I thought he was Louis son but no. He didnt squeal on nobody., Dude, hes 102, Gilbreath told John. Menu Log In Sign Up But occasionally, when visited by certain sights or sounds, he feels a primal shudder unique to anyone whos spent years in the Federal Witness Protection Program, living a ghostly life of assumed identities and midnight relocations. Months passed before the marshals moved John to a hotel in Texas. 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. By then, he had become the only centenarian in federal custody and the oldest federal prisoner in the US. Colombo family boss Carmine Persico was in prison with little chance of ever getting out Which city? He is about 15 yrs younger and was a Colombo soldier and associate of joey massino. Franzese was finally netted in March 1967, when he was found guilty of masterminding several bank robberies. Bill, as he was known . According to John, the program, run by the U.S. This surprises him. You know she wasnt well., We all knew she wasnt well, John replied. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-franzese-22152.php. 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. When you get better, Michael said, I want you to come visit me.. In 1938, Franzese faced his first arrest, for assault. I wish you well.. I wanted to change my life, Franzese Jr. said. John didnt read the papers. John blew her off. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. 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. By Sandra Peddie sandra.peddie@newsday.com @sandrapeddie Published: Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. So you realize that it was a possibility for your father, yet you had him vouch for you. Massino was made on June 14, 1977 in a bar in Queens. Suge Knight vs Sonny Franzese. He was 103. You can go one step further and say theres never been a family like this in America.. Franzese Jr. made history on Wednesday. The biggest hurdle was the wire. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. I would have grabbed [Quagliariello] and told him, Look, you motherfucking rat bastard, Sonny replied. It wasnt like in the movies, when they implant a microchip in your ear or hide a bug under your cazzone. There are a lot of Carmine Franzese during the 70's and 80's. But mob wives were expected to make babies and dinner, not shampoo ads. The wire transmitted a live feed to Lewicki, who monitored most of Johns sit-downs with his father from a post nearby. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. He attended 12-step meetings twice a day. He was born to Carmine "The Lion" Franzese and Maria Corvola in Naples Italy, although his birth year is a source of confusion. Brother, you can stay under two conditions, Michael said. I feel kind of weird answering my own post but I figured, what the heck.I stumbled upon a photo of Carmine "Tutti" Franzese which was I believe Michael's cousin with the same name as his own father..I am almost positive that I read that this was the guy that alerted Joe Massino that Sonny Red was loading up..Here is a photo of him in that huge bulletin board that law enforcement put together that I also was looking for a long time.The second family is the Colombo's and he is 3/4's of the way down, the 1st guy in that rowOnly problem is in order for the names under the photos to be readable, I couldn't reduce the quality..So when you zoom in, you can actually make out 90% of the names. His personality was so relatable, and his intel was so good, that the two men formed a kind of friendship. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. When Michael made a public appearance in Indianapolis in 2016, John was too skittish to attend. The siblings were estrangedto the point that Michael warned Sonny that he smelled a rat in John. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. He spent about nine months drying out in jail. But John also documented multiple rackets and schemes: extorting and robbing clubs, hijacking a marijuana operation, and pummeling anyone who didnt pay up. Sonnys moment of clarity arrived after he told John to visit a guy who was a problemSonny-speak for those he wanted killed. Sonnys trial, in 2010, was tabloid manna. The family is taking this very hard, his older brother told a reporter. He loved her and berated her; she responded by spending his money. Sonny was frequently jailed for parole violations; Tina was suspected of credit card fraud. He was born to Assunta Plantamura and Carmine John Persico Sr. Carmine's father was a legal stenographer for various law firms. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. Lets pick a place., They met on a secluded park bench in Roslyn. Ill be able to give you some money every month.. Joseph Colombo promoted Franzese to the post of the underboss in 1964. Wanted them dead. In moments like this, when hes visited by the past, his impish warmth briefly betrays a clenched ferocity that evokes his father. They eventually married. From comedy classics to underseen dramatic gems, your next binge is waiting. A conviction seemed tantamount to a death sentence. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. All rights reserved. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. Something about one of themhis Yankees cap, the way he sat in his wheelchairdrew John closer to the man, who looked frail and wan. Michael sidestepped the issue. Wired John sounded exactly as he normally did. found in 1940 United States Federal Census. The Lupertazzi crime family consists of an administration and eight known crews. Johns life was a mess. He stuck close to Odessa House, in part because hed fallen for one of its staffers, Denyce Rodriguez, an ex-addict. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, B'klyn school has a 'cow' over new sculpture, Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, What's next for Buster Murdaugh after dad's murder conviction, life sentence, US home prices just did something they haven't done since 2012, How a retired detective snared his seventh 'Torso Killer' confession, It's insane that NYers can use but not buy pepper spray for self-defense: Change this now, Rebel Wilson says Meghan Markle isnt as naturally warm as Prince Harry, Kristen Doute supports Ariana Madix amid mutual ex Tom Sandovals scandal, Celeb-loved jewelry brand Dorsey drops dazzling new styles, Undertaker transforms coffin into barbecue grill, Kellyanne Conway and George Conway to divorce. Failed to remove flower. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. He had a prized mentor in Michael, whose meteoric career trajectory was only partly due to his surname. So Sonny ditched Ann in 1959 for a teenage cigarette girl he reportedly met at the Stork Club. The caller was Rob Lewicki, an FBI agent assigned to New Yorks organized crime unit. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. Franzese's career in organized crime began in the 1930s and spanned over eight decades. The marriage produced John Jr. and two girls, Gia and Tina. He got there first thing in the morning, when he knew Sonny would be alone and not surrounded by visitors. Try again. Carmine's brothers, Theodore Persico and Alphonse Persico, followed in their brother's footsteps and worked as capos in the Colombo Crime Family. Category: Richest Business Criminals. He dealt heroin and robbed drug dealers, one of whom opened fire on him. He married Carolina Pedata De Pompeis on 22 February 1938, in Naples, Naples, Italy. Sonnys 300-man crew ran an array of extortion and loan-sharking rackets. He didnt flinch, even when his transmitter tumbled out of his pocket and clacked onto the floor during a meeting. The fracas came hours after Franzeses son dropped a bombshell during his testimony inside a Brooklyn courtroom after admitting he has HIV with the defense arguing that the star witness turned on his aging dad because authorities agreed to help pay for his treatment. I thought Tutti the Lion was Sonny Franzese's father. (The marshal nixed Johns first choice: DiMaggio.) Did Dad kill anyone? John asked. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. But if youre asked to kill someone, Michael said, you got to.. And there was still the matter of Sonny, who again defied expectations. 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. This story has been shared 121,242 times. And he wanted to tell his family why hed done what hed done. Sonny's had a very strong hold on the music business for many years. 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. Lewicki believes Johns motives were mixed. Before they parted, however, Sonny pointed at Johns face. John was a little freaked when he headed to L.A. Its over. Net Worth: $30 Million. He was 18 when Sonny magically returned home, having been paroled after just under nine yearsthanks to lax parole codes and God knows what. 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. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. Michael was sharper than most wiseguys. 0 cemeteries found in Middle Village, Queens County, New York, USA. based on information from your browser. We take stock of the best rom-coms everfrom. If doing so earned him a bullet, then hed die as John Franzese. Hes still a wiseguy after all these years. Hey, Johnny Boy, Lewicki said. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of John Franzese (207687839)? He wouldnt lose another sibling. 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. Tutti the Lion passed away sometime in the late 1950's or early 1960's. By the mid 90s, Michael had found God and turned his back on the Mafia. What made you do that?. To many, he is one of the most darkly iconic mobsters ever. My own son turned on me.. The boys were forbidden from reentering their bedroom after shed tidied it up. Were hoodlums, theyre cops, Sonny told John. This fucking guy, hed bellow. 420 pages of FBI files encompassing John "Sonny" Franzese Sr., his nephew Carmine "Tutti" Franzese and the broad web of the Colombo Family. Getty. These guys are so duplicitous they don't know where their own truth end and the bullshit begins. The 42 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time, The 25 Best Shows on Netflix to Watch Right Now. John, like Sonny and Michael, had always scorned drugs. Youre Sonnys son.. Marshals Service, administered a psychological evaluation and pressed him about states and cities. Finally an SUV whisked John to the Brooklyn Federal Court building. Family members linked to this person will appear here. John 'Sonny' Franzese Thomas 'Irish Tommy' McLaughlin Andrew 'Andy Mush' Russo . Hed braced for this moment since 2008, when hed hurriedly packed another 40 pounds and relocated from South Carolina to Indianapolis. And Jesus. 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. Michael Franzese grew up as the son of the notorious Underboss of New York's Colombo crime family and became a made-member in his twenties. Dont worry, the agent said. I never beat you. Sonny was a devoted father with an uncanny ability to separate work and family. An old-timer of the Colombo crime family, Franzese was associated with organized crime for over six decades. If at any time we find out youre using drugs, Lewicki said, this stops immediately.. That Michael was the one who told him the truth only made sense. Hill was so paranoid that he jumped out of Johns car and screamed: I know youre here to kill me, Johnny! Theres nothing your fathers going to be able to do for you, he said. I found on Findagrave.com. At which point John turned to his best friend in Indianapolis, Lisa Gilbreath, and said, I think I might want to see my dad., He waffled for two years. The mobster in our midst read the headline. Files date from 1960 t0 1980, mostly from the first half of 1970's. They cover the criminal history of the Franzeses. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). Sonnys lawyer, Richard Lind, portrayed John as a freeloading cokehead who sold out his dad in exchange for money and media opportunities. He considered them fine places to bum smokes and pick up women. Franzese married Cristina Capobianco-Franzese in 1957. According to his son, Michael, after hearing about his sentence, Franzese had declared, "You watch. Just stay in our lives now, he said. The byzantine itinerary, which allowed marshals to spot anyone who might be tailing John, ended in Oklahoma City, where a marshal in a cowboy hat spirited him to a hotel room and confiscated his ID and his cell phone. Or, at least, none he could see. Out went the vibrato; in came fistfights and football. Again, he appeared to nod off at times and had his head down for much of the trial. former underboss of the Colombo Crime Family Parent(s) Carmine Franzese and Maria Corvola Allegiance Colombo crime family Conviction(s) Bank robbery (1967) . cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. You wanna say that, fine. And that was just the King Lear element of the Franzese (pronounced: fran-zees) family saga, an epic stew of betrayals and tragedies, twists and redemptions that suggests a wiseguy version of the British royals. Soon he said to hell with the money and took coke instead. Sonnys friends would be arriving soon. John, thank you, Lewicki said, bittersweetly. 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. Peter Franzese. You can always change this later in your Account settings. In the late 1930s Franzese joined the Profaci crime family (later . Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? John was about to be taken for a ride, he says, when one of his cousins happened to walk in. Try again later. But this is how you stop things like this from ever happening., No. Join Facebook to connect with Carmine Franzese and others you may know. Hes gone for days.. There he spent hours each day meditating and at last finding a measure of peace. Tina reportedly followed Sonny into the bathroom and urged him to plead guilty and give John a break. The dispute became moot in 1986, when Michael became the next Franzese to land in federal prison. When John arrived at Sonnys nursing home, in Queens in, he had a plan. 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. Weve updated the security on the site. A regular at the New York City nightclub Copacabana, Franzese ran his criminal activities from New York City and New Jersey. The late Anthony Spero, Joe Chilli and three others were made in the same ceremonoy prssided over by Carmine Galante. The elder Franzese is one of the oldest Mafia bosses to ever go on trial. 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. Year should not be greater than current year. The mob life would kill him, one way or another. And hookers. And suites at the Waldorf. 19.4k Followers, 1,776 Following, 1,026 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Julia Marie Franzese (@juliegrls) Carmine married Hope Franzese in 1957, at age 44 at marriage place, New York. He said that proper handling of the corpse was important and talked about the procedure he followed. His checks from the FBI had since run out. A conviction linked to his gas bootlegging scam earned him a 10-year sentence and $14.7 million in restitution fees. But to be a rough-hewn New York paesan in Indianapolis was to draw notice. He served as underboss of the Colombo family from 1963 until he was sentenced to 50 years in . Both he and Carmine, who by then was long home from his stint on the California commune, thought Michael was jealous of Sonnys namesake. Search Bethpage obituaries and condolences, hosted by Echovita.com. One day, while wandering through a music store, something caught his eye: a CD by his ex-client Christopher Williams. Wouldve killed rats. Such is the familys grip that John never fully escaped it, because he never wanted to. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. Death 16 Mar 1957 (aged 75) Brooklyn, Kings County (Brooklyn), New York, USA. View the profiles of people named Carmine Franzese. 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. John says they were pure, but his feelings were mixed. Rian Johnson, Halle Berry, and More Share Their Inspiration, From the Archive: The Man Who Kept Marilyns Secrets (1991), Listen toVFsLittle Gold MenPodcast for Unrivaled Awards-Season Coverage. Most people assumed hed bought his way out, in a seven-figure waya charge Michael denied. They were fiercely loyal to Sonny, who by now was the Colombos underboss. He was linked by law enforcement to multimillion-dollar . I killed a lot of guys, Sonny told him. It was Galante who was considered the street boss at the time, although the incarcerated Rastelli was the official boss. On June 23, 2017, Franzese, who was a centenarian by then, was released from the Federal Medical Center in Devens, Massachusetts. 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. In 1986, after Carmine Persico was sentenced to 139 years in prison, he created a 3-man Ruling Panel to oversee the Colombo family. Hell Is Coming: How Bill Ackman Predicted the COVID Market CrashAnd Made a Fortune. I thought you might like to see a memorial for John Sonny Franzese Sr. Franzese became known as the oldest mobster in history, surpassing the age of 100 and becoming the only centenarian in federal custody. I'm gonna do the whole 50. He was released on parole several times since then, beginning in 1978. John was the fourth of Sonnys six kids, born in 1960. It was a relationship conducted with degrees of mutual professionalism. In February 2020, the infamous short seller woke up in a cold sweat when he realized the pandemic might spell pandemonium on Wall Street, as Liz Hoffman writes in her forthcoming book. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. By the late 60s, the Franzeses were the most famous family in town. To use this feature, use a newer browser. Carmine Persico was born on August 8, 1933, in Brooklyn. He was at work when he got a call from his local marshal in 2018: We have to relocate you.. When he left, in late 2002, he was clean. He also launched a foundation for helping the youth. The first snort set him right, and the next ones fueled him for six months. While in prison, he remained the acting underboss of the Colombo crime family, from 1983 to 1987. Sonny didnt believe him. is dead. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. But he testified that he eventually descended into drug addiction, and to turn his life around he decided to begin informing for the FBI. Search above to list available cemeteries. Maria Corvola . John stayed clean until he didnt. View Carmine Francese results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. He servedas the underboss of the Colombo crime family that is involved in organized crime activities in New York City, US. The first three, Maryann, Carmine, and Lorraine were products of Sonnys marriage to an aspiring actor named Ann Schiller. Former Colombo family capo Michael Franzese said this in a VladTV interview when asked about Scarpa's . We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Later, he publicly renounced organized crime and turned into a devoted Christian and a motivational speaker. Everything I've heard is tutti franzese I sonnys nephew not brother. According to Michael, the racket earned him up to $8 million a week. We've received your submission. The Lupertazzi Crime Family is a Brooklyn-based New York City Mafia family. By signing up you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. Granted, all the families had rat problems. Having worn a wire for the FBI, he served as the star witness against the last of the great New York mobsters, Sonny Franzese, underboss of the Colombo crime family. Wait but is John "Sonny" Franzese's fathers name, Carmine"The Lion"Franzese ? After exchanging pleasantries, they got down to it. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. When the FBI searched Gioeli's house in 2008, among the items they discovered were a photo of Tommy and JoJo in 1972, with broad smiles on their faces in front of a Farmingdale candy store. Sonnys body count also included the slaying for which hed been acquitted, John concluded. This is a carousel with slides. But he sent his son. The trial marked the first time that a New York Mafia boss watched his own son (and erstwhile heir apparent) testify against him in open court. But is sounds like Michael is a third generation Mafia Prince. Franzese also said that wearing a hairnet during a murder would prevent hair from falling at the crime scene and would thus save the murderer from DNA analysis of hair strands. I was walking around for three years untreated, Franzese Jr. said from the witness stand in Brooklyn federal court. 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. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. His 50-year term for the bank robbery that he had committed years back also ended with this. Failed to delete memorial. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. FAITH.. But Ill shield you., John detailed the familys inner workings and its various scams.