He was 103 years old. [39], Franzese died in a New York City hospital, on February 24, 2020, aged 103. He became a boccie player and a handball champion. Franzese, widely admired and respected in the Mafia for sticking to his oath of omerta and keeping silent, was finally freed in 2017 at the age of 100. Only now he gets to feel holy and forgiven while he cashes the checks. [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. He had grown up with street guys and had had his own youthful run-in with the law. Maurice also recounted a story from the 1960s, before Franzese was sent to prison. In prison, he said, I learned one thing: Determination is stronger than anything.. Franzese was 21 when he was arrested for the first time on charges of assault in 1938. Im feeling her ass. Other recordings were made with the help of informants. China [22] Franzese Jr. was allegedly also responsible for his father's fourth parole violation, but was accepted back into his confidence after denying the allegations in tears, saying, "I would never do that, no matter what kind of trouble I had. He was a good guy. [1][2][3] His parents had already immigrated to the United States at the time of his birth, and were back in Italy for a visit. 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. That I promise.. Mr Platts, 60, a sales consultant from California, said: What if this trip George talks about was a last-ditch effort to get her to agree not to talk [about the Kennedys]? And he apologized for what happened, especially near his church.. John Franzese, known as Sonny, had been the federal prison systems oldest inmate and its only centenarian when he completed his last stint behind bars in 2017. 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. Cassato turned solemn without being somber at the end of the funeral, saying that Franzese now rested in Gods love and grace. You asked the question the wrong way, Franzese replied. Over the course of the ensuing decades, Franzese cemented his reputation as one of New Yorks flashiest mobsters. I did it on spite. It was a free-for-all, Sonny recalled. [4] However, in May 2007, Franzese was again returned to prison for a parole violation. His son Michael, who initially followed his father into the crowd, eventually left organized crime and became a born-again Christian and motivational speaker. After the Army, Franzese resumed his street life and racked up 10 more arrests through June 1963. Franzese was a well-dressed regular at the Copacabana nightclub, where he spent lavishly and hung around with the likes of Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra. Franzese defies many mob stereotypes. He also said at work not to trust anyone, she recalled. And although Franzese is angry about what he sees as his unjust imprisonment, he expressed no bitterness I done the time.. She died in 2012. She got around in high circles to the very end. [20], On June 4, 2008, Franzese was indicted along with other Colombo mobsters on charges of racketeering, conspiracy, robbery, extortion, narcotics trafficking, and loansharking. He didnt squeal on nobody., His toughness earned him the reverence of street hoods and a grudging respect from law enforcement. He was back at Mount Carmel on Friday for the funeral. Years later, he would talk about it with genuine disbelief. 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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. He is so smart and careful and sufficiently insulated that police are frustrated in every attempt to nail him down. The extraordinary life and times of a legendary crime boss who refused to squealbut who finally agreed to talk to an award-winning New York Newsday reporter shortly before his death at age 103 . A new account claims she spent the night before her death at his retreat in Lake Tahoe She flew home to Los Angeles early the following. Younger men are springing up on all sides, including Joey Gallo, Sonny Franzese, etc. The cassette tapes were found by his nephew, Jeff Platts, and have now been made public. Marilyn was gorgeous, forget about it.. The claims are the first time that any mention has been made of such a trip in the days before Monroe died in 1962. Queens, New York. Masters also appears to confirm the theory that Monroe was moved around before she died. If Franzese had a weakness, it was for his immediate family. The bronze coffin was covered with an American flag in recognition of Franzeses service during World War II, even though it was cut short for reasons that are not entirely clear. Your goal in life is to succeed.. Interesting interview. Privacy Policy |Terms of service |Subscription terms |Your ad choices |Cookie Settings |California Privacy Rights |About Us |Contact Newsday |Reprints & permissions |Advertise with Newsday |Help. His book on business was called An Offer They Can't Refuse, for fuck's sake. The conviction was based, in large part, on tapes made by his son John, who also testified against his father. Common knowledge she was stepping out on Joe Dimaggio while in NY. That had been before Cassatos time. She flew home to Los Angeles early the following morning and was found dead that night. But then, in 1967, he was convicted for his involvement in a bank robbery and sentenced to 50 years in prison. People just liked me, you know what I mean? Tops The charges wereand continue to bewidely viewed as false. FBI director J. Edgar Hoover listed Franzese's prison term among the bureau's major achievements for 1967, along with sentences for extortion given to hoodlums Charles Battaglia of Tucson, Arizona, and Sam Battaglia of . Also Sonny said to him that he was dating Marilyn Monroe and met her at the Stork club. Paroled for the first time in 1978, Franzese returned to prison five more times as he violated his parole again and again by associating with fellow mobsters. [34] After the mob allowed John to divorce his first wife, Grillo disappeared, and he married Capobianco. Franzeses death comes nearly three years after he was released from prison due to his advanced age. When he made his entrancestriding briskly, confidently, and with a slight smilea frisson of excitement rippled through the crowd. And then I would go and play handball. "Marilyn was gorgeous, forget about it." The mutual attraction proved irresistible, and their relationship led to an encounter that that left Sonny deeply ashamed. His violent inclinations didnt cease there. 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. [13], However, on March 3, 1967, Franzese was convicted in Albany, New York of masterminding a series of four bank robberies across the country in 1965, and was finally sentenced to 50 years in prison at United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, by judge Jacob Mishler in 1970, after several denied appeals. 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. since Giancana and John Roselli (Sinatra) used Judith Campbell Exner, Jeanne Carmen, Marilyn Monroe among other women -to throw at JFK On Writing Outside (Or Inside) The Lines. I would win, too., But his bottom line on prison where he spent more than a third of his long life is I hate everything about it.. And then youll be ready to play rock and roll because you have to know where the music comes from., The grandson now marveled, And to hear that from an old Italian guy. Upon reflection, what he meant was that everyone in any work situation was ultimately always going to put themselves first, even if subconsciously. . Sonny was always nattily dressed and knew full well that reporters would describe his wardrobe in detail, his cashmere coats included: In those days, cashmere was expensive.. His son Michael, who initially followed his father into the mob, eventually left organized crime and became a born-again Christian and motivational speaker. The comments below have not been moderated, By Youre chasing me off the table., Sonny replied, I cant have sex with you. economy He would be the last guy I thought would do that. I killed a lot of guys you're not talking about four, five, six, ten. Ruggedly handsome with a swagger many women found irresistible, he frequented the citys top clubs, especially the Copacabana, where Frank Costello boss of the Luciano mob family, which was the precursor of todays Genovese family was a silent partner and Franzese was an honored guest among the celebrities. Though its unclear exactly how John Franzese died, it is clear that his death closes yet another chapter in the ongoing history of gangs in New York. I watched the interview. When I was away, I would run five miles a day, every day, he said. Then in 2010, at age 93, he was sentenced to eight more years in prison after being convicted of extorting the Hustler and Penthouse strip clubs in Manhattan and a pizzeria in Albertson. Johnny got up, but couldnt help but protest: Sonny, youre too much. Jeffrey Basinger/Newsday via Getty Images. He used to come back to me and talk loud, so I could hear him. Calling himself a die-hard American, he said, I was a good soldier.. 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. 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. [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. Salary in 2022. Serious loss at any age, said his son Michael. He could be heard saying on one tape that he had committed numerous murders, but he was acquitted the only time he was ever charged with homicide. The made members Valachi named included Franzese, and law enforcement became so determined to build a case against him that agents installed a bug in his kitchen as his new home was being built. Indonesia Not only was she ultimately proven right on both counts, but Franzese didnt even have to finish that prison term. Customers came to see the glittering roster of performers onstage, but were just as thrilled when they spotted celebrities, and mobsters, in the audience. But he built his fortune by theft and violence, and as far as I can see he's still making money off that lifestyle. information report from 1965 described Franzese, then underboss of the Colombo family, as the fastest growing and most prominent shylock in the Greater New York area.. While Franzeses son Michael renounced his ties to the Mafia in 1995, he later told The New York Times that he was aware his father had approved an order from family leaders to kill him for leaving. ice Hockey The charges, ranging from vagrancy to rape, all followed a strikingly similar pattern they were either dismissed or he was acquitted. The renowned tough guy spent his time in prison without ever igniting his mafia comrades following a 1967 conviction that was widely considered an organized crime both internally and externally. So Id have to be a nut to rob banks.. According to his son Michael, he passed away in a hospital in the New York area, but no further details were given. Mob lore held that the precocious gangster became a made man at age 14, and was soon running a mob-controlled craps game. relationship They had met years earlier when he was performing at the Rustic Cabin, a roadhouse in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and a fight broke out. . But one particular patron never had a problem. The elder Franzese clearly did more than just cash in on the Shirelles. In his first extended interviews following his release in June 2017 as the oldest inmate in the federal prison system, Franzese spoke to reporters as he never has, reflecting on a criminal life rooted in New York City and on Long Island that spanned the birth, glory days and current lower profile of traditional organized crime. In 1931, Franzese was straightened out, or inducted into the mob, when he was just 14, his son John said. [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. That man can do jail time standing on his head.. It changed the dynamics of these parties, but I think were all better for it.. Podell insisted that employees and customers alike adhere to a strict dress code. But his real job was as a gangster, authorities said, and living the high life. ; Parole Violations Are Cited", "Nine Are Arrested in Sweeping Organized Crime Crackdown", Colombo organized crime family acting boss, underboss, and ten other members and associates indicted", "John Franzese Jr. testified against his dad, Sonny and then quit Witness Protection", "Feds: Sonny Asked a Mob Pal to Help Whack His Turncaot Son", "Colombo underboss John (Sonny) Franzese's son admits he sold his dad out for $50,000", "Colombo underboss John (Sonny) Franzese betrayed by son, who'll testify against legendary mobster", "93-Year-Old Crime Boss Gets 12-Year Sentence", "Mobster Sonny Franzese gets 8 years in prison", "Colombo mobster John Franzese, 99, denied compassionate release", "98-year-old inmate's prison funds targeted by feds", "Mafia boss, 93, faces prison after son breaks code of silence", "Penn State Forum Speaker Series Michael Franzese "Life Choices, Life Stories", "Special Report: Michael Franzese talks about quitting the mob", Hundred-year-old mobster's daughter gushes over dad's freedom, "John 'Sonny' Franzese, powerful mob boss who hung out with Frank Sinatra, dies at 103", "Priest at Sonny Franzese's funeral Mass: 'He just kept on going', American Gangster: The Sonny Franzese Story, List of Italian-American mobsters by organization, Collaborations between the United States government and Italian Mafia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sonny_Franzese&oldid=1142670143, Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government, United States Army personnel of World War II, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox person with multiple parents, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Cristina Capobianco-Franzese (second wife), This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 19:20. What's new To them, it was clear who the top man was, but Sonny, ever magnanimous, quieted them. Getty ImagesJohn Sonny Franzese is escorted by police in 1967. A reminder of the life the elder Franzese had lived came with a eulogy by a man who introduced himself as Maurice, an unofficial adopted son and proprietor of Cinema World Studios in Brooklyn. Asked about the prosecutors and judge who sent him to prison, who have all died, Franzese said, Ill meet them in hell.. Franzese went on to say that he had been told of the great good Cassato had done. Netflix's controversial Marilyn Monroe drama (now streaming) stars Ana de Armas as the tragic Hollywood starlet, who died of an overdose in 1962 at 36. Both had immigrated to the United States from Italy. Born in 1917 and raised in New York City, John Franzese grew up during a boom era for organized crime and it didnt take long for him to get involved himself. As for how many people John Franzese killed and disposed of this way, that remains uncertain. Credit: Newsday / James O'Rourke, Never happened, Franzese said. John "Sonny" Franzese reportedly committed his first murder at the age of fourteen. Maurice recalled monthly visits to see Franzese at college, as prison is termed in the mob world. All this from a man who was 91 at the time. However, Franzese ultimately beat the case. All rights reserved. He worries about his grandchildren, exhorting them to get an education, and says he has told many younger relatives to go straight, for practical reasons, at least. He had been the oldest inmate in the federal prison system, but now he was free and on his way to spend time at his daughters home in Brooklyn. After six months, his family returned with Franzese to their home in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where his father ran a bakery. Sonny was tough as nails. And I get her close and Im kissing her and I got my hands on her backside and I put them under her dress. But the business side of Franzese was darker: He once acknowledged killing 10 men during a 2006 chat with a mob informant, with other estimates of his mob murders running as high as 60. Most importantly in his mob career, Franzese was an earner, making money for the family in a variety of ways. She had a miniskirt on. Sonny met and struck up relationships with beauties like actress Diahann Carroll. He was silent, even though he hated prison. But he did it.. He and three fellow Brooklyn vocalists made the send-off all the more unlike what anybody might expect. He beat a life sentence. Ava Gardner, I started to talk to her. On June 23, 2017, he was released, having spent a total of 35 years behind bars. Asked where he sat when he went to the Copa, Sonny Franzesehandsome and charismatic underboss of the Colombo familysmiled and said, Wherever I wanted.. The victim in that case was a one-eyed, hook-nosed hitman known as the Hawk, whose body was found in Jamaica Bay. I wouldnt turn around., Sinatra was used to being in charge, but not when Sonny was around. A couple who had just gotten engaged were walking at dusk through the streets near the church. Jesus suffered, he said. Gardner was beautiful and tempestuous, and everyone knew Sinatra was hopelessly in love with her. A gunman suddenly appeared and took it. You are a spark plug, ready to attack any situation. You wont disappoint. People would come there to see me, too, Sonny said. 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. 09:25 GMT 28 Apr 2011 Franzese looks far younger than he is and remembered details of the various criminal charges against him with clarity, particularly those surrounding the bank robbery conspiracy that he insists he was not involved in. Sonny today 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. He enjoyed his final years with his grandchildren. The late Gambino boss John Gotti was caught on a federal wiretap marveling at Franzeses refusal to rat: Sonny Franzese, hes one tough [expletive] guy, one tough, [expletive]guy. The late Bernard Welsh, an FBI agent who arrested Franzese for violating parole, agreed in an interview with Newsday in 2017: He demanded so much respect because he did all that time and he never gave anyone up., Authorities believe Franzese personally killed or ordered the murders of dozens of people. It's possible someone like Sonny could have hooked up with Marilyn Monroe in her in the early days. When I used to see him, I made out (like) I dont see him. He was also a regular at the Copacabana and met such stars as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. on a frequent basis. Franzese was born in Naples, Italy, to Carmine Franzese and Maria Corvola on February 6, 1917, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. And everybody wanted to get glory, said Ed McDonald, former chief of the federal Organized Crime Strike Force in Brooklyn. In 2006, a fellow gangster secretly wearing a wire as an F.B.I. 1966. Wikimedia CommonsSonny Franzese (left) with famous boxer Rocky Graziano (center). 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. More significantly for Franzese, Valachi identified him as a member of the Profaci family, which was the precursor to the Colombos, according to Senate records. He told the mourners during his homily of a moment after his transfer. In April, the U.S. Attorneys Office charged him with conspiring to rob banks and obstruction of justice. Sonny Franzese back in 1966 was one of the pre-eminent organized crime figures in New York, if not the United States. They [would] come up to me, actually pick me up. If true, they would rewrite the final act in the actresss life and raise fresh questions about her death. He wanted to be catered to all the time. He dressed like the gangsters of lore and was seen in the company of Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. Franzese said his superior officers liked his quick intelligence and fighting spiritbut that his gambling and liaison with a majors wife probably were what got him into trouble. I didnt want to talk to him. You should have asked, Did Frank Sinatra know Sonny Franzese?. During a break in the proceedings, the elder Franzese rolled into the mens room in a wheelchair. Franzese, who died Monday, had been living in New York since being released from prison. He was 103. Kara Goldfarb is a writer living in New York City. 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In time, according to FBI records, he acquired businesses, among them the Le Tique Disco and Decameron Room in Levittown, the Apple Orchard Restaurant in Roslyn and the El Elegante in Hicksville, all now defunct. He hung out with Sinatra and fellow Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr. at the legendary Copacabana nightclub in New York. Interesting interview. George also said that the person she was really in love with at that moment was Sam Giancana.. In October, the Queens district attorney indicted him in the homicide of Ernest (The Hawk) Rupolo, a one-eyed mob hit man from Baldwin. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, with their vaudeville-style act of songs and jokes, were regulars onstage. Al then lived in Miami after Alcatraz with his mind gone. And in December, the Nassau district attorney accused him of engineering the home invasion of an Oceanside jukebox executive in which two teenagers were handcuffed to a pole in the basement and gagged with duct tape. I knew them all, he said. The first hint to someone not in the know only came when the priest, Monsignor David Cassato, offered a joke. He took the witness standnot because he was charged with a crimebut because he needed to testify against the wiseguy life he was desperate to escape. Franzeses first recorded arrest came on Jan. 7, 1938, in Brooklyn for felonious assault. Health Act like a dumb son of a gun and cater to you people?. United States of America According to his son Michael, he passed away in a hospital in the New York area, but no further details were given. By the mid-1970s, John Franzese was widely believed to be one of the Mafias biggest earners since Al Capone, taking home between $1 million and $2 million a week. They wanted me to roll all the time, he said over a bowl of pasta e fagioliin the nursing home where he now lives. Screwed his mind up," Franzese said of his estranged son. Gangsters added to the noirish glamour of the club, and Sonny exuded the kind of power that people immediately recognized. I went out with a lot of handsome leading men . Hoffa was buried somewhere very wet and deep, out of New York and Jersey. [33], Franzese was married to a woman with whom he had three children. Here I am in a place, theres three hundred fifty people here, and youre the best-looking guy here, too., She says, Sonny, youre the best-looking guy I ever went out with., For Sonny, a woman like Mansfield was simply fun. Sonny was not a man inclined to express regret or embarrassment about anything he did. 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. He asserted that no one in history has done what he did and grandiosely even compared himself to Jesus Christ. Full head of hair - stand up guy. He worked in the record business, and put up some of the cash behind the mobs alleged investment in the classic porn flick Deep Throat reportedly securing a piece of its supposed $600-million gross. George specifically told me that Marilyn spent the evening with Sam Giancana. He is here with us right now, and he wants to make sure Im not gonna say certain things. From breaking news to special features and documentaries, the NewsdayTV team is covering the issues that matter to you. Screwed his mind up.. What can I tell him? Im going to have it with her. Franzese, dark-haired and handsome, allegedly claimed alliances with Monroe and actress Jayne Mansfield. He said he got good grades in school, but the allure of the street proved irresistible. All the top entertainers in the country, in the world, they all wanted to work there, Sonny said. He was deeplyin love with his second wife, Tina, whose volatile temper influenced the family dynamic as much as her husbands outlaw life.