Former Colombo family captain Michael Franzese has spent years answering questions about organized crime, and he often finds that some of the most commonly repeated claims are simply wrong. In a recent discussion, he shared eight facts about the Mafia that he says many people do not know.
Franzese is quick to point out that he is not a Mafia historian. He does not spend much time reading books about the origins of the life, and he watches Mafia movies mainly for entertainment. He lived the life himself, first through his father, who was a legendary figure, and then through his own experience.
Still, he says there are details he knows well because he was there. Much of what he shares comes from conversations in social clubs with old-timers, from his own time in the family, and from documented FBI recordings.
The first fact is that you do not need to be Sicilian to become a member of the Mafia. At one time, members had to be Sicilian. That rule later changed so that a member only had to be Italian. In Franzese's era, the requirement narrowed further: only your father had to be Italian.
The reason for the change, he explains, is that there are different mob groups throughout Italy. The Mafia was never a single, uniform organization.
The second fact concerns Naples. The Camorra is another Mafia group based there. Franzese describes it as smaller, with roughly 4,500 members, and known for being a particularly brutal group. He notes that he is from Naples himself, as were his mother and father, though he makes clear he is not claiming to be brutal. The Camorra also has a presence in the United States.
The third fact involves Calabria, another city in Italy. The Calabrian group is called the 'Ndrangheta. Franzese describes it as something of an offshoot of Cosa Nostra. It is known, unfortunately, for cocaine trafficking. He adds that drug trafficking, especially cocaine, is also a big part of the Camorra's activity in Naples.
The 'Ndrangheta is also well established in Australia. Franzese says he met a few of its members when he was in Australia.
The fourth fact is about the Sicilian Mafia, known as Cosa Nostra. Franzese calls it the biggest of the Mafia groups and the origin of the Mafia itself. He says it really began in Sicily, in the 1800s.
The Sicilian Mafia became the model for all other Mafia groups, and it was the first to come to the United States. Its members first showed up in New Orleans around 1870, according to Franzese. From there they went to New York, Chicago, Kansas, and Florida.
The fifth fact covers the Puglia Mafia. Puglia is a small city in the southeastern part of Italy. The group there is called the Sacra Corona Unita, which means United Sacred Crown. Franzese says it is the smallest of all the Mafia groups.
The Sacra Corona Unita is known for smuggling, bringing many goods in from Eastern Europe. Franzese says they associate with organized crime gangs from Eastern Europe and smuggle cigarettes, arms, and probably drugs as well. He repeats that in Italy, these groups are more involved in drug dealing than their American counterparts.
The sixth fact is one Franzese says he has taken blowback on repeatedly, because people read different things and do not know the truth. During his era in the United States, the drug business was outlawed within the families.
He offers proof in the form of an FBI recording of a conversation between John Gotti and one of his men, Angelo Ruggieri, known as Quack Quack. In that conversation, Angelo tells Gotti about a discussion between Gigante, the real boss of the Genovese family, and Paul Castellano.
The message was clear: no drugs. Anyone suspected of being involved with drugs in any way was to be killed on the spot. No meetings, no commission meeting, no proof needed. The reason was a belief that anyone dealing with drugs was more susceptible to becoming an informant. Franzese says this was decided between the bosses of the two most powerful families, and it is on tape.
In his own family, the Colombo family under Persico, drugs were not allowed. Franzese recalls a close friend, a made guy known as Tony the Gawk, who shot himself in a phone booth because he feared he had gotten involved in a drug deal and knew he would be killed. Rather than being walked into a room, he killed himself.
Franzese acknowledges that some men may have been involved in drugs anyway, but they were not supposed to be. It was outlawed, and he says the proof is the recorded conversation between Gigante and Castellano.
The seventh fact is that the real boss of the Genovese family was Gigante. Franzese says this was a known fact, and the FBI picked it up on surveillance tapes and conversations involving Fat Tony Salerno, also known as Tony Ducks. On those tapes, Salerno can be heard talking about Chin being the real boss.
Gigante did not want the exposure. He wanted to last as long as possible. He took over in 1981 when Benny Lombardo stepped down, in what Franzese describes as a peaceful takeover with no confrontation or argument. But he was the real boss, and he enlisted Fat Tony to serve as a front.
Franzese says Fat Tony did not do anything without putting it on record with Chin first. Chin was the real power, and Franzese says you can take that to the bank.
Franzese met with Gigante once or twice because Gigante sent for him. A close friend of his, another made guy under Chin named Fritzy Givenelli, who has since passed away, took him to see Gigante. The two walked along Houston Street and discussed a number of things.
Franzese says Gigante had a lot of respect for his father. Gigante told him that if he ever had any problem with Persico, since there was no love lost between them, he should let him know and he would bring him into his family. It was an offer Franzese says he wanted people to know about.
The eighth fact concerns when the books were open. Franzese says he has been getting blowback on this, with people claiming the books were open in 1976, 1977, or 1978. He says none of that is true.
The books were open in the early 1970s. His proof is Vincent Cafaro, known as the Chief, a soldier under Chin and under Fat Tony. Franzese became friendly with him when they were locked up together in the Metropolitan Correctional Center. Cafaro later became a cooperating witness and let everyone know when the books were open. He was made in 1974.
Franzese himself was made in 1975. He says he has no reason to lie. If he had been made in 1976 or 1977, he would say so. He says the books were open earlier than that, and that Cafaro's account is backed up in FBI documents and 302s.
Franzese says he is not trying to overwhelm anyone. There are many more facts he can share, things he has personal knowledge of because he was around a lot of men in the life. His father was not a historian, but the stories he told and the education he gave him, along with time spent around old-timers like Persico and others in social clubs, provided a wealth of information.
He says what he shared can be taken to the bank, because it is all a matter of fact.