", "A Godfather Betrayed by His Namesake, Part II", "Hundred-year-old mobster's daughter gushes over dad's freedom", "John Franzese, Mafioso Who Consorted With Celebrities, Dies at 103", "Geriatric NY gangster, 93, gets 8 years in prison", "Legendary Colombo underboss John (Sonny) Franzese sees his holiday bid for bail whacked", "Italian mob boss freed from prison at 100-years-old", "Al Sharpton's Secret Work As FBI Informant", "At 100, mob underboss Sonny Franzese gets out of federal prison", "2 Nabbed in Heist of Elmhurst Bank; Cosa Link is Seen", "Franzese Is Said to Have Killed '30 or 40 or 50' Persons", "NEW BREED SAID TO EMERGE IN ORGANIZED CRIME", "Franzese and 4 are found guilty; Albany jury convicts them in bank robberies", "Five Mafia Families Open Rosters to New Members", Feds want jury to hear Sonny talk about mob murders", "Crime Figure Seized on L.I. Getting in wasnt easy. All this from a man who was 91 at the time. Maybe all the drugs he took. Be the best.. The world lost a luminous legend of the big screen when Marilyn Monroe died at 36 on Aug. 5, 1962, of a barbiturate overdose. Julie Podell thought I was the best thing that ever happened to him., It undoubtedly had a lot to do with business. "Listen, it broke my heart. In a frail voice, Mr Masters can be heard on the recordings saying: The night before she died, the last time I saw her, was in Lake Tahoe at the Cal-Neva Lodge. I dont know., I said, After the show, come down here. She says, All right, Ill be down.. Youre chasing me off the table., Sonny replied, I cant have sex with you. Podell, a former butcher, had a hard-knocks background, with bootlegging arrests, jail time, and a gunshot wound in the leg. The indictments came in rat-a-tat fashion: In March, the Manhattan district attorney charged him with being the muscle man in a $10 million bookmaking ring in the garment district. That man can do jail time standing on his head.. They didnt come there just to see the show . Its human nature.At the same time, he advised, As a leader, I needed to subdue my ego and do whats best for the organization.. It's possible someone like Sonny could have hooked up with Marilyn Monroe in her in the early days. The comments below have not been moderated, By He then testified against his father, 93 at the time, and later entered the federal witness protection program. The once-feared mobster was the Colombo crime family's second in command and died on February 20 of natural causes at a nursing home in upstate New York. Franzese returned to his family in Brooklyn after his release in 2017 from the Federal Medical Center in Danvers, Mass., leading a quiet life far from the spotlight of his youth. 82.4k. Two of them delivered eulogies at Fridays funeral, making it grander by another measure than the mob boss sendoffs of old. He served as underboss of the Colombo family from 1963 until he was sentenced to 50 years in . Major Franzese was born in Sicily, moving with his family as a child to Brooklyn. John Jr., 58 Franzeses favorite child wore a wire to gather evidence against the Colombos. His self-discipline and wariness were legendary. Franzese was born in Naples, Italy, to Carmine Franzese and Maria Corvola on February 6, 1917, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In 1967, Franzese was arrested for a series of bank robberies. All rights reserved. See, I used to play it right. Both had immigrated to the United States from Italy. Alert, animated and with slightly graying hair, he claimed to have struck up relationships with Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and the 1950s television star Dagmar. [20], Franzese's son, John Franzese Jr. became a government informant. (on-sale March 29, 2022), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window). the news Franzeses first recorded arrest came on Jan. 7, 1938, in Brooklyn for felonious assault. See? Maurice said. Franzese who now has a pacemaker, hearing aids and a broken hip had been tipped in the 1960s as a potential new Colombo boss. That didnt mean that he wouldnt try to move in on Sinatras girlfriend. He loved his children. [8][9], He was accused of murdering Genovese crime family hitman-turned-informant Ernest Rupolo in 1964 on the orders of Vito Genovese. But he built his fortune by theft and violence, and as far as I can see he's still making money off that lifestyle. After the 93-year-old Sonny Franzese was convicted, he was sentenced to eight years in prison, where he was widely expected to die of old age. What can I tell him? That I promise.. People would come there to see me, too, Sonny said. You should have asked, Did Frank Sinatra know Sonny Franzese?. But after violating parole by associating with known mobsters, he was placed back in prison in 1982 only to be inexplicably paroled again in 1984. Then his friend said she really was coming to their table. [4] His mother had given him the nickname "Sonny" at a young age. Her boyfriend was not far away on stage, but Sonny was not at all concerned. Wikimedia CommonsSonny Franzese (left) with famous boxer Rocky Graziano (center). You Do You. On Writing Outside (Or Inside) The Lines. In 1966, he was charged with murdering a rival gangster and dumping the body into a bay after chaining cement blocks to the victims feet. I wouldnt turn around., Sinatra was used to being in charge, but not when Sonny was around. Your wifes a whore? Years later, he would talk about it with genuine disbelief. He held his staff to high standards and involved himself in all the minutiae of running a club, from supervising the kitchen staff to picking the talent. He thought every girl was, was in love with him. Not only was she ultimately proven right on both counts, but Franzese didnt even have to finish that prison term. The victim in that case was a one-eyed, hook-nosed hitman known as the Hawk, whose body was found in Jamaica Bay. After being sentenced for a period of 50 years, Franzese offered only this premonitory remark: I bet I do everyone.. By 1935, when he was 18, he said, he was running the largest craps game in New York. But he said he manages to do 40 squats every morning and tries to walk as much as possible. I couldnt believe it myself sometimes.. What's new Ava Gardner, I started to talk to her. Maybe all the drugs he took. He was so much a part of who I am as a man, good or bad. But he did it.. John "Sonny" Franzese, who was one of the deadliest, richest, and longest-living Mafia bosses, died on February 25, 2019. . Franzese went on to say that he had been told of the great good Cassato had done. [32] He also helped to finance the $22,000 budget of the 1972 pornographic film Deep Throat, which generated $3050 million, and the 1974 slasher film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which earned over $30 million from a $80,000140,000 investment. Rupolo was shot and stabbed several times before his feet were attached to two concrete blocks and his hands tied before being dumped into Jamaica Bay. You know what I mean? In addition to his interests in the entertainment industry, John Franzese also became notorious for his racketeering, fraud, and loansharking schemes. He served as underboss of the Colombo family from 1963 until he was sentenced to 50 years in prison for orchestrating a string of bank robberies across the country in 1967. Podell became a staple in gossip columns, which, naturally, boosted his business. Despite the entreaties of FBI agents and a 50-year prison sentence for a crime he swears he didnt commit, Franzese did his time and never talked. One of Monroe's last flings was Giancana, who was arguably the most powerful gangster in the country at that time, and was in Sinatra's circle. sport Some mid level wiseguy, as Sonny Franseze was at that time, might have been a stepping stone on her way up to Sinatra and Jack Kennedy. And hes likely to die behind bars.. Theres no money in crime no more, he said. He is largely responsible for the glamorization of the Mafia over the past century, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Cristina Posa after his 2017 release. International There were no flower cars outside the funeral of 103-year-old John Sonny Franzesebut gospel music, funny stories, and eulogies from his loving grandkids made it much grander. I was ashamed. Both the grandson and the granddaughter recalled Sonny Grandpa saying that you have to listen to gospel music. Facts are facts his time is nearly up. Not that I wanna brag, but I was in demand. On a side note sonny is so old, looking at the era he came up in he mustve seen it all, stories would be insane to listen to. Now 102 years old, John (Sonny) Franzese, the longtime underboss of the Colombo crime family, is the epitome of the old-style crime chieftain. Asked about Omerta the mob code of silence Franzese professed ignorance, even confusion. The charges, ranging from vagrancy to rape, all followed a strikingly similar pattern they were either dismissed or he was acquitted. Video Though frail, he was all smiles. A couple who had just gotten engaged were walking at dusk through the streets near the church. [4], In 1967, Franzese gained a financial interest in a new recording company, Buddah Records. [10][5][4] He was arrested with nine other people on April 13, 1966,[11] and during his trial, the prosecution produced records that claimed that Franzese had killed between 30 and 50 people. . Within three years, three more followed two for disorderly conduct and one for third-degree assault but none of them stuck. I wouldnt put a dog in a jail pod., John (Sonny)Franzeseis helped into his daughter's Brooklyn home by family members in June 2017. Credit: Craig Ruttle. It didnt hurt that he set aside a nightly table for gossip king Walter Winchell, who liked to mix up his column with items about New York Citys underworld. Crowd tradition claimed that the early gangster became a man made at the age of 14, and he was soon conducting a crowd-controlled craps game. Especially in his mafia career, Franzese was making money by making money for the family in various ways. McShane writes for the New York Daily News. He is from Italy. If the club was filled, he would go to the back door and tell workers to set a table on the stage; and they did. newspaper It was a conspiracy to get me, Franzese said in his nursing home. Linked by law enforcement to multimillion-dollar bookmaking, loan sharking and extortion rackets and caught on tape alluding to multiple murders he claimed to have committed, he remained mute through more than 35 years behind bars as mob boss after mob boss violated the mobscode of silence in exchange for lighter prison sentences. [39], Franzese died in a New York City hospital, on February 24, 2020, aged 103. The film is based on Joyce Carol Oates . John "Sonny" Franzese reportedly committed his first murder at the age of fourteen. [1][14] His son, Michael, alleged that when Mishler sentenced his father, Franzese declared, "You watch. I liked Joe DiMaggio. By 1963, he had been promoted to underboss by boss Joseph Colombo. Cassatos words of forgiveness had added significance because he is also a highly regarded NYPD chaplain. Afterward, John Franzese joined the Colombo crime family under boss Joseph Profaci. He infers that this affair happened later on in time though. stars He was, after all, Sonny Franzese. He would be the last guy I thought would do that. After the 2004 incarceration of John "Jackie" DeRoss, Franzese was again promoted to Colombo family underboss in 2005, for the first time since his 1967 imprisonment, by Thomas Gioeli. The Mafia Secretly Taped Marilyn Monroe to Blackmail the Kennedy Brothers. I just want to go to the bathroom! Franzese could be heard pleading. The Hollywood actress is said to have spent the evening with Sam Giancana after taking the singers private jet to Cal-Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. You know what she told me? Nutt y son of a gun. Sonny and Gardner never did anything more than the few moments of groping each other in a back room, but it was still a conquest to Sonny. He was 103. . Asked if he knew Frank Sinatra, Franzese replied:You asked the question the wrong way. That was my parish, Franzese said. So I look up and whos looking at meJayne Mansfield. He was a good guy. Franzeses son Michael remembers that when he and his father were discussing business, his father would routinely lead him into the bathroom of their Roslyn home and turn on the water to drown out their conversation. But one of the actual bank robbers took the stand to say Franzese had overseen the heists. Lo and behold, he went away to school again!. I dont get it.. Her very personal tribute to the president shocked many of the fifteen thousand people in the audience. For all his murky past, he was a stickler for outward appearances. Sonny Franzese romantic affair with Marilyn Monroe? However, Franzese ultimately beat the case. He said, Youre nothing without an education, you got to he smart about life.. His account of what happened that evening was telling because he actually expressed remorse about it. [22] John Franzese Jr. testified twice against his father, the last time his father attempted to have him killed; he later lived under witness protection. His wife made clear her displeasure with him over the crooked path their son had taken before becoming an informant. In an interview, John said he had become sober in 2001 after battling a yearslong drug addiction. United States of America Common knowledge she was stepping out on Joe Dimaggio while in NY. In 1970, when Franzese was 10 years old, his father began serving a 50-year sentence for conspiring to rob banks. John (Sonny) Franzese is escorted down a staircase by armed officers at Nassau County police headquarters in Mineola on Jan.5, 1967, on his way to an arraignment. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Abroad [25], With the help of Franzese Jr.'s testimony, the 93-year-old Franzese Sr., on January 14, 2011, was sentenced to eight years in prison for extorting two Manhattan strip clubs, running a loanshark operation and extorting a pizzeria on Long Island. Never under my name, though. You are a spark plug, ready to attack any situation. If your husband comes here, Im going to beat him up, he told her. [4], In the late 1930s, Franzese worked under Joseph Profaci, boss of the Profaci crime family (later named the Colombo crime family). She got around in high circles to the very end. The mourners laughed as they had at the line about taxes, making it two laughs more than at your basic old school mob boss funeral. He loved his children. ! John Sonny Franzese, center, is escorted to the Elizabeth Street police station in New York after his arrest on a 43-count gambling indictment. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. That advice was accompanied by a warning. Legendary New York mobster John "Sonny" Franzese, the former underboss of the Colombo crime family, has died at 103, according to TMZ. Franzese is keenly aware of his place in the annals of crime as someone who over more than 75 years never turned in a confederate. Active in the criminal underworld well into his 90s, Franzese was convicted on federal charges of running extortion rackets in New York in 2011. Serious loss at any age, said his son Michael. ! You should have asked, Did Frank Sinatra know Sonny Franzese?. Do you know who my husband is? she replied. Africa In 1963, Genovese gangster Joseph Valachi appeared before a televised and explosive U.S. Senate hearing on organized crime, revealing for the first time the secrets of La Cosa Nostra.
