YouSaid · the spoken record

Michael Franzese

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177
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2024-08-19
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2024-08-19
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  1. “And we walked into a room individually. It was late at night, very solemn ceremony, a dimly lit room. The boss was seated at the head of like a horseshoe configuration, the underboss in the conciliary to his left and right, and all the copper jimes were alongside of them. Soldiers can't attend this, only the coppos, only the brass of the family. I walked down the aisle stood in front of the boss, I held out my hand, he took a knife, cut my finger, some blood dropped on the floor. This is a blood oath. I cupped my hand, she took a picture of a saint, Catholic Altagar, put it in my hands, lit it aflame, didn't hurt it burnt quickly, was merely symbolic. And he said, Tonight, Michael Francis, you are born again into a new life into Cosinostra, this thing of ours. Violate what you know about this life, betray your brothers, and you will die and burn in hell like this saint is burning in your hands. Do you accept? Yes, I do. And that's how it started. That's the oath.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  2. “But for me it was Halloween night nineteen seventy five when I took the oath. It was me and five other guys that night, and you don't have any preparation. Did you just tell you where a suit? And then all of a sudden that night it happens. You kind of get maybe a little inkling because you're waiting for this to happen.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  3. “The double-edged sword, because there's a lot of resentment to the young guys that got in after two, three years and guys were waiting 20, 25 years. It's like anything else. Just that you have the resentment from the older guys and I had to deal with that. It's just that, again, it's through the more severe on the street than it would be in normal life.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  4. “Security reasons, they said. The only time you can make a guy is if a guy died in a family you could replace him. So replace him the ranks. Well, you couldn't bring anybody else in. Well, in the mid seventies, they opened the books. Okay, now we're going to start to build the families up again. When I was made, there was guys waiting 20 years, 25 years. Yeah, that were part of that and just waiting for the day when they're going to have their turn. So I was, you know, definitely a younger guy. I mean, it was a couple of younger guys that got in at that time.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  5. “Well, I'll tell you this. You know, when I got straightened out, we call it straightened out, believe it or not, you're straightened out. That's when you become a made man. Same term, but that was in 1975. For twenty years prior to that, almost 25 years, they had a term that the books were closed. They weren't bringing any new guys into the life. And that was nationwide.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  6. “I mean to look at it elevated I became a captain as a result of the money that I was turning in and I had a big crew under me you know I was living a lifestyle in a jet plane I had a helicopter we're bringing in seven eight nine ten million dollars a week at times was that big selling a half a billion gallons of gas a month taken down thirty forty cents a gallon whatever we decided to charge somebody at that time it's a lot of money”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  7. “Okay, I was bringing him $2 million a week at Buildup to. That buys a lot of loyalty and a lot of wins on the street because I was constantly sitting down with people. They wanted a piece, wanted this, wanted that. Then if somebody wasn't, I wasn't the only guy in the business. We just did it better than anybody else. But if somebody wanted to buy gas from us, I'd say, okay, but you got to pay. If you don't pay, it's going to be a problem. So when people didn't pay, we had to sit down. I always won. So it was.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  8. “Everybody's going to want a piece of this. Everybody on the street, when they realize what I have here, they're going to want a piece of it. So here's what you have to do. You have to make me win every argument. I said, anytime I sit down, doesn't matter what family it is. I said, don't play politics. You know, I said, I'm not telling you as the boss what to do, but I'm telling you I'm going to make you wealthy. So I said, make me win every argument. I'm going to be right anyway. I'll come in right. I said, so make me win. I'll make you more money than you ever seen before. I'll never forget, Stevie. Just sit back like this. He said, show me.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  9. “A lot of money Know if they're doing volume too. So we were selling gas to everybody, branded stations, unbranded stations. Didn't matter. And the government just could not keep up with us. So when I realized what I had, you'll appreciate this. I went to my boss at the time, gone my purse ago, he's passed on now. And we called him junior. And I said, Junior, here's the deal. I'm going to show you more money than you've ever seen in your life because I realized what I had, right? He says, we don't do drugs. I says, not drugs. You know I hate drugs. It has nothing to do with drugs. He says, what is it? I said, it's gas. Gas I said, Yes, tax money. Oh, okay. That's clean. I said, but here's the deal.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  10. “Yes. The way I do it, let's say, you know, and I had 350 gas stations, I either owned or operated, 300 plus gas stations, we either owned or operated at least whatever. But if we would go buy a gas station on a corner where there were four stations and you have a lot of that in New York, we would buy one station lease one station, could have been a mobile any brand, didn't matter. And we'd get the other three station owners and say, come here, we want to talk to you. Here's the deal. Whatever you sell the gas for, we're going to be two cents cheaper. If you go down five, we'll go down ten. If you go down ten, we'll go down twenty. Because I had 40 cents to work with in most cases, we'll put you out of business. So just stay, understand that we're going to stay two cents. We don't want to kill you. We want you to earn money, but we're always going to be cheaper. Before you know it, they're buying all their gas from us anyway. So we were selling all four stations supplied by us. Because look, a gas station owner, if you're saving them five, six, seven cents a gallon, ten cents a gallon.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  11. “Gas was coming from we were buying barges as they came over from the Middle East, and we were buying gas from all the major oil companies.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  12. “You give me the stock, I'm the owner. I give it to you, you're the owner. So we didn't have to give a lot of information. The only reason I needed the company was number one to get the license and number two to open a bank account. I didn't need brickamore. I need anything, right? That's all I needed. So now I'm allowed to collect the tax. Well, we had a very sophisticated process or strategy to collect that tax for about 10, 11, sometimes a whole year before the government came down on us because we had a report, we had to pay quarterly and so on and so they were very slow. They're very slow. So we had a way to keep them at bay for almost a year. When they finally came down on us, we closed the office, closed that license, and just started operating under a new license. Well, I ran this for seven years.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  13. “The law at that time is that the gas tax was collected by a wholesaler. You had to be a licensed wholesaler. The government really wasn't up to their collection process. So to make a long story short, I had 18 companies that were licensed to collect the tax on every gallon of gasoline. They were all shell companies, every single one of them. And they were all Panamanian companies. Why Panama? Because Panama Corporation Panama had bearish stock.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  14. “I was defrauding the government at a tax on every gallon of gasoline. It was probably the biggest scam since the days of prohibition.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  15. “There's other times when you're not the smartest person in the room, and by keeping quiet nobody knows that. What is this guy thinking? What is this thinking? It's a tremendous technique. And in that life, it was extremely valuable for me. I was always the last guy to talk. God, tell me everything, you know. And it helped me kind of master that art in that life because you had these guys never sell them short. There was some very smart guys there. If they weren't in that life, they would have been successful somewhere else, you know, very smart. So you had to really know what you were doing because the consequences too are very severe. I mean, you could walk in there and lose your shirt, you know, because the boss could say, hey, not only are you going to pay this guy this, but you're going to pay the family everything else. And everything you got, I'm taking away from you right now. That's how severe it could have been. So yes, you really had to know. I'll tell you this. I think you know I was in the gas business, right? The gas tax business.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  16. “Understand, you know, again, you know, I always learn this that sometimes you can walk into a room and be the smartest person in the room. You don't want anybody to know that. And you want people just talk. Let, you know, just talk. Give them an opening. Give them, throw them a bone so that they're going to come back and talk the personality of this person. You can learn so much from people just when they talk and you keep quiet.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  17. “And as a result of that, I was constantly in business disputes and sitting down with other guys, and you have to learn, you know, how to negotiate. I mean, I learned the art of negotiation at these sit-downs, you know, learned how to try to, you know, really, before I walked into a meeting with somebody, number one, try to know the personality of that person, know if there's a fallback position, if I'm not winning, what I'll accept. And so I had to prepare myself for these meetings. Because unprepared, you know, they'll chew you up. Because a lot of these old timers were very skillful. And believe me, you could be 100% right and end up wrong. And they'll put you in a trap. So you really had to know what you were doing. And so my people skills in that regard, as far as negotiating and identifying a true leader, were really hone to a, you know, a high degree because I came out on top.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  18. “We in the Clumbo family had hundred and fifteen made guys at that time. Out of the hundred and fifteen, twenty of us were really earning money and supporting the family in some way and really elevating the family. We were racketeers. Now a gangster could never really be a racketeer just doesn't know how. But a racketeer has to be a gangster also because you're going to be called upon. Not as much as this guy. But when you're called upon, you've got to do it. You know, I was more of a racketeer.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  19. “I'll tell you the difference. A gangster is a guy that really doesn't know how to use that life to benefit him in business. He's more of a, I don't want to say tough guy, I don't want to say the term, but he's more of a guy that, hey, we had something done, this is the guy. Send him out, let him do it. Because you got to earn your keep in that life.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  20. “It taught me well. I think I got it. You know, there's kind of two levels in that life. You're either a racketeer. Or you're a gangster.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  21. “It's cult like, I guess, you know, in a way. I mean, we didn't do silly things, you know, we wouldn't have rituals and ceremonies other than that one, yeah, other than that one, nothing after that.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  22. “Back then, I mean I might have. I mean, you know, I was a play by the rule guy. I was very fortunate that I had a great teacher in my dad. He was a student and master of the life. And so I was like a sponge. I absorbed whatever my dad told me. I listened. And, you know, some of the things that he told me were right. So I might have at the time, I'm going to be honest with you. I mean, I don't know. It would have to depend on what's happening at that moment. But, you know, I was so indoctrinated into that life at some point. It's who I was.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  23. “Let's put it this way. They got to have enough faith in you that you can be. Capable of doing whatever it is they tell you to do. They have to understand that and feel that because if they don't feel that you're not going anywhere. That's it. So during that time, you're going to be tested.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  24. “Well paid the price, in other words, I got a real good tongue lashing. I'll tell you, you know, just stuff like that. They kind of put you on the shelf for two weeks to make you understand the seriousness of what you did so you never do it again. You never repeat your mistakes in that life if you're smart. If you want to, number one want to survive and number two, you want to move up. Never repeat your mistakes. So, you know, things like that. And then look, I'm going to be honest with you. As honest as I possibly can, it's a violent life at times. If you're part of the life in some shape or form, you're part of the violence. And if anybody tells you differently, they're either not being honest or they weren't a made member of that life. And that's just how it goes.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  25. “Recruit pledge period where I had to do anything at everything I was told to do, prove myself worthy. Could have been something very menial, a lot of discipline in that life, a lot of authority, a lot of alleged respect. You had a meeting at eight o'clock, you weren't there at seven thirty, you were late. You can never be late in that life. I don't care what the situation is. You had a meeting at eight o'clock if there was traffic and you were concerned come the night before and sleep in the car. It can never be late, no excuses. You know, drive the boss to a meeting, sit in a car three, four, five hours. God forbid you leave. You go to the restroom, get a newspaper, he comes out, you're not there. Oh my gosh, we could have had trouble. You had the getaway driver, you weren't there. I know I did that once and I paid the price, you know, for it. That's very serious stuff.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  26. “the Colombo family. That means if your mother is sick and she's dying, you're at her bedside? We call you to service, you leave your mother, you come and serve us. From now on we're number one in your life before anything and everything. When and if we feel you've deserved this privilege, this honor to become a member will let you know. That's it. And do you accept that? I said, yes, I do. And so for the next two and a half years,”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  27. “Well, when you come in to here's what happened I leave there. A captain and a family picked me up and took me to see the boss. Now unfortunately Joe Colombo was assassinated. He was shot seriously wounded, he lingered for about seven years and then he died as a result of these wounds. So a new boss took over and he's passed away now. And I sat with him. This was about two weeks after my father sent word downtown that he was proposing me to be part of that life. If you can't just go up to somebody's head, I'd like to join. Somebody has to propose you, vouch for you, say you have what it takes. There's a lot of nepotism in that life, a lot of fathers brought their sons in, their nephews, whatever. So in my case it was my dad that proposed me. So I sat with the boss, and he said to me, here's the deal you want to become a member of our life. Your father sent a message. Is that true? And I said, yes. He said, well, here's the deal. From now on twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, you're on call to serve this family.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  28. “You know, it's ugly, and you don't ever want to talk about it. I mean, I don't, if I were to do something like that, I wouldn't be proud of it. I'm not trying to throw my chest out and say, hey, look what I could do. Guys go to war, they kill people all the time. You know, in defense of our country or defense of. So, I mean, it's not like, oh, God, you know, nobody, I mean, murder happens every single day. Who wants to talk about it?”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  29. “One of the above, I don't know. Well, you know, Steve, look, there's guys, there's a lot of guys on the street now, and if you go on YouTube, you'll see a number of them, and they've admitted to murders that they were involved in. These are made guys, and they've admitted to it, and many of them had struck a deal with the government. They had immunity for the crimes they'd committed, even murder. I mean, the government give you immunity for murder if you want to, if they want you to cooperate and help them out. It's amazing, but they'll do it. And so they have immunity. They could talk about their crimes. I didn't cooperate to that level at all. I don't have immunity for anything that I've done in the past. You know, and listen, you know, our laws here in the United States, if you were standing next to somebody when they murdered somebody else, you could be charged for murder the same way to them. So, you know, I'm saying, was in that position. I'm just saying that's the law. So, you know, why talk about it? Number one and number two, murder is ugly.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  30. “It's just not a subject I care to get into. Listen. I like to be as honest as I possibly can because I am a Christian and you don't want to lie to people. But it's not something I want to talk about.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  31. “That's not right. But if we kill our own, and you know, you hear a lot of times, well, we only kill our own. Well, we don't only kill our own. But if we only kill our own, knowing that we made that choice, well then, okay. I kind of get it in a way, even though murder is murder and it's a crime and it's sinful and I understand that. But that's how you justify”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  32. “Now we understand that and they tell you your best friend may be the one that pulls the trigger because the life comes before anything. That's it. You don't violate the rules. That's how we maintain control in this life. That's how we existed for a hundred years and that's how it's going to stay. So now you're saying, okay, we all agreed to this, we all admitted it. If one of us decides to violate the policy of the law and we get caught, well, we understand the consequences. So that's how I looked at it, and that's how I justified it. Now, does that say you can go out and start to do random killings? No. If the boss tells you to go kill somebody because he doesn't like them and you do it.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  33. “Another thing is this people think when we take an oath, the oath of Omerta, it's an oath to stay silent. It's not an oath to lie, steal, cheat, and kill. Does that happen as part of that light? Yes. But we're told straight out. Now, try to understand the thinking here. You come into that life, you told straight out. We have rules. You don't ever violate another man's wife, daughter, sister, girl never. That'll cause you to die. During my era, we weren't allowed to deal with drugs. You deal with drugs, you get caught, you die. You maybe do some other things you're not honest with people, you disrespect somebody, you hit another made guy, you die.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  34. “Oh, you know, Steve, I know there's going to be a tough one, but let me tell you how I think The right and just side of me, the legally just side of me, says that the government is never allowed to break the law, to uphold the law. Because if you allow that to happen, then it falls into monarchy and people are not protected. Because if they do it against sunny frenzies, they can do it against anybody. So I believe strictly the government has enough tools and weapons to get people the right way, and they do ninety six, ninety seven percent of the time. They shouldn't be allowed to violate the law, to go after a criminal. That's my feeling on it. Now, Mr.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  35. “Listen, my dear, look, I'm going to tell you this, the word on the street and from the FBI, my dad was involved in 30, 35 murders. No, he never admitted that to me, about anyone in particular. He was indicted for one murder, and he was acquitted in that case, found not guilty. But my dad was, he was a tough guy. There's no question.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  36. “And why did they pick the night for the meeting? Because my dad was under constant surveillance. And the FBI told them what day my dad would be available to that wouldn't have an alibi. He's probably sitting at home, wouldn't have an alibi to say that he wasn't at that meeting. So they structured this whole thing. And many people afterwards have said, Sonny would never associate with these type of guys. So, you know, all those things came to me. Look, I went to jail for crime. I was guilty of, pled guilty, did my time. But this particular crime that my dad did, I'd take it to my grave. He was no bankrupt.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  37. “That when they agreed to cooperate with the government, they were going to put these bank robberies or to make the mastermind somebody else. And they actually did. Guy Bene Pelici, they said, well, he was the original guy that told us how to do these bankruptcies. And then when the FBI told him, this came right from the witness. The FBI told him, well, that'll get you some time off, but I ain't going to go that far. We don't care about Tony Pelisi. A guy like Sonny Franzis, that would matter. And then they went and they concocted this story because, Steve, the thing is, they committed all the bank robberies, every one of them. And they described it in great detail at the trial. And all they said was that Sonny Francis ordered them at a meeting that we had once at the Q motor in.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  38. “Simple. Needed money for attorneys. I had kind of a business head. My dad knew that we needed to track down witnesses and people that were involved in the case that could, you know, say this was a frame up. And that's exactly what I did. I mean, I went after all of these witnesses to try to find them and get them to recant that testimony. I worked with the lawyers as a result of that. And eventually did get three of the witnesses to recant their testimony, gave them lie detect a test, proved they lied at the trial that the FBI had gone along with the story that they met up because my father was such a, they wanted him so bad. They really did. If you go back to the 60s and you look at the amount of media attention he had, you know, you wouldn't believe it. But so the FBI at that time, I believe, was complicit in this frame-up because they might have known that these guys were lying. One of the witnesses told me.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  39. “No. I mean, prior to that point, that's not what he wanted for me. But once I made up my mind, I think there was a feeling of pride or joy in my dad. I kind of seen it in him, and that, you know, once I did become a made guy, he was overjoyed. He was thrilled.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  40. “Yeah, I mean, obviously I had never been in that situation, but I thought about it, and I don't remember what rolled through my mind at that point. Did I say to myself, well, this is the answer my dad wants? Or did I say to myself, yeah, I could really do it? As I sit here now all these years later, I can't honestly answer that. But the answer was yes.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  41. “And I said, Dad, under the right circumstances, yeah, I could do it. He said, that's the right answer. He said to me, then he looked at me and he said, go home. Somebody's going to be in touch with you. Do what you told. That's all he said. He didn't break it down. He didn't said, this is what's required of you. Nothing. Because you know, Steve, that's a secret life. You're not supposed to talk about that life with anybody outside of it. My dad wouldn't violate that policy, even with me, his own son. He just figured, okay, kids got it in him. Go home and do what you're told. And I didn't question him. I said, okay, Dad, this is what you want. Just point me in the right direction. I mean, that's the kind of bond that we had together at that point. And I left there, and that's how things started for me.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  42. “But I was pretty headstrong as a kid. And I said, Dad, my mind is made up. I lost interest in school. I'm not going to go. I said, you're wasting your breath. And basically he looked at me, Stephen, you know, and I don't ever want to be offensive to the audience, but he looked at me and he said, okay, but if you're going to be on the street, then I want you on the street the right way. In his mind, the right way was to become a member of his life. So he looked at me and he said, I got to ask you a question very serious. I said, go ahead. He said, have you ever had to kill anybody? Could you do it?”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  43. “And even though my dad did not want me involved in the life, but I went to visit him in the visiting room at Leavenworth Penitentiary, and I said, Dad, I'm not going to school anymore. If I don't help you out, you're going to die in here. And we kind of argued about it because he was disappointed. He didn't want that from me. He knew the life was tough. He didn't want it for me. He wanted for any of his kids.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  44. “And then at the same time, I was getting very close to Joe Colombo, who was the boss of our family, Colombo family. And he kind of took me under his wing because, you know, obviously my dad was his underboss. And I started to meet a lot more of my dad's friends, and they would say to me, Mike, what are you doing going to school? You don't help your father out, he's going to die in prison. So I was very, it affected me in a big way. I said, I can't let that happen.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  45. “And why did I believe first of all he never lied to me so I believed it, but the four witnesses that testified against him were all drug addicts. My dad my entire life preached against drugs to me. He used to make up stories parables to show me the dangers of drugs, all of us, all the kids, so that we would never get involved. He hated anything to do with drugs. Always spoke about it. So I never saw my dad as a hypocrite in that regard. He wouldn't associate with these people, no less do bank robberies with them, so it made it very real. And so it angered me in some ways, but it motivated me to say, you know what? I can't let my dad die in here, you know?”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  46. “My dad was framed on that case. Yeah, 100%. I'll take it to my grave, Steve. He was. He was supposedly masterminding a nationwide string of bank robberies. And, you know, my dad first went away, I was with him in the visiting room. We were in a jail. And I looked at him and I said, Dad, bank robbery? And he looked at me and he said, Son, I'm innocent. I'm not a bank robber. I didn't order these bank robberies. I was framed. Government framed me. My dad had never lied to me to that point, and he said, we got to work to overturn this conviction.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  47. “And I was doing that anyway because during many of my dad's trials my mom would go and I would one time he was tried a couple of hundred miles away from us. They moved the venue to Albany, New York, and I'm in Long Island. So my mom would be away for three or four days at a time with my dad. I'd be watching the kids. So I mean, I took on that role early on. But then when he went away, it became a lot more, you know, a”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  48. “It was a defining moment in my life because, you know, I realized things were going to dramatically change. I mean, I was the oldest with my mom and three younger brothers and sisters. And I knew I had to play a role in that, you know, and taking care of my mom because my dad, when he went away, he said, listen, I'm entrusting the family to you. He said, you know, be a good son and take care of your brothers and sisters, take care of your mother. So, I mean, I had that responsibility.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  49. “Loved him. He's your good dad. And he wanted the best for me at that point. And he taught me great things. I mean, he really did. And, you know, the one advantage I had in my life, and again, taught to me by my dad. He always said, son, be a good listener. Listen before you speak. You know, be careful. Don't speak out of turn. You always told me to be a good listener, so Person I listen to the most was But he taught me well in that regard, so I had a lot of love and respect for my dad. And when he went away was devastating, because he was 50 years old when he went into prison. If you had fifty on top of that, he'd never come out of prison alive. That's what we thought. You know, so it was tough”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  50. “Well, he finally was in and out before that. What he started to do time on that fifty year prison sentence I was nineteen.”

    2024-08-19 · The Diary of a CEO · Former Mafia Boss: "I Was Running The Biggest Scam In The World! $1.4 Million A Day!" - Michael Franzese · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT