![]() He worked in the record business and put up some of the cash behind the mob’s $22,000 investment behind the classic porn flick “Deep Throat” – securing a piece of its supposed $600 million gross.įranzese returned to his family in Brooklyn after his release in 2017 from the Federal Medical Center in Danvers, Massachusetts, leading a quiet life far from the spotlight of his youth. Most importantly in his mob career, Franzese was an earner, making money for the family in a variety of ways. The body was carried outside, and 100 eyewitnesses swore they saw nothing. Franzeses career in organized crime began in the 1930s and spanned over eight decades. Franzese won: He shot the other man dead. was an Italian-born American mobster who was a longtime member and former underboss of the Colombo crime family. ![]() There was an oft-told story on the streets of Brooklyn about the night when a man walked into the back room of Sonny’s club for a sit-down. He had pieces of movies like 'Deep Throat' and 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.' He made friends with Frank Sinatra by helping to pack a Long Island nightclub. You should have asked, ‘Did Frank Sinatra know Sonny Franzese?’”īut 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. That connection emerged in film credits later on when the crime drama, This Thing of Ours, about the Mafia and starring Caan, was made in 2003. Franzese became known as the oldest mobster in history, surpassing the age of 100 and becoming the only centenarian in federal custody. Franzese said he got to know him through the picture. (6 February 1917-24 February 2020) was the underboss of the Colombo crime family and the father of Michael Franzese. Once asked if he knew Sinatra, the gangster was quick to correct his inquisitor: “You asked the question the wrong way. Franzese also professed a close connection to actors in the movie, in particular James Caan, the actor who played Sonny. Legendary Colombo family capo John (Sonny) Franzese, who rubbed elbows with Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe before a bank robbery rap eventually made him the nation’s oldest federal inmate. ![]() He hung out with Sinatra and fellow Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr. But his real job was as a gangster, living the high life.įranzese, dark-haired and handsome, would claim dalliances with Monroe and fellow sex symbol Jayne Mansfield. Over the years, Franzese listed his legitimate work as a tailor, a baker and a salesman. When Sinatra was dating actress Ava Gardner, she would come to the Copa to watch him perform. Mob lore held that the precocious gangster became a made man at age 14, and was soon running a mobbed-up craps game. The elder Franzese was born in Sicily, moving with his family as a child to Brooklyn. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |