Calling himself a die-hard American, he said, I was a good soldier.. Now what do you want him to do? Franzese also got involved in the music industry of the 1960s and 1970s, financing recordings by the likes of The Isley Brothers and Curtis Mayfield, while also using this business to launder his illicit mob earnings. A letter was found recently that appears to confirm the long-held rumor that Bobby Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe had an affair. Colombos legendary gangster gangster John Sonny Franzese, who was with Frank Sinatra and befriended Marilyn Monroe before a bank robbery conviction made him the nations oldest federal inmate, died in a hospital of New York City. 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. Lidia Yuknavitch on Her Philosophy of Teaching, What Should You Read Next? [39], Franzese died in a New York City hospital, on February 24, 2020, aged 103. George specifically told me that Marilyn spent the evening with Sam Giancana. economy At the trial, John Franzese Jr. told jurors not to be fooled by his elderly fathers frail appearance (he was dubbed the Nodfather by the press due to his habit of dozing during the trial). The renowned tough guy did his prison time without ever turning on his mob associates following a 1967 conviction that was widely considered both inside and outside organized crime as a setup. I wouldnt turn around., Sinatra was used to being in charge, but not when Sonny was around. 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. But one of the actual bank robbers took the stand to say Franzese had overseen the heists. [36] However, in 1971, shortly after his father had been sentenced to 50 years in prison for bank robbery, he decided to drop out of college to help his family earn money. From then on, Franzese wasnt charged with another crime again until 2008, when he was arrested along with eight other Colombo mobsters. I liked Joe DiMaggio. All are sealed, according to the court. 82.4k. 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. Legendary Colombo crime family mobster John Sonny Franzese, who hung out with Frank Sinatra and befriended Marilyn Monroe before a bank robbery conviction eventually made him the nations oldest federal inmate, has died at a New York City hospital. He worked in the record business and grossed part of the mafias alleged investment in the classic porn movie Deep Throat reportedly securing a piece of his alleged $ 600 million gross. He and Sonny, though, had an uneasy relationship, as each jousted to assert dominance. Ukraine He wanted to be catered to all the time. Gangsters added to the noirish glamour of the club, and Sonny exuded the kind of power that people immediately recognized. I started a used car business. Got a tip? ", "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. He hated prisonbut set his mind to making the most of it. Life in the early '60s was good for Franzese. He cared about his money and was particularly entrepreneurial in infiltrating legitimate businesses. She died in 2012. Act like a dumb son of a gun and cater to you people?. Did you know she was pronounced dead, and then they brought her back to the house, and she was still alive, and they took her back to the hospital, and brought her back home, and then the coroners came over, and they found her dead in another bed somebody moved her, he says. He was my hero.. Michael, 67, flipped while facing his own prison sentence for racketeering and conspiracy and later left the mob to become a movie producer and evangelical pastor. Franzese was more open about his own family. The film is based on Joyce Carol Oates . Though frail, he was all smiles. [34] Due to this, Michael had initially believed that he had been adopted by John after the disappearance of Grillo, who Michael thought to be his biological father. politics Maybe all the drugs he took. In addition to his interests in the entertainment industry, John Franzese also became notorious for his racketeering, fraud, and loansharking schemes. Major Franzese was born in Sicily, moving with his family as a child to Brooklyn. China For all his murky past, he was a stickler for outward appearances. [34][35] Franzese had four more children with Capobianco, who died in 2012. While in prison, Franzese suffered from maladies that could have brought his story to an end (including kidney disease and high blood pressure), but he beat the odds each time. Authorities believe he was responsible for the murders of 50 to 100 people. Queens, New York. Then-Nassau District Attorney William Cahn, who went to Washington D.C. to debrief Valachi, became keenly interested in Franzese. Then, have a look at some John Gotti facts that tell the story of The Dapper Don., John Franzese, Legendary New York Mob Boss, Dies At 103. COVID-19 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. What do you expect a guy to turn out to be? Sonny told them. He contemplates . According to law enforcement, Franzese remained the official underboss of the Colombo family. One of 16 children only 10 survived to adulthood he was the youngest son. sport That advice was accompanied by a warning. The more Im talking to her, I realize shes getting friendlier and friendlier. In an interview, John said he had become sober in 2001 after battling a yearslong drug addiction. In 1970, when Franzese was 10 years old, his father began serving a 50-year sentence for conspiring to rob banks. Franzeses financial empire was so vast and his power so great that bona fide tough guys feared him, and still do, according to former mob associate Sal Polisi. The victim in that case was a one-eyed, hook-nosed hitman known as the Hawk, whose body was found in Jamaica Bay. As a "made man" for the Colombo crime family, he . He is so smart and careful and sufficiently insulated that police are frustrated in every attempt to nail him down. This man was a hardened criminal who needed to pay, regardless of his age. During a break in the proceedings, the elder Franzese rolled into the mens room in a wheelchair. Cassatos words of forgiveness had added significance because he is also a highly regarded NYPD chaplain. She reported his essential advice for all his grandchildren. "Serious loss at any age," said his son Michael. There was laughter among about 75 people in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, at the funeral Mass for Franzese, the charming, menacing mobster who died Sunday at 103. It was May 19, 1962, when Monroe sashayed onto the stage of Madison Square Garden in a skintight, rhinestone-studded dress and sang a breathy Happy Birthday to President John F. Kennedy during a Democratic fundraiser. Franzeses death comes nearly three years after he was released from prison due to his advanced age. Getty ImagesJohn Sonny Franzese is escorted by police in 1967. Queens, New York. I'm gonna do the whole 50". Franzese told Fatato:[18]. We have estimated Sonny Franzese's net worth , money, salary, income, and assets. Gardner was beautiful and tempestuous, and everyone knew Sinatra was hopelessly in love with her. 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. Shell listen to me. But he said he manages to do 40 squats every morning and tries to walk as much as possible. When Sonny Franzese died last month at age 103, he was the last living remnant of the New York Mafia from its heyday. I dont know., I said, After the show, come down here. She says, All right, Ill be down.. 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. Colombo's legendary gangster gangster John "Sonny" Franzese, who was with Frank Sinatra and befriended Marilyn Monroe before a bank robbery conviction made him the nation's oldest federal inmate, died in a hospital of New York City. You wont disappoint. Just doing the numbers and the only way sonny met Al wouldve been as a young pre teen kid. His book on business was called An Offer They Can't Refuse, for fuck's sake. The mutual attraction proved irresistible, and their relationship led to an encounter that that left Sonny deeply ashamed. The guy is telling incredible lies. I told him, Grandpa, I really want to play rock and roll, the grandson recalled. [20], Franzese's son, John Franzese Jr. became a government informant. [4], In the late 1930s, Franzese worked under Joseph Profaci, boss of the Profaci crime family (later named the Colombo crime family). since Giancana and John Roselli (Sinatra) used Judith Campbell Exner, Jeanne Carmen, Marilyn Monroe among other women -to throw at JFK 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. But neither Frankie Yale nor any other mob boss is known to have had a granddaughter stand before his coffin and recount how Sonny Grandpa gave her wise advice as she became what she termed a rising young business executive., He challenged me to exude confidence no matter what, she said. Sonny was tough as nails. How does he know this?. It was the testimony of his own son (an accomplice-turned-informant) that sealed the prosecutions case. But it wasnt announced until two years later. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, with their vaudeville-style act of songs and jokes, were regulars onstage. He subsequently invested in films like Deep Throat and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Franzese, dark-haired and handsome, allegedly claimed alliances with Monroe and actress Jayne Mansfield. The conviction was based, in large part, on tapes made by his son John, who also testified against his father. No flower cars accompanied the hearse and the three black limousines that pulled up to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. He didn't leave the life behind; he just found a way to repackage it. Jeffrey Basinger/Newsday via Getty Images. Under Review. 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. In 2010, the jury convicted him of extorting money from two Manhattan strip clubs and running a loansharking operation. Sonny maybe met Al Capone but he said Sonny knew him and it's a pretty vague term. national Nick Sorrentino/NY Daily News Archive via Getty ImagesJohn Sonny Franzese. Gioino, Catherina and McShane, Larry (June 24, 2017). Net Worth in 2022. [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. He then testified against his father, 93 at the time, and later entered the federal witness protection program. One of his paramours was Jayne Mansfield, the buxom blonde star of the 1950s and 60s who was one of Playboys early centerfolds. Technology Health By 1967, Franzese had gone into the music business, running Buddah Records and such groups as the Shirelles. The women went crazy.. He had grown up with street guys and had had his own youthful run-in with the law. He was well-regarded by his criminal associates, who used him to broker deals between feuding mob factions. 09:05 GMT 29 Apr 2011. That didnt mean that he wouldnt try to move in on Sinatras girlfriend. Franzese defies many mob stereotypes. And he gloated over his own Oceans 11-style celebrity. He knew Frank Sinatra in his heyday, a CBS News article described the New York mobsters conviction. So I says, What the F are you doing up there?, She said, I dont know. Common knowledge she was stepping out on Joe Dimaggio while in NY. 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. In college you couldnt bring a phone book with you, Maurice noted, saying Franzese could remember a thousand different phone numbers., He would rattle off these phone numbers, rattle off these names, tell you what to do, Maurice recalled. Credit: Newsday / Ari Mintz, I was a firm believer that if a guy knew something about you, you had to worry about it, he said, referring to the men who actually robbed the banks and later testified that he was the mastermind behind them. 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. What does that mean? he said with dramatic flourish. People would come there to see me, too, Sonny said. Franzese was 21 when he was arrested for the first time on charges of assault in 1938. Auto 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. People just liked me, you know what I mean? He beat three of the cases the homicide and home invasion trials ended in acquittal, and the bookmaking case was resolved with a plea to a misdemeanor but he was convicted of a conspiracy to rob banks across the country and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. I got my hands in there. She added, I give that advice to all my female colleagues, too. Not only was she ultimately proven right on both counts, but Franzese didnt even have to finish that prison term. Upon reflection, what he meant was that everyone in any work situation was ultimately always going to put themselves first, even if subconsciously. In 2010, at the age of 93, he was indicted for attempting to shake down two night spots and a pizzeria. The money flows in. When Sinatra was dating actress Ava Gardner, she would come to the Copa to watch him perform. After the sentence was announced, Franzeses estranged wife told reporters, Id be shocked if he doesnt live to 100. . That initially struck her as a very lonely way to proceed. To them, it was clear who the top man was, but Sonny, ever magnanimous, quieted them. the news Youse made him a superstar. He was 103 years old. newspaper I didnt want to talk to him. [33], Franzese was married to a woman with whom he had three children. [1][14] His son, Michael, alleged that when Mishler sentenced his father, Franzese declared, "You watch. Gorgeous and glamorous women were inevitably drawn to Sonny, something he said he never fully understood. . Copyright 2023 Newsday. A wise guy hosted the game, he explained, butI was the one running it.. To Sonny, that was tantamount to throwing down the gauntlet. Cassato had come to the parish in 1985 and by all accounts was a major force in reviving the neighborhood before he was transferred to another part of Brooklyn in 2001. Before long, he asked her, Whos taking you home?. 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.. He was beginning to address the mourners when a glass collar at the top of a burning Paschal candle suddenly shattered. He wanted to talk to me. Marilyn was gorgeous, forget about it.. 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 is here with us right now, and he wants to make sure Im not gonna say certain things. So I look up and whos looking at meJayne Mansfield. He is from Italy. Finally, Franzese stressed the importance of properly dealing with the corpse. And unless you knew otherwise, you would not have imagined that the bronze coffin borne up the steps contained the mortal remains of New Yorks last bigtime Mafia boss. One time, I met an FBI agent on the street, Franzese said. He was a good guy. In 1931, Franzese was straightened out, or inducted into the mob, when he was just 14, his son John said. And he apologized for what happened, especially near his church.. More posturing followed, and Jayne tried to gentle Sonny, telling him not to get too excited. [4] He became a made man in 1950,[4] and served in the crew of Sebastian "Buster" Aloi, father of former Colombo family acting boss Vincenzo Aloi. John Sonny Franzese, in the center, is escorted to Elizabeth Street police station in New York after his arrest on a 43-count gambling charge. He was 93 years old at the time. That had been before Cassatos time. Franzese is said to have run a craps game and to have gone into loan sharking. Russia sex As for Franzeses own estimate, he killed too many to remember them all but was caught on tape saying, I killed a lot of guys youre not talking about four, five, six, ten..
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