John Franzese
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John "Sonny" Franzese (b. January, 1917), is a longtime member and the current Underboss of the Colombo crime family.
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[edit] Imprisonment
After the assassination-attempt of then current Boss, Joseph "Joe" Colombo in 1971, one of Colombo's chiefs and most trusted men, Carmine "Junior" Persico, became the top leader of the Colombo crime family. There had always been tension between Persico and Franzese, but in 1967 Franzese would be arrested and prosecuted for armed robbery and would be sentenced to 50 years in prison.
[edit] Caporegime
After spending 11 years behind bars, Franzese was released on parole in 1982, being recognized as a "stand up guy" by the Colombos, and Carmine Persico, which is the reason for why he rose through the ranks, and by 1984, Franzese was recognized by the FBI as caporegime of the Colombo crime family.
[edit] Mafia Commission Trial
But in 1986, Carmine "Junior" Persico and seven others, were sentenced to 139 years in prison in the infamous Mafia Commission Trial, because of racketeering, murder and conspiracy charges. To keep the Colombos in line, a three-man committee was created by Persico. The idea was that Franzese was going to be a member of the panel, but again he was imprisoned for violation of his parole, because he was associating with known organized crime figures.
[edit] Underboss and fifth imprisonment
Franzese has been involved in the Colombo crime family since the late 1930s (70 years), where he has spent about 8 to 12 years out on the street during that time, operating out of New York City and New Jersey with racketeering, fraud and loansharking. Unfortunately for Franzese, his namesake John, Jr., became an FBI informant.
Franzese is currently in federal prison (for the fifth time) due to parole violations. He is currently the oldest mafioso serving time in federal prison. As of April 2008, Franzese is incarcerated at the Elkton Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Elkton, Ohio. His projected release date has been changed from 2020 to November 9, 2008. Franzese is still the official underboss of the Colombo crime family. He is a living legend and is one of the most respected members of La Cosa Nostra.
Franzese's other son, Michael Franzese, a former caporegime in the Colombo crime family, took care of the day-to-day operations when Franzese was jailed in the 1980s.
[edit] Film production
Franzese was listed as the associate producer of the 2002 film This Thing of Ours, which starred James Caan, and is said to have been a backer of the porn classic Deep Throat.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Miller, Jonathan. "LAW AND ORDER; In the Can", The New York Times, November 3, 2002. Accessed November 6, 2007. "Such is the predicament of Mr. Provenzano, 38, the director, producer and star of the Mafia movie This Thing of Ours, which also features friend, James Caan, Vincent Pastore of The Sopranos fame, and the veteran actor Frank Vincent.... The associate producer of his movie, John Franzese, is the 85-year-old reputed captain of the Colombo crime family who had a financial stake in the infamous pornography movie Deep Throat."
