Former mob figure Michael Franzese has spent years answering one question more than almost any other: who were the most dangerous men in organized crime? In a recent sit-down, he offered his own list of 15, drawn from personal experience, conversations with his father, and the reputations that circulated in the life he once led.
Franzese made clear the list is not ranked. It reflects the names that stand out to him, some of whom he knew and others who were before his time. His father, who lived to 103, was around many of these figures and passed down details that Franzese says shaped his understanding of them.
He also drew a sharp line between types of violence. Shooting someone and fleeing, he said, is one thing. Ice picks, strangulation, and dismemberment are another. Those methods, he argued, require something deeply wrong in a person, and he described the subject as sickening even to him.
First on his list was Anthony Senter, allegedly tied to more than 10 murders. Senter was one half of the Gemini twins and part of the DeMeo crew. Franzese said the crew had a specific method he declined to describe in detail.
Joey Testa was the other half of the Gemini twins, inseparable from Senter in life and in crime. Franzese credited the pair with perfecting the Gemini method. He pushed back on the idea that Testa terrorized made mobsters, noting that made men acted on orders from the top and did not fear one another in that way.
Franzese said the person he actually feared was his boss, who held life-and-death power over him. He explained that in that life, if you believed someone was going to kill you, you acted first. He cited John Gotti and Paul Castellano as examples of that reality.
Tommy DeSimone, portrayed by Joe Pesci in "Goodfellas," was next. Franzese met him a few times but did not know him well. He cautioned against relying on murder counts from law enforcement or informants, saying the numbers are often exaggerated. DeSimone, he noted, disappeared and was killed.
Joseph "Joe the Animal" Barboza was an enforcer for the Patriarca family in New England, allegedly linked to more than 20 murders. Franzese heard about him from his father and described him as a genuinely feared killer and intimidator. In 1976, after becoming a government witness, Barboza was gunned down in San Francisco.
Sammy "the Bull" Gravano admitted to participating in 19 murders, though not necessarily pulling the trigger in all of them. Franzese rejected the idea that Gotti promoted Gravano to underboss because of those murders, saying the promotion was Gotti's decision alone. He called Gravano a friend now and said he believes Gravano is sorry and has tried to change his life.
Frank Abbandando, known as "the Dasher," was one of Murder Inc.'s most feared killers, allegedly linked to more than 50 murders and later to over 60. Franzese described Murder Inc. as a hired organization for Lucky Luciano and the syndicate, responsible for at least 400 to 500 contract killings, with some estimates as high as 1,000. Abbandando was executed in the electric chair in 1942.
Abe "Kid Twist" Reles was tied to 85 killings through his own testimony, specializing in strangulation and ice pick murders. He became a key government witness and helped bring down Murder Inc. In 1941, he fell from a hotel window while under police guard. Franzese said he does not believe Reles simply fell.
Harry "Happy" Maione, another Murder Inc. figure, was allegedly linked to more than 20 murders and was known for brutality and loyalty to the syndicate. He favored stabbing or beating victims before finishing them off. He was executed in the electric chair in 1942.
Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss was credited with more than 100 murders, making him Murder Inc.'s most prolific executioner. He was deadly with ice picks, guns, strangulation, or fire. Franzese said Strauss epitomized the syndicate's industrialized approach to killing, treating murder as routine business. He was executed in 1941.
Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, though technically a boss, oversaw Murder Inc. and directly ordered dozens of killings. Franzese explained that Luciano, with Meyer Lansky and Lepke, created the organization to reduce random street violence and handle contract killings nationwide. Buchalter was the only major mob boss executed in the electric chair, put to death in 1944.
Roy DeMeo's crew was linked to 70 to 200 murders, according to estimates Franzese could not confirm. He knew about the crew during his era and described it as the Gambino family's most feared killing squad. DeMeo's crew perfected dismemberment to make victims vanish. DeMeo himself was murdered in 1983 and left in the trunk of his car, likely on orders from his own family. Franzese said a loose cannon never lasts in that life.
Richard "the Iceman" Kuklinski was convicted of five murders and claimed more, with some estimates over 100. Franzese questioned how much Kuklinski actually worked with DeMeo, saying he did not hear that at the time. Kuklinski was infamous for experimenting with cyanide and freezing bodies to obscure time of death.
Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, a Lucchese underboss, admitted to at least 36 murders after becoming an informant and ordered many more. Franzese disputed Casso's claim to have invented the gas tax scheme, saying Casso was only on the outskirts of it. Casso put NYPD detectives on his payroll, was captured in 1993, and was later thrown out of witness protection. Franzese said he heard, but could not confirm, that Sammy Gravano was involved in that outcome.
Charlie Carneglia, a Gambino enforcer tied to John Gotti, was suspected in more than 20 murders and possibly up to 60, including law enforcement officers. He was feared for disposing of bodies in acid and served as a personal hit man for the Gotti faction. Convicted in 2009, he remains one of the deadliest confirmed killers in the family's modern history. Franzese said he knew and liked Carneglia but described him as a brutal man.
Albert Anastasia, known as the Lord High Executioner and the Mad Hatter, took over Murder Inc. when Buchalter left. His tally is often cited at well over 100. He was feared even within the mob for sudden, ruthless violence. In 1957, he was assassinated in a Manhattan barber chair, one of the most dramatic mob hits in history. Franzese said someone he knew very well was among the alleged killers.
Franzese also addressed Greg Scarpa, who was in his crew and family. He said Scarpa was no stranger to violence and was a capable, cold man, but declined to put a number on his killings.
He acknowledged there were other killers but said none stood out to him at the level of the men he named. He also declined to go back a century to figures like Al Capone, saying he did not know those numbers.
Franzese stressed he was not justifying mob killings, especially the most brutal and demonic methods. He noted the FBI has said his father killed 30 to 40 people, but said his father never confessed specifics to him. He recalled his father telling him that two seconds after a murder, he would deny it ever happened.
He closed with a broader reflection on murder and faith. He said the Bible offers no justification for murder, citing the Ten Commandments and the story of Abraham and Isaac. He asked why people are so fascinated with murder, and whether a soldier returning from war is ever asked how many people he killed. Murder, he said, is murder, and God will judge the heart.