- Michael Franzese
-
Michael Franzese in 2009
Michael Franzese (born May 27, 1951), is a former New York mobster with the Colombo crime family who was heavily involved in the gasoline tax rackets in the 1980s. Since then, he has publicly renounced organized crime, created a foundation for helping youth and become a motivational speaker.
Contents
Member of Colombo family
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Franzese is the son of reputed Colombo Underboss John "Sonny" Franzese. After finishing high school, Franzese entered Hofstra University and started a premed program. However, in October 1975 Franzese decided to quit college and work for the Colombo family.[1] By the 1980s, he had become a caporegime, or captain, of a crew.
Gasoline Bootlegging
Franzese's rise in the Colombo family came from the infamous gasoline bootlegging rackets, which were very lucrative for the family. Working with the Russian Mafia, Franzese sold millions of gallons of gas. The family would collect the state and federal gas taxes, but keep the money instead. At the same time, they were often selling the gas at lower prices than at legitimate gas stations. In the mid-1980s, Fortune Magazine listed Franzese as number 18 on its list of the "Fifty Most Wealthy and Powerful Mafia Bosses".[2] According to a Federal report, Franzese made more money for a crime family than anyone since Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone.[citation needed]
Entertainment and Sports Management
By 1980, Franzese was a partner with booking agent Norby Walters in his firm. Franzese's role was to intimidate existing and prospective clients. In 1981, Franzese unsuccessfully attempted to extort a role for Norby in US tour for singer Michael Jackson and his brothers. In 1982, the manager for singer Dionne Warwick wanted to drop Norby as an agent. Franzese met with the manager and persuaded him to keep Norby.[3]
In 1985, Norby set up a sports management agency with Franzese as a silent partner. Franzese later testified as a prosecution witness that Walters invoked his name to frighten college athletes into signing management contracts.[3]
Prison
Mug shot of Franzese taken in 1993.Franzese was also a co-founder of the film company Motion Picture Marketing, which distributed such films as Savage Streets with Linda Blair. In 1984, Franzese was in Fort Lauderdale, Florida producing a film called Knights of the City when he met Camille Garcia, an evangelical Christian dancer from Los Angeles. Garcia and Franzese eventually married. According to Franzese, his wife persuaded him to become a Christian.
In 1985, Franzese was indicted on 14 counts of racketeering, counterfeiting and extortion from the gasoline bootlegging racket. In 1986, Franzese pleaded guilty to two counts.[3] He was sentenced to ten years in federal prison with $14 million in restitution payments.[4]
In December 1987, while in prison, Franzese decided that he wanted to leave the Colombo family and organized crime. In 1989, after agreeing to cooperated with prosecutors, Franzese was released from prison after serving three years.[4] Franzese moved to Los Angeles.
On December 27, 1991, Franzese was sentenced in New York to four years in federal prison for violating the probation requirements from his 1989 release. Franzese had been arrested in Los Angeles on fraud accusation and was sent back to New York for the probation hearing. In court, prosecutors complained that Franzese had only started making restitution payments earlier that year. Prosecutors also said that they no longer considered Franzese to be a cooperating witness.[4] He was ultimately released in 1994.[1]
Motivational speaker
In 1992, while out of prison on parole, Franzese authored an autobiography, Quitting the Mob.[5] In this book, Franzese discussed his criminal activities, life with his father, and interactions with former Gambino crime family boss John Gotti.
Franzese is the founder and chairman of the Breaking Out Foundation.[6] According to the foundation's website, Breaking Out is dedicated to educating, empowering, and equipping youth to face life's challenges, especially gambling addiction.
Franzese has spoken on more than 250 Division 1 college campuses, speaking to student athletes as an NCAA life skills speaker. Franzese has addressed professional athletes with Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Football League (NFL). Franzese serves as a keynote speaker at corporate events and leads seminars for business and law students. He frequently speaks at Christian conferences, special events, and church services.
Franzese has been interviewed on the Jim Rome Show, ESPN, Home Box Office (HBO), Fox Sports, Cable News Network (CNN), CNBC, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), MSNBC, NatGEO, Fox News Channel, and USA Today. On July 23, 2002, while appearing on the HBO television program "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel", Franzese claimed that during the 1970's and 1980's he persuaded New York Yankees players who owed money to Colombo loansharks to fix baseball games for betting purposes. The Yankees organization immediately denied Franzese's accusations.[1]
In 2003, Franzese published Blood Covenant, an updated and expanded life story.[7]
In popular culture
Franzese was a contestant in the American version of the television show 1 vs. 100. He was asked which U.S. coins did not have ridges on them. After giving the wrong answer, Franzese remarked, "I only deal with bills."
In Martin Scorsese's 1990 film Goodfellas, Franzese is portrayed as the character "Mikey Franzese" by Joseph Bono.
References
- ^ a b c Schwarz, Alan (July 12, 2001). "BASEBALL; From Captain to Coach: Ex-Goodfella's New Life". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/12/sports/baseball-from-captain-to-coach-ex-goodfella-s-new-life.html?src=pm. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
- ^ Roy Rowan; Andrew Kupfer (1986-11-10). "THE 50 BIGGEST MAFIA BOSSES". CNN Money. Fortune Maganize. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1986/11/10/68275/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
- ^ a b c FIFFER, STEVE (March 15, 1989). "Crime Figure Testifies to Link With Sports Agent". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/15/sports/crime-figure-testifies-to-link-with-sports-agent.html?src=pm. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
- ^ a b c Lubasch, Arnold H (December 28, 1991). "Mobster Sentenced in Probation Violation". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/28/nyregion/mobster-sentenced-in-probation-violation.html?scp=2&sq=%22Michael%20Franzese%22&st=cse. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
- ^ Franzese, Michael (1992). Quitting the Mob. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780883688670.
- ^ http://www.breakingout.org
- ^ Franzese, Michael (2003). Blood Covenant. Whitaker House. ISBN 9780883688670.
External links
Colombo crime family Boss(s) Current members Past members Made menBenedetto Aloi · Dominick Cataldo · William Cutolo · Michael Franzese · Joe Gallo · Victor Orena · Anthony Peraino · Ralph ScopoAssociatesFamily events HearingsKefauver Committee (1950–1951) · Valachi hearings (1963)TrialsVictimsMurder victimsWarsCastellammarese War (1929–1931) · Colombo family's first war (1960-1963) · Colombo family's second war (1971-1975) · Colombo family's third war (1991-1993)Allies See also: American Mafia Template · Five Families Template Italian American Mafia Families The Five Families of New York City: Bonanno · Colombo · Gambino · Genovese · Lucchese
Buffalo · DeCavalcante (New Jersey) · Patriarca (New England) · Philadelphia · Pittsburgh · Trafficante (Florida)DefunctBufalino (Pennsylvania) · Dallas · Denver · Genna (Chicago) · New Orleans · Porrello (Cleveland) · Rochester · San Francisco · San JoseStructure The Commission · Boss (Don) · Underboss · Consigliere (Advisor) · Caporegime (Captain or Capo) · Soldier · AssociateMembers (Made men)Codes and TermsEvents MeetingsAtlantic City Conference (1929) · Havana Conference (invitees) (1946) · Apalachin Meeting (1957) · Palermo Mafia summit (1957)HearingsKefauver Committee (1950–1951) · Valachi hearings (1963)WarsTrialsSee also: Sicilian Mafia Template · List of Mafia crime families Categories:- 1951 births
- Living people
- American Christians
- American mobsters of Italian descent
- American motivational speakers
- Colombo crime family
- People from Brooklyn
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
