Hey, Johnny Boy, Lewicki said. An old-timer of the Colombo crime family, Franzese was associated with organized crime for over six decades. They would provide a means for me to change my life [and] to make up for what I had done.. I know they sent you to kill me!, John would have to shed everything (his relationships, his identity) and vanish overnight. Were hoodlums, theyre cops, Sonny told John. By the mid 90s, Michael had found God and turned his back on the Mafia. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. I wish you well.. No other big-time mobsters son had ever testified against his father. Though not mafiosi, they were definitely Mafia-adjacent. He loved her and berated her; she responded by spending his money. John Franzese Jr. is just standing there, 60 years old and still wiry, dragging on a Marlboro Light outside a red-sauce place in Wherever, Indiana, when the feeling returns. You only see one way., He explained why he flipped. This surprises him. Tina Capobianco was Italian, elegant, and dazzled by Sonny. While Michael was still living large, John was content in Indiana, where he now manages two sober-living homes. He was 18 when Sonny magically returned home, having been paroled after just under nine yearsthanks to lax parole codes and God knows what. Shortly thereafter, a cop caught John about to inject cocaine while sitting in a limousine, the first in a series of drug-related arrests. John couldnt believe it. His new life of sobriety and repentance generally keeps him too busy to dwell on the past. Anyone who read the papers knew hed killed upwards of 50 people, and that the New York mob bosses viewed him as their coming king, as Newsday put it. I don't know about Tutti, but John Franzese's father's nickname appears to have been "Tudie" as in "Tudie the Lion". You need cars to make you look good, Sonny told him. How a mob life wreaked havoc on Sonny Franzese's family. He was born to Carmine "The Lion" Franzese and Maria Corvola in Naples Italy, although his birth year is a source of confusion. Hed braced for this moment since 2008, when hed hurriedly packed another 40 pounds and relocated from South Carolina to Indianapolis. According to John, his plane ticket and ID card said that he was Michael Carter, a passenger boarding a plane in Burbank. He mentioned that he would dismember the dead bodies in a kiddie pool and then put the severed parts of the body in a microwave oven to dry them before disposing them of through a commercial-grade garbage disposal. Henry Hill had flipped on the Luccheses and Sammy the Bull Gravano had turned on John Gotti. As a tape that Franzese Jr. made while wearing an FBI wire was played in court, his father appeared to doze off, prompting his lawyer to nudge him awake. There he acquired another new name, Mat Pazzarelli, and lived in a converted garage. But relations with John remained raw. Try again later. Which city? Sorry guys for the misinformation. Minutes earlier, hed been working the room in his particular way, greeting waiters by name and ordering off-menuthe anchovies with garlic and tomatoes for himself, the carbonara for his guestwhile a Buddy Greco song played in the background. "Tutti" Franzese Jr. is actually Carmine Franzese III, he is a grandson of Carmine "Tutti the Lion" Franzese Snr and son of Carmine Franzese Jnr. Thus began a yearslong spiral of homelessness, depravity, and delusion. When Carmine Franzese was born on 9 December 1910, in Naples, Naples, Italy, his father, Francesco Franzese, was 40 and his mother, Luisa Viola Mammola, was 37. That someone would get killed, is that right? Lind asked. He said that proper handling of the corpse was important and talked about the procedure he followed. They were fiercely loyal to Sonny, who by now was the Colombos underboss. Hes killing himself one hour at a time. Once, after John stole $11,000 from a safety-deposit box, he turned to find Sonny watching him. It wasnt like in the movies, when they implant a microchip in your ear or hide a bug under your cazzone. Or, at least, none he could see. The label that recorded hits for artists such as Curtis Mayfield and Melanie Safka, was used by Franzese for bribing disc jockeys with payola and laundering illegal mob earnings. She was a good woman. Im talking about the life he chose. In 1942, during the Second World War, the United States Army discharged Franzese for showing "homicidal tendencies. A few years later, in 1947, court papers accused him of committing rape. He was 103. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. We take stock of the best rom-coms everfrom. Marshals Service, administered a psychological evaluation and pressed him about states and cities. I never meant to hurt you., But whyd you do that? He was released from the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center on December 24, 2008. Asked about how he got the deadly infection during cross-examination, former wiseguy John Franzese Jr. said, I got HIV from using a needle.. While in prison, he remained the acting underboss of the Colombo crime family, from 1983 to 1987. Asked to identify his father, John pointed at Sonny: Hes sitting there in the yellow shirt. After summarizing his rise and fall among the Colombos, John said: Im not talking about my father as a man. The tape recording, in which a Franzese cousin was heard predicting that John Junior Gotti would end up ratting out his father rather than sit in jail was made while the younger Franzese was the real family rat, wearing a wire to help capture his own dad. But if youre asked to kill someone, Michael said, you got to.. Soon John got proposedthe first official step toward becoming made. How about Florida? But John also documented multiple rackets and schemes: extorting and robbing clubs, hijacking a marijuana operation, and pummeling anyone who didnt pay up. He dressed immaculately and got the best tables at the Russian Tea Room and the Copacabana. John was seeking a high when he arrived at the palatial house in Los Angeles that Michael shared with his wife and kids. Wearing garbage bags as shoes, he wandered along Queens Boulevard and stared at phone booths, which he viewed as portals that linked him to family and friends. I dont care about anything anymore, Sonny told him. The top spot had been a revolving door since the 1990s, when an intrafamily power struggle known as the Third Colombo War wrought havoc. Salvatore D'Aquila was the first recognized boss of what is now called the Gambino Family, leading a large Palermitani faction in New York City as they emigrated. Sonny didnt believe him. He and John were both North Shore guys. The biggest hurdle was the wire. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. That he wasnt getting paid as suchand that he still lived in his childhood bedroomirked John. He was a star even among A-list entertainers (Marilyn Monroe, Sammy Davis Jr.), boxing champs (Jake LaMotta, Rocky Graziano), and mob titans (Albert Anastasia, John Gotti). The next came when he happened past an A.A. meeting. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. He sent Sonny into states of despair and rage. He should plead guilty and give his son a break, she shouted at him. Search Bethpage obituaries and condolences, hosted by Echovita.com. Wired John sounded exactly as he normally did. Year should not be greater than current year. He stayed for nine months. He wanted him to get an unrecognizable one. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. A team of marshals and cops whisked him into an SUV with fortified doors, then zipped him inside a Kevlar-type contraption that made him impervious to attack and blind to his surroundingsuntil he alighted into a high-security facility with no windows and vault-like doors. Hes gone for days.. Please enter your email and password to sign in. found in New York, New York, Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018. Sonny wouldnt let his soldiers carry messages to the familys boss, Carmine Persico. Sonny was 89 and battling kidney disease and gout. By doing the right thing and stopping a way of life that does that., By the time John stepped down, all the Franzeses were wrecked. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. Yeah, yeah, I know who you are, Sonny replied. Never in my life have I been so embarrassed, Sonny raged. "Tutti" Franzese is Carmine Franzese Jnr. Franzese who now has a pacemaker, hearing aids and a broken hip had been tipped in the 1960s as a potential new Colombo boss. Lewicki handed John a black gizmo the size of a garage-door opener. He pulled stickups, smoked discarded cigarettes, and turned tricksanything to finance another $12 vial of bazooka crack. We cant find him. There was an error deleting this problem. If Lewicki was a bit more persistent with John, he had his reasons. He was born to Assunta Plantamura and Carmine John Persico Sr. Carmine's father was a legal stenographer for various law firms. However, he was not arrested for the crime. The governments trying to frame him. Proof came when Sonnys murder trial ended in an acquittal. However, he was sent back to prison for parole violations. Franzese married Cristina Capobianco-Franzese in 1957. The mobster in our midst read the headline. He blamed the FBI. John "Sonny" Franzese Sr. (Italian: [frantseze; -ese]; February 6, 1917 - February 24, 2020) was an Italian-born American mobster who was a longtime member and former underboss of the Colombo crime family.. Franzese's career in organized crime began in the 1930s and spanned over eight decades. John was a desperate mope with no allies and nothing to lose. He served as underboss of the Colombo family from 1963 until he was sentenced to 50 years in . A system error has occurred. Johns final destination remained a mystery as a fortified vehicle deposited him in 2006 and Lewicki in the bowels of the Federal Building in L.A., where two U.S. marshals took over. He stuck close to Odessa House, in part because hed fallen for one of its staffers, Denyce Rodriguez, an ex-addict. The victim had been shot, stabbed, and submerged in Jamaica Bay (via concrete blocks affixed to his limbs). Parent(s) Carmine "The Lion" Franzese and Maria . You need to go to a doctor, he said. Whenever Sonny heard about similar cases, hed explain that air gets into sunken bodies and floats them to the surface. By the late 60s, the Franzeses were the most famous family in town. At the time of his release on June 23, 2017, he was the oldest federal prisoner in the United States and the only centenarian in federal custody. Sonnys 300-man crew ran an array of extortion and loan-sharking rackets. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. (That guy, Im gonna see him.), Michael was the front man; John was the pleaser who kept things light and friendly. But he didnt listen. It wasnt like in the movies, when they implant a microchip in your ear or hide a bug under your cazzone. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. The Franzese siblings were receptive, up to a point. Oops, something didn't work. By then, he had become the only centenarian in federal custody and the oldest federal prisoner in the US. The target is the Colombos. I would have grabbed [Quagliariello] and told him, Look, you motherfucking rat bastard, Sonny replied. Regardless, now he was a motivational speaker and author (Quitting the Mob). A perfect location, he says. Franzese worked in the gang run by Joseph Profaci in the late 1930s. And Jesus. Youre Sonnys son.. 1982, in the botched hit . Andrew 'Andy Mush' Russo is one of the most influential members of the Colombo crime family to date, with a criminal career dating back to the 1960s as a confidante of longtime Colombo family boss Carmine Persico, and has continued into the 21st century as the family's most recent "street boss. The first time somebody asked you to take care of business, you never got it done., Soon the Colombos sent John to a private club that was practically empty. When John arrived at Sonnys nursing home, in Queens in, he had a plan. John "Sonny" Franzese Sr. is a powerful Italian-American mobster, who is a longtime member of the Colombo crime family. Father and son barely exchanged glances, but the elder Franzese pinched the fabric of his shirt, as if to question if he was the guy being called out by his son. Menu Log In Sign Up Its true, okay? His eyes narrow. A nephew to John and cousin to Michael. John was in a Manhattan strip club in the early 80s when everything changed. A conviction seemed tantamount to a death sentence. John "Sonny" Franzese, Sr. (6 February 1917-24 February 2020) was the underboss of the Colombo crime family and the father of Michael Franzese. In these instances and many others, Franzese, the longtime Colombo family underboss who died in a New York City veterans hospital last Sunday at 103, left an indelible imprint on Long Island and came to personify the noirish glamour of New York City's underworld. And he probably generated a gross of $400,000 to $500,000 (give or take) a year..with a net probably close to that because of such low overhead. View Carmine Franzese results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Michael was also associated with the gasoline tax rackets in the 1980s. Sonny died in February 2020, at age 103. Neither did Sonny, who wanted John to get made. Sonnys body count also included the slaying for which hed been acquitted, John concluded. Sonny was a devoted father with an uncanny ability to separate work and family. He was even portrayed in Goodfellas, in the famous scene in which Henry Hill enters the Bamboo Lounge. Most people assumed hed bought his way out, in a seven-figure waya charge Michael denied. According to Junior Soprano, Giovanni knew Lucky Luciano and when the Commission was formed . Johns permanent relocation site, Columbia, South Carolina, was a bit too My Cousin Vinny. He needed to make a move. He mocked Johns fancy, air-conditioned cars. Authorities say he was a top leg breaker and money maker and once used his ill-gotten gains to fund the classic porn flick . He didnt flinch, even when his transmitter tumbled out of his pocket and clacked onto the floor during a meeting. Temperatures had cooled, and everyone had come to appreciate the degree to which Sonnys reign of terror had ravaged the family. When John Franzese Jr., top right, aided in the prosecution of his own father, longtime Colombo underboss Sonny Franzese, he became an instant targetand a pariah to his own family. Carmine had 5 siblings: Salvatore Franzese, Margaret Franzese and 3 other siblings. He was not charged of any other crime until June 2008, when he was indicted on several charges such as participating in murders during the Colombo Wars of the 1990s, conspiracy, loansharking, narcotics trafficking, extortion, and racketeering. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Im disappearing, he wrote in 2016. The building was constructed in 1910. 1881 Naples, Italy / USA 1898. Learn more about managing a memorial . Franzese and the former acting boss of the Genovese crime family, Matthew Ianniello, were said to be long-standing partners in the adult entertainment business until the latter was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 1988. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. It was generally assumed that Genovese had ordered Rupolos murder and Franzese executed it in 1964, as a favor to Genovese. The cost of printing these sheets was pennies per box. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. A previously unreleased FBI document details each of Johns 85 taped meetings. The cousin steered him out of the clubwith firm instructions. Michael was sharper than most wiseguys. Like our page to stay informed about passing of a loved one in Bethpage, New York on facebook. I found on Findagrave.com. The lion had six sons with John Franzese being the last one born. But if youre asked to kill someone, Michael said, you got to., Theres never been a mob family in America like the Franzese family, says Johns former FBI handler, Robert Lewicki. Just keep it in your shirt pocket, he said. Make sure that the file is a photo. Carmine A. Franzese was born in 1913, at birth place, New York, to Pietro Franzese and Lorenzina Franzese. You got to rip the guts out, Sonny said, because itll come back to haunt you.. John had no ID, no timeline, no guard. But he had rules. They are loosely based on the real Gambino and Lucchese crime families. Carmine "Tutti" was a brother of Sonny, not his son. FAITH.. FRANZESE-CARMINE Snr. This story has been shared 170,718 times. former underboss of the Colombo Crime FamilyParent(s) Carmine Franzese and Maria CorvolaAllegiance Colombo crime familyConviction(s) Bank robbery (1967)Extortion (2011)Criminal penalty 50 years' imprisonment (1967)Eight years' imprisonment (2011), Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. When he landed at a second airport, a marshal handed him $1,000 and led him to another gate, where John boarded a flight to Cleveland, where another marshal handed him $1,000. HOPE. Persico had planned to place Franzese on this panel, but in August 1986, Franzese was sent . Peter Franzese. Former Colombo family capo Michael Franzese said this in a VladTV interview when asked about Scarpa's . He apologized for all the times hed vanished, and urged Michael to air any lingering grievances. Franzese Sr. is standing trial on charges of shaking down a pair of strip clubs and a pizzeria on Long Island. Hed even arrested him a couple times for parole violations. They didnt put it all together until 2008, when federal prosecutors charged Sonny and 11 confederates with racketeering, conspiracy, robbery, loan-sharking, drug trafficking, and extortion. The siblings were estrangedto the point that Michael warned Sonny that he smelled a rat in John. Carmine John Persico Jr. (Italian: [karmine prsiko]; August 8, 1933 - March 7, 2019), also known as "Junior", "The Snake" and "Immortal", was an American mobster and the longtime boss of the Colombo crime family in New York City from 1973 until his death in 2019. Stay away from us.. Soon he said to hell with the money and took coke instead. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. After three hours, John pointed out the time. At his most affluent, Michael generated an . Palma Campania, Citt Metropolitana di Napoli, Campania, Italy. The latter called Michael: Do you know where your brother is? Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. This fucking guy, John thought. But he made a point of looking straight at everyone. As of June 2016, he had18 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Even in exile, even with a price on his head, he never thought of himself as Michael Carter or John Maggio or any other of his new identities. His parents marriage had become a crucible of rage and violence. Watkins Glen: William J. Franzese was born in Montour Falls, NY on March 25, 1931. Thats when John Franzese ceased to exist. He meant Anthony Flemmo, an old associate. His family relocated to New York City when he was quite young. While cruising through Brooklyn, hed point out places where hed done work. He always spoke in code; sometimes he punctuated the message by pantomiming pulling a gun from his waistband. Something about one of themhis Yankees cap, the way he sat in his wheelchairdrew John closer to the man, who looked frail and wan. You wanna say that, fine. Granted, all the families had rat problems. Theres nothing your fathers going to be able to do for you, he said. Net Worth: $1 Million Number one, dont talk to me about business. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. Carmine Lupertazzi, Sr. is a supporting character in The Sopranos. He faced an 8-year prison sentence for crimes, including extortion and loansharking at 93 and was finally released in June 2017. He wavered. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. The first was with a Mob associate: 03/08/2005: CARMINE QUAGLIARIELLO and the Cooperating Witness (CW) met at the Med Cafe, 99 2nd Avenue, New York City. But the guys let him know they were 12-step lifers. John was about to be taken for a ride, he says, when one of his cousins happened to walk in. Xchangetelecom is the fastest internet provider available at this address. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. Although he remained a civilian, Johns status as Sonnys son and Michaels wingman gave him VIP access to any nightclub in town. harley moon kemp partner; baseball puns for marketing; ehren mcghehey snowboarding The sons testimony horrified his brother, Michael Franzese, a former made member of the Colombo crime family who became a born-again Christian. The Lupertazzi crime family consists of an administration and eight known crews. Tutti the Lion passed away sometime in the late 1950's or early 1960's. Tutti netted an estimated several hundred thousand dollars annually just with this racket. Burial. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? Death 16 Mar 1957 (aged 75) Brooklyn, Kings County (Brooklyn), New York, USA. This snapshot of Carmine Franzese's life was captured by the 1940 U.S. Census. When you hear things that your dad tells you, I need to know that stuff. He is portrayed by actor Tony Lip. But John didnt blame Sonny for leaving him fatherless. Greg Scarpa, Sr. - "the Grim Reaper" and 30 Year FBI Informant Posted on August 17, 2015 August 24, 2018 by Mike Dickson Greg Scarpa, Sr., was born on May 8, 1928 near Venice, Italy and immigrated to the United States with his parents and brother Salvatore at a young age. Any way you could prove that? the staffer said. He and his high school sweetheart split up, and soon John went clubbing with a different woman every nightincluding one of his former teachers. If there was ever a living example of the resiliency and pervasiveness of organized crime in America, it had to have been John "Sonny" Franzese Sr. Franzese, who died in February of this year, lived to be over 100 years old. He helped run one of Sonnys loan-sharking operations and started shaking down club owners who were selling coke. The Lupertazzi Family was founded by Carmine's father, Giovanni Lupertazzi. While the federal prison records mention his date of birth as February 6, 1917, according to his son, Michael Franzese, the crime lord was born in 1919. His checks from the FBI had since run out. But mob wives were expected to make babies and dinner, not shampoo ads.