(photo: Play the Game and Jens Astrup)
Michael Franzese is an American former New York mobster and caporegime of the Colombo crime family, and son of former underboss Sonny Franzese. He was heavily involved in the gasoline tax rackets in the 1980s. At the height of his operation, federal authorities claim Franzese generated close to a billion dollars a year in a gas-tax scheme he masterminded. Since then, he has publicly renounced organized crime, created a foundation for helping youth, and became a motivational speaker.
What was the main appeal of joining the mob for you?
I joined to help my day get out of prison. plain and simple. the money and power came for me later on. once i got in, i wanted both.
What is the process of becoming a “Made Man” like?
Very intense. very solemn, very serious. I took an oath with a picture of a saint burning in my hands. My thumb was cut with a knife and blood dropped on the floor. The oath is never to violate the brotherhood of La Cosa Nostra.
