Richard “Shellackhead” Cantatella a former Bonanno crime family captain turned rat is the star of a new half-hour docu-comedy series called “Unprotected” on Oxygen channel.
Cantatella was arrested on a 24-count RICO indictment back in 2002 and while in prison learned fellow Bonanno family mobster Frank Coppa had become an informant. Coppa linked Cantatella to a pair of mafia murders among other crimes which would certainly put him behind bars for life. Cantatella decided to follow suit and become a government witness agreeing to a plea deal turning on his mafia pals. His wife Lauretta and son Paul also a Bonanno family soldier had also been indicted on racketeering charges and also agreed to plea deals. Richard would go on to testify against former New York mafia bosses Joseph Massino and Vincent Basciano.
“Richard Cantatella”
Richard and his family were believed to have disappeared into the Witness Protection Program sometime around 2011. Now the Cantatella family has gone from a life of organized crime to a life in the suburbs. The new half-hour docu-comedy series follows the Cantarellas in their new lives outside of witness protection in Scottsdale, Arizona. According to a press release the new show Unprotected is a “hilarious fish-out-of-water comedy series that reminds us that at the core of it all, it’s all about family.” It offers viewers ” an up-close and amusing glimpse into the lives of this New York family as they adapt to their unfamiliar suburban surroundings, try to shed old habits and stay true to themselves.”
The series focuses on the families new life and their move into a legitimate business a family owned and run car wash. Family members including Richard Cantatella, wife Lauretta Cantarella, daughter Tracey Accardo, son Paul Cantarella, Kim Cantarella, Toni Ann Cantarell, and Richie Cantarella. Unprotected will premiere on Tuesday, April 11 at 9 pm ET/PT on Oxygen. Will be interesting to see how this new mafia shows Unprotected stacks up to other mafia shows. You can check out the trailer below.
Hmmm yea I don’t have high hopes for this sure to be train wreck . Can tell from that trailer this will most likely be a complete flop! A rat and his family acting fake tough in the suburbs sure it is all tv needs!
This is straight disrespectful to the mob
and then some
real slap in the face for these guys especially the people who are doing time because of him
complete disgrace. i would not give this show 5 seconds of my time.
Indeed … it seems like one big mess even by “reality” tv standards
In my opinion Frank Coppa is one of the biggest rats and cowards of all time, flipping over a 7 year sentence and bringing down an entire family for 7 damn years!!
completely agree
How do you think the Bonannos would be doing now if Massino never flipped?
I don’t think it would have mattered because his whole administration flipped before him. The real question is how the Bonannos would be doing if nobody ever flipped. The answer to that is much better than they’re doing now. Yeah some members might end up doing some serious time with their mouths shut but the family as a whole would remain intact.
Massimo they only gave the deal too so they could say they flipped a official boss of the five familys he has only testified twice and failed lie detector test three times the guy is not a reliable witness and most of the people he could hurt were already in prison
who knows that family would be very different Massimo was ending up in prison eventually they wanted him badly but don’t think if the others dident flip they would have ever got him on those murders. I think Sal Vitale would have end up dead eventually.
Vinny Basancio would have never become boss real gangster did think he was john gotti very flashy when he became boss gotti was his hero by all accounts
no different than before Massimo testified twice he has failed a lie detector test three times since becoming a rat only reason the feds gave him the deal was so they could say they have flipped an official boss of one of the five familys it messed with there minds that’s why they did it people were shocked when he flipped. Basancio was still probably going to get convicted even without the Massimo tapes they had cicale and others
What would have been interesting is if frank coppa never flipped what would have happened. Massimo would have end up inside eventually they wanted him badly but the streets today would have been very different if all those guys dident flip. Sal Vitale I think would have end up getting whacked eventually aswell week before he was busted people on tape were saying they should kill him that he is a rat
Agreed he did a whole lot of damage when he flipped and was a disgrace considering his circumstances.
there are elements in each city that are still truly dangerous and capable people but when you take them as a whole La Cosa Nostra has become a joke .
true its an embarrassment only rat they tried to hit was gravano and that was 20 years ago and even that they messed up. Imagine if this had happened in the 80s he would be dead within weeks
Then again, I don’t think we even had reality TV in the 80s. Shows you how lame the world has become.
What a bunch of trash, this guy’s still acting like a mob guy. I’d love for him to threaten my dog, or call me to a sitdown.
This show should get shitty ratings due to the fact that he’s a f*****g rat. You’re not a gangster, you gave up the right to carry on like one when you decided to f*****g snitch. Don’t try to play the tough guy role when you’re scared of the inside of a prison cell. Please!
This is hilarious, he flipped and then continues to brag that he was a captain….I wonder how his son feels about it.
His son is a rat too. He followed him into the witness protection program.
yea, are there any instances in the mafia where a father has flipped but his son has done time? I know for instance with franzese that his son flipped, but has it ever been the other way around?
several it is rare but has happened Anthony Valenti Bonanno soldier his father flipped on vinny asaro not a made guy still flipped.
Dominic Grande mob soldier in philly family very close to merlino and mazzone the shooter in the DelPietro murder his father wayne Grande flipped while in prison in the early 90s
Well folks, if you want cool Mafia stories it looks like you will have to read on current Mob events in Italy or Canada. It’s all a reality TV show and small time scams in America these days.
it’s all been americanized. reality shows are just another consequence. i am not surprised.
italy these days, sicilys cn and stidda are very active, let alone calabria. no comparison to lcn. secrecy still has a high value even though turncoats were always around there too. never ending flow of people who step up if others get pinched. can’t imaging a similiar reality show in italy. imaging someone like g. marchese having his show on rai1 bragging about his past in some town in northern italy…
I agree. A lot of the Mafia’s mystique came from the way it seemed to be exotic, but when you have mobsters with Anglo names like Henry Hill, James Burke, and Terrance Caldwell, it doesn’t sound too exotic to me.
what a f*****g joke…. absolute disgrace to the life.
Who would watch this fat f*****g rat fuck?
This is by far the most ridiculous bullshit ive ever seen…. Rat.
Not that it matters, but his name is Richard Cantarella, not Cantatella.
Since the Mafia isn’t going to do anything about these rats, maybe the public should do something. It would be nice if some lone nut lunatic walked right on the set and blew him away while he’s pretending to still be a mobster.
I don’t normally even care about all this rat business and what not cuz I’m not in that life but the way this dude is just rubbing everyone’s face in it, come on!!! Especially the guys he put away and their families!!! He is just begging for it… just my humble opinion…..
Pretty sad one isn’t there any actors left for some good entertainment anymore and second why are there sponsors out there supporting this piece of crap. Supposedly to show how family works and sticks together, well these slobs have already proven that when iit hits the fan it’s every man PR women for themselves. Not what i would teach my kids or even my grandsons. Wake up America we’re better than this and should get more for our money.
This family is a disgrace anyway you cut it. Richie plead to 4 murders his son to kidnapping , his wife to laundering money. Then they all rat. We support them in WP and now he leaves to make a TV show. Everything about it is wrong. The network should be ashamed. HIs wife is always cleaning, I think she is trying to get the blood off of their hands, sorry it won’t work. Richie flipped because his son was falling apart in jail. Now he makes like he’s a big shot gagster, he loses at everything. The reviews on Yelp suck for the carwashes they own. They sit around in their fake world making like they are wise guys ,they are stupid guys. Richie and Paul are chasing down dogs who shit on his lawn, turns out to be pigs, they must have come to visit the their family. This needs to be taken off the air, It should have never been.