reality television personality who co-starred in the VH1 series Mob Wives. Raiola was the niece of Salvatore "Sally Dogs" Lombardi (1941–2009), a caporegime ("capo") and drug dealer in the Genovese crime family. Known as a “mob moll”, Raiola dated gangsters and lived an opulent lifestyle. She joined the Mob Wives cast during the show's second season, in 2012. The same year, after she became the show's breakout star, VH1 gave Raiola her own reality show, Big Ang, which evolved into Miami Monkey. She has been described as a gay icon.

Raiola had two children, Raquel and Anthony (AJ) Donofrio. She married Neil Murphy in 2009. In 2007, Raiola opened a Staten Island bar, The Drunken Monkey, but it was closed down in 2015 due to her past as a convicted felon.

2001 arrest

In May 2001, Raiola was one of fifteen defendants indicted—and later convicted—for their roles in the narcotics operation, which distributed crack cocaine, powdered cocaine, and marijuana in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Federal agents described Raiola as an associate of the drug ring’s leader, who was sentenced to nearly thirteen years in prison (and remains locked up). She was provided cocaine for “street level distribution,” according to an affidavit sworn by a DEA agent and an NYPD detective. Raiola sold the drug from Brooklyn bars where she worked. The case against Raiola and her codefendants was built with the aid of wiretapped conversations, the work of an undercover NYPD detective posing as a drug trafficker, and a confidential informant (CI) who made cocaine buys at the direction of federal agents. Some targets of the federal investigation were low-level associates of the Colombo crime family. Raiola was indicted in May 2001 on six felony counts. Along with a conspiracy-to-distribute charge, she was hit with five counts related to separate cocaine sales she made to the CI. At the time of her arrest, Raiola’s handbag contained fourteen small plastic bags containing cocaine. In March 2003, nearly two years after her arrest, Raiola—who was free on $100,000 bond—pleaded guilty to the indictment’s top count. In October 2003, she was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to spend four months under home confinement. Nine months later, in July 2004, a federal judge issued an order modifying Raiola’s probation conditions. She was directed by Judge Sterling Johnson, Jr. to enroll in “an outpatient and/or inpatient drug treatment or detoxification program.” Court records do not indicate what prompted this order. Of the fifteen defendants indicted in the drug case, nine were sentenced to probation. The other six received prison terms ranging from 33 to 151 months.

In 2011, Raiola filmed what would become her break into reality television, Mob Wives. She made her debut as a regular cast member in the show's second season, which premiered January 1, 2012, with her presence on the show praised by both viewers and critics, who positively complimented Raiola's unwavering confidence, flamboyant personal style, and witty and mothering personality. She became an immediate fan favorite. Raiola would remain as a series regular for the remaining duration of the show's run, and while she filmed one reunion episode on February 13, she was on set for only two hours due to her illness.

After Raiola began experiencing pain in her throat in March 2015, doctors diagnosed her with strep throat and placed her on antibiotics. When the pain continued, she went to an ear, nose and throat specialist, who detected a tumor and scheduled her for immediate surgery. In April 2015, the tumor and lymph nodes on the left side of her neck were removed during an eight-hour operation. In May 2015, the lymph nodes on the right side of her neck were also removed. Though she was thought to be cancer-free following the surgeries, a throat scan in December revealed that the cancer had returned. It was later revealed that the cancer had spread to her lungs and brain. By January 2016, the tumors no longer responded to the chemotherapy and continued to grow. The family was advised that they would need to start immunotherapy the following week. Raiola stated during an interview that the cancer was caused by her forty years of smoking. She said, "If you're smoking, quit now, and if you've never smoked, don't start."

Raiola died with her family in attendance on February 18, 2016, in New York City, at the age of 55. She was surrounded by her husband, Neil Murphy; her children; and six grandchildren. She was honored with a public viewing and was laid to rest on February 22.