Centenarian mobster Franzese passes

Colombo Crime Family big shot John "Sonny" Franzese died Sunday, February 23, 2020, at the age of 103, according to published reports. Family sources indicated that Franzese, a longtime resident of the Long Island Village of Roslyn, died following a brief illness.

(While it appears he was at least 100 at the time of his death, Franzese's age has been inconsistently reported over the years. He was widely reported to be forty-seven when indicted in March 1966, placing his birth in 1918-1919. That birth timing was confirmed when he was arrested as a parole violator in spring 1986 at the stated age of 67. However, more recent reports have added a couple of years. The age of 103 noted in his obits puts his birth in 1916-1917.)

The Neapolitan Franzese reportedly began his underworld career as an enforcer and hit man. Franzese's power and influence were greatest in the 1960s, when as crime family lieutenant, he supervised Colombo rackets on Long Island and invested in "adult" night spots, Times Square peep shows and massage parlors, recording companies and pornographic movies.

Law enforcement began catching up with Franzese in the middle of that decade. He was indicted in March 1966 for acting as an enforcer for a lucrative Manhattan bookmaking ring, in the following month for leading a gang responsible for bank robberies across the U.S. and in October of the same year in connection with the 1964 murder of Ernest "the Hawk" Rupolo. Franzese once told Newsday that he felt the collection of charges in that period were due to a "conspiracy to get me."

Prosecutors got him only on the bank robbery conspiracy charge. For that federal offense, in April 1967 he was sentenced to up to fifty years in prison and fined $20,000. Franzese always insisted that he was innocent. He viewed the cases against him and the long prison sentence as government attempts to convince him to provide evidence against his underworld associates. He boasted of his commitment to the Mafia code of silence.

"They wanted me to roll all the time," Franzese recalled for an interview with Newsday. "I couldn't do that, because it's my principle. Jesus suffered; He didn't squeal on nobody."

Franzese remained free on $150,000 bail as his legal appeals in the bank robbery case were processed. (His attorneys argued that evidence against him had been obtained through the use of illegal electronic surveillance in the kitchen of his Roslyn home.) The appeals were unsuccessful, and he began serving his sentence on March 26, 1970, just three days before the Easter holiday. He was released on parole for the first time in 1978, but was sent back to prison on five different occasions for violating parole.

Franzese, then in his nineties, was convicted in 2010 of extorting New York businesses. He was sentenced to serve eight years in prison. He was last released from prison in June 2017.

In recent years, Franzese lived in a nursing home, needed a wheelchair to get around due to a broken hip and reportedly was fitted with a heart pacemaker and hearing aids.


Sources:

• Brown, Lee, "102-year-old mobster: 'I never hurt nobody that was innocent," New York Post, nypost.com, March 27, 2019.
• Burke, Cathy, "Colombo underboss Sonny Franzese looks back on 102 years with no regrets, and a boast that he's never been a rat," New York Post, nypost.com, March 27, 2019.
• "Cosa Nostran held as robberies brain," Plainfield NJ Courier-News, April 13, 1966, p. 7.
• "Crime figure seized on L.I.; Parole violations are cited," New York Times, April 29, 1986, p. 36.
• Everett, Arthur, "Mob tightening grip on pornography," Vineland NJ Times Journal, Dec. 14, 1972, p. 21.
• Failla, Zak, "Man who led Colombo Family's Long Island rackets dies," Suffolk Daily Voice, dailyvoice.com, Feb. 24, 2020.
• "Franzese loses bid to upset verdict," New York Times, March 27, 1970, p. 37.
• Kirkman, Edward, and Arthur Mulligan, "Put halter on big bookie 'muscle man," New York Daily News, March 25, 1966, p. 2.
• Peddie, Sandra, "John 'Sonny" Franzese dead: Longtime Colombo underboss was 103, family says," Newsday, newsday.com, Feb. 24, 2020.
• Pugh, Thomas, William Federici and Richard Henry, "Indict 5 Cosa hoods in killing of 6th," New York Daily News, Oct. 4, 1966, p. 3.
• Sherman, William, "Mafia declares war, but porn king survives," New York Daily News, Dec. 13, 1972, p. 5. 
• Walsh, Robert, "Franzese gets new suit; it's a jailstriper," New York Daily News, March 27, 1970, p. 24. 
• Walsh, Robert, and Henry Lee, "Tag 9 guys & a gal in bank holdups, Inc.," New York Daily News, April 13, 1966, p. 3.

Franzese, 93, convicted of racketeering

John "Sonny" Franzese, 93-year-old reputed underboss of the Colombo Crime Family, was convicted of racketeering July 6 in Brooklyn federal court, according to a story by John Marzulli of the New York Daily News. A jury found Franzese guilty of shaking down Hustler and Penthouse strip clubs in Manhattan. It did not convict him on a count related to extortion of a pizza restaurant. Much of the government's case against Franzese rested on testimony and evidence provided by his son, John Franzese Jr.

Franzese Jr. testifies against underboss dad

John Franzese Jr. stepped to the witness stand in Brooklyn Federal Court on June 9 to testify against his father, reputed Colombo Crime Family underboss John "Sonny" Franzese, according to reports by the New York Daily News and the New York Post. The elder Franzese, 93 years old, is accused of setting up New York area businesses for mob extortion. As Franzese Jr. took the stand, his father lapsed into a nap, prompting New York media to nickname him, "The Nodfather." The younger Franzese, 50, testified that his father led him into a life of crime by age 16. Later, as Franzese battled a growing drug addiction, he became an informant for the FBI.

Ninety-three-year-old mobster indicted again

Ninety-three-year-old John "Sonny" Franzese, currently preparing for trial on racketeering charges, has been indicted again, according to a story by John Marzulli of the New York Daily News.

The latest indictment charges the reputed Colombo Crime Family underboss with attempting to extort money from the Hustler and Penthouse strip clubs. According to prosecutors, Franzese personally went to the clubs along with younger henchmen and offered the club owners protection against other criminal organizations.

Franzese has been imprisoned a number of times. His current parole continues until he is 102. While he awaits trial, he is free on $1 million bail.

After his May 6 arraignment on the extortion charges, Franzese was asked how he felt about the prospect of spending his last days behind bars. "Who cares?" he said. "I gotta die someplace."

17-count indictment against accused mobsters

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York yesterday unsealed a 17-count indictment against the acting boss and the underboss of the Colombo Crime Family, as well as 10 additional Colombo Family members and associates. The indictment charges racketeering conspiracy, including four acts of murder, robbery, extortion, narcotics trafficking and loansharking.

Prosecutors said the indictment was the result of a three-year investigation into Colombo Family activities.

Those charged in the indictment were:

• Reputed boss Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli, 55;
• Reputed underboss John "Sonny" Franzese, 89;
• Reputed "captain" Dino Calabro, 41;
• Michael Catapano, 42;
• Frank Campione, 65;
• Joseph "Joey Caves" Competiello, 36;
• Joseph DiGorga, 67;
• Orlando Spado, 63;
• Angelo Giangrande, 55;
• John Capolino, 39;
• Nicholas Bova, 31;
• Christopher Curanovic, 26.

The indictment refers to four specific murders. It charges Calabro with the Jan. 9, 1992, armed robbery and felony murder of armored truck guard Carlos Pagan. It charges Gioeli and Calabro jointly with the March 25, 1992, double-murder of Colombo family soldier John Minerva and Minerva's friend Michael Imbergamo. It also charged Gioeli, Calabro and Colombo soldier Competiello with the June 12, 1991, retaliation murder of Frank Marasa.

If convicted of the charges against them, Gioeli, Calabro, Competiello, Spado and Curanovic face possible life imprisonment. Catapano faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. Franzese, Campione, DiGorga, Giangrande and Capolino face possible 20-year sentences.

Nine nabbed in Colombo clan crackdown

Nine alleged members of the Colombo Crime Family, including reputed acting boss Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli, were arrested yesterday on federal racketeering charges, according to published reports by the New York Daily News, the New York Times and the Associated Press.

A federal indictment unsealed in Brooklyn federal court accused the nine with Mafia-related crimes across the United States. Among the offenses charged to the group are fur thefts and murders in New York and impersonation of police officers in Los Angeles.

Gioeli, 55 (left), charged with robbery, three murders and extortion, pleaded not guilty. He is being held without bail. Two of the murders were related to the 1990s civil war within the Colombo clan. John Franzese, 89, reputed family underboss, was also charged, as were three men already held in prison.

Italian police arrest Mafia bigshot

Franco Franzese, 43, believed to be a key aide to Sicilian Mafia bosses, has been arrested by Italian police in Palermo, according to a Reuters news story.

Franzese has been listed by the Italian Interior Ministry as one of Italy's most dangerous criminals. He is believed to have served as an aide to Salvatore Lo Piccolo, reputedly one of the Mafia's most powerful current bosses.

Franzese, 90, arrested for parole violation

Federal agents on Wednesday arrested John "Sonny" Franzese, 90, charging him with his fifth parole violation in the last 25 years, according to an AP story by Larry McShane.

The arrest occurred at Franzese's regularly scheduled visit with his probation officer. The FBI reported that he had been associating with known mobsters.

Federal agents believe the 90-year-old Franzese, reputed longtime Colombo Crime Family capo, recently became the family's underboss. Franzese was convicted of bank robbery and sent off to a lengthy prison sentence in the late 1960s. He was first paroled in 1978 but violated parole four years later.