Michael Franzese
Appearances
Ask Dr. Drew
Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
It's not different. And I'll give you an example. And I always say this, and people say, why do you say this? When we were on the street, we had a lot of Democratic politician friends. As a matter of fact, the most powerful guy in the Democratic Party at that time, I won't mention his name, he's passed on now, but he's very close with us. We had a lot of Democrats that we were working with.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Why Democrats? They were easier to corrupt. The Republicans were always known as the law and order people. We stayed away from them, you know, because they were always law and order. At least that's how the perception was back then. And a Democratic leader at one time was getting me my licenses so that I can collect the tax money, you know, and I was paying him.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
He was on a payroll and he did a lot of favors for us. You know, I always say this. What do politicians want? They want two things. They want votes and they want money. At one point in time, we controlled all the unions in this country. You control the unions, Dr. Drew, you control the country in a big way. Because Teamsters Union, you had two and a half million members plus their family, right?
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
You had huge pensions funds, hundreds of millions of dollars, billions of dollars. And so politicians would do our bidding because they wanted the votes and they wanted the money.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Again, I don't like to speak out of turn because I'm hearing now what everybody else is hearing. But from my experience on the street and dealing with them, I have to say there's a lot of stuff going on. I mean, they're so in bed with, I mean, the teacher junior is so in bed with the Democratic Party.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I mean, you could see, you know, they're just an arm of the Democrats, at least when Biden was in office and before that.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
It was just – And look at the aftermath of that now.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I heard about it. Yeah. I was on a plane.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
You know, it's funny you say that because my wife told me as we were driving here that they had sat down together and I didn't know it. And I said, Newsom is no match for Charlie Kirk.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, you know, first of all, I've been drinking wine since I'm 10 years old. My grandfather used to make it in his basement in Brooklyn. You know, he'd make homemade stuff, and he'd make us drink it. You know, it gets you tough. You know, you got to drink it. You know, he was an old Italian guy. Toilet wine. Yeah, yeah. And I remember how strong it was. All my cousins, we all had to drink it.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And so I love wine. You know, wine for me was always sit down at the dinner table, brings people together. You know, it was always, I'd never go to a bar and order wine.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
So just about four or five years ago, well, actually less than four years ago, an Armenian follower of mine, young man, he came to me and he said, my uncle has a vineyard in Armenia. And we want to introduce that wine into the United States. What made him think of you? Well, he was a follower of mine.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
No, no, he didn't hear me. I meet this kid. You got to hear the story. It's amazing. You know, and I always love when I see a young man that's really, you know, determined to make himself good. So he comes and meet me maybe about five or six years ago. And he says to me, you know, Mr. Michael, he calls me. I've been following you since I'm 10 years old.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And I said, 10 years old, why would you follow me? Usually a celebrity, a sports figure. He said, no, I've been following you, right? So we got a little friendly and then he approaches me later on about the wine. So I went into the business. I did my research on the wine from our media because I said, maybe it's Italian or Napa Valley, but- I did my research on it, tasted it. It was great.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
But I really went into business because of him because he impressed me so much, you know, and I said, wow, I'm going to help this young man really make a go of it. And we've been together three or four years now. But the reason he chose me is because, you know, this story goes and I think we're backed up by Forbes. They've done a lot of research on this that Noah's Ark.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
When Noah's Ark landed, it landed at the foot of Mount Ararat. The flood subsided. And under the new civilization, that's where the first vineyards were grown.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah, so it's kind of a transformation.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Exactly. And I was with a whole bunch of them last night. You hit it right on the head. But yeah. Yeah. So, you know, he said, and your story is a story of transformation. So we want to put it together and make you the brand.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, I got to tell you, we're really excited because we introduced it to Walmart. And Walmart put it in seven states, and I think their first order was 2,300 cases, which is really unusual. Yeah, we were very happy to get that.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Flying off the shelves, you know, people are loving it. They're making sangria out of it. They're cooking with it. And matter of fact, Chef Gruel said he's going to, you know, drum up something with the pomegranate wine. He liked it.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
It was good, too.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, you know, I have to say this, and I want to be really clear on this. I always call the mob life an evil, bad lifestyle. I want to be really clear. I'm not calling the guys evil. You know, there were some good guys. You know, the age-old question, why do good people do bad things? And a number of reasons for that. But a lot of good guys, I was one of them, so I don't say that.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
But the lifestyle is evil, Dr. Drew, because I don't know any family of any member of that life that hasn't been destroyed, including my own, not my wife and kids.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, it is. And you know, what happened is, I mean, my mother passed away in 2012, 33 years without her husband. And at the end of her life, her relationship with my dad was ugly. She blamed him for everything that went wrong and rightfully so.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
It's common. And, you know, she had basis for feeling that way. And, you know, I had a sister, died of an overdose of drugs. My younger sister, 41 years old, was never mentally stable. She passes away at 41, smoked. It was just terrible. Didn't take care of herself. My brother, 25 years, a drug addict. I hate anything to do with drugs. It was so destructive.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And, you know, just trying to keep him alive was a chore. So the whole family destroyed. So I met a young girl. You know, she was 20 years old. I fell in love with her. And I said, am I going to do the same thing to her? Because I had such a bullseye on my back. There was no way I was going to go through that life. You were in prison at the time? No, I was out. I was out.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I was actually, I was producing a movie. I was in the film business also, among many things I was doing. And so she was a dancer in a movie. With Dirty Money? Or were you doing it legit? Or both? It was both. Mostly Dirty.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
It was mostly gas tax money that I was taking at the time. Okay. But I was making this movie. She was a dancer in the film. I meet her in Florida on the set, fall in love with her. So I said, am I going to marry this girl and do the same thing? Because I was still under investigation. I was never not under investigation from the first moment I got into that.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I'm 31, and she was 19 when I met her. And so I decided I had to make a choice. It was either her or the life. And I chose her. She's sitting over here? Yeah, she's there. Good. We're going to be married 40 years this year. Congratulations. It worked out. I made the right choice.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
You were in the Catholic Church. I grew up a Catholic. I was even an altar boy. But for some reason, for me, Catholicism was like a subject in school. I didn't get into it. Yeah, it was just procedure. And when I watched her and observed her, she was serious about her faith. Normal, you know, 19, 20-year-old, but different. And she was serious.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
So I respected that, and I respected her mom, who was very outspoken. But I wasn't buying into it. Did mom have concerns about this? to the point where she said, I'm praying for you every single day. She actually put my name in her prayer book, and she prayed for me every single day. But still, I said, I got to protect this girl. But it really didn't happen to me until I went into prison.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And I took a 10-year prison sentence, and I had a big rest, $15 million restitution. I had a plane and a helicopter. I gave it all up to the government at that point to settle a case with them. And this was this whole gasoline tax case. It was a RICO case. And I did five years. Now, let me tell you this to give her a little bit more credit. We got married. She was 21. We got married in July of 85.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I went off to prison in December.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
No.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
It was under investigation.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yes. And then they indicted me in December and never gave me bail. So for the time of my indictment, I stayed in prison. And she, you know, so I go off to prison in December and I did five years on the 10. I made parole after five years. I was home 13 months. Very difficult time. It became public that I walked away, and I had a lot of people upset with me back in New York.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah. Life Magazine wrote a news story and Vanity Fair.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I had a contract on my life, and the feds had come into prison and says, your boss at that time put a contract to you. It's all over the street. Our informants are telling us, and your father went along with it. Now, I want to be clear on that, too, because... Would my dad have ever pulled the trigger on me? No, I don't believe so.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
But he had to go along because people thought I was going to become this major witness and start testifying against people. That was never my game plan. But everybody thought that because people just don't walk away. So I had a lot of trouble. I'm home for 13 months. It was a very hectic time in our life. And then I violate my parole. Yeah.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
You know, I hate to do this because then it's like, but I really didn't do anything. But the feds were really upset with me and they violated my parole for not paying my taxes and stuff like that. And so they throw me back in and they said they were going to indict me for all sorts of cases. I'd never come out of prison alive and all of that. But they couldn't indict me on anything.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
There was nothing out there. But they gave me four years on the violation, which was the maximum. And I spent 35 more months, which was maxing out. But it put me in a hole for 29 months and seven days. So I was in solitary all that time.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
No, I think it was just, well, the Bureau of Prisons used that as an excuse. You're in there for your own protection. Because I didn't do anything wrong.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
You know what? I would write the warden a letter every day. I had a yellow pad and a paper. Warden, let me out. I'm in Lompoc, California. There's no guys out here. I don't have to worry about anything. What were you doing out here? Well, because I had moved out here, so they sent me to prison.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah, so they put me out here. You know, at least they did that so I can get some visits. But they kept me in there all that time. And it was during that time that I became a person of faith. I mean, I really studied the Bible. I studied all the other faiths. I had my wife send me in books on every faith. And I just came out of there, you know, Christianity really worked for me.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
So that's when it... Was there a moment of clarity? There was a moment of... It was the first night that they locked me up because they told me at that time I'd never come out of prison. They were going to indict me on a murder case, they said. And I'm going to be honest with you, Dr. Drew, that was a night of real fear.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I said it was the first night in my life that I really felt out of control of everything. I was always a control guy. I can handle anything. Don't worry about it. I'll deal with it. But that night I had no answers. And so I said, man, I'm going to lose this girl. You know, I did all of this for her. She's 27 years old. Why would she wait for me? And I said, they can't put me on a yard.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I got everybody upset with me. I'm done, you know. And, you know, the thing for me that night, I had visited my dad over 20 years. I saw my family fall apart. I really felt that night. I just really wanted to close my eyes and just not wake up. I don't know if people can understand how painful it could be just to think about your situation.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
It was probably the most pain I ever experienced in my life, just thinking about it. I said, I'm done. Why do you want to live? And I say this, I used to demean people that were suicidal. I said, you're weak. You can't face up to your troubles. After that experience, I don't do it anymore because I can understand.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
On YouTube, too, by the way.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
There you go.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
You know what? I think you're right. It should have been bureaucracy.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I screwed up. Yeah, I'll take a little bit.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Non-alcoholic. We like it a little bit chilled. I can see what you're doing. Yeah.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, I'm going to send a bunch of bottles over to you, for sure.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And if you chill it a little bit, you'll enjoy it even more.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And my dad was a very powerful figure in the Colombo family. He was the underboss, which is the second in command.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah, you know, and I'll say this too. A lot of people, I'm against the death penalty. And the only reason I'm against it is because I think the government obviously is not always right. And you can't execute an innocent person. And we know that, you know, through DNA, a lot of people were freed. They were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
But people don't understand how bad it could be living in solitary confinement for the rest of your life. It's horrible. And so I'm laying there and I said, you know, this isn't a life. I'd rather just close my eyes and not wake up.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
No, it was that night because I don't want to say it's an epiphany, but something happened that night.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah, a moment of clarity.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
No, well, something did step in. It was a prison guard that walked by my cell, and he opened up the flap on the door checking in on me, and I was laying down. And normally in prison, I was doing my thing. And he looked at me, and he said, Francis, are you okay? You don't look that good. And I said, get away from me. I really chased him. I said, I don't want to see any of you guys tonight.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Leave me alone. And he left, and he came back within two minutes, and he pushed a Bible through the slot on the door. And it fell on the floor. And I was kind of groggy, and I heard like a thump. And I looked down, and I saw it was a Bible. And I actually got mad.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah, I said, I don't want a Bible. And I'm laying down there, and I don't know, just everything. You know, you feel sorry for yourself. A lot of emotions you go through in a short time. And I just, I'll never forget, I jumped off the cot and I picked up the Bible and I just slammed it against the wall. And I was just really upset. And about a minute later, you know, it came into my head.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I said, man, you know, I believe in God. I'm not really spiritual, but I believe in God and I get everybody mad at me. I don't need God mad at me. It's just me and him in the cell. So I picked up the book, Dr. Drew, and I just looked up at that cement ceiling and I said, you know what? I need help. If you're really there, give me something to help me out. I'm really in bad shape tonight.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I mean, there were five families throughout New York and we were based mostly in Brooklyn and then Long Island. And my dad was very, very high profile. He was throughout my childhood, always under investigation, major target of law enforcement. I always say he was kind of like the John Gotti of his day. And in and out of prison, constantly getting indicted.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And I, you know, I never read the Bible. You know, in Catholic school, you don't read the Bible. You read the catechism. This reads the gospel from the pulpit. And so I didn't even know where to begin. And it just fell open to the book of Proverbs. And I started reading Proverbs, which was enlightening to me because I'm a very analytical guy.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I'm a guy that my whole life I had to deal with evidence from helping my father or helping myself. Evidence was everything in my life. Show me the facts. And I started reading Proverbs and I said, wow, this is a brilliant book. This guy is really smart, Solomon. And without getting into all of it, I just came to two verses. One verse that really, I think this was the epiphany.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
It was Proverbs 16, 7 that just stopped me cold. And it says, when a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, even his enemies are at peace with him. And because I had nothing but enemies that night, it kind of, wow, what does he mean by that? And then it's, you know, I had that look in the mirror moment where, were you kidding?
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah, you walked away from the life and you married this girl, but you're still a gangster. You still got the mind. You still got it. You're still the same guy. So don't be mad at anybody but yourself. And I kind of just faced my own demon at that moment. And I start to read on from there. And another couple of verses really hit me. And I said, okay, here's what I said that night.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I said, you know, I trusted my father more than anything in my life. I love my dad. My dad, I would have given my life for my dad at one point. And I believe he would have done the same for me. And I said, I trusted him. I got into this life and look where it got me. I said, then I took a blood oath. And when I came into the life, I gave it, I really felt for the life. I wanted to be that guy.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And I wanted to be the best possible mom guy I could be. I said, so I made the wrong decision twice. I can't do it again. If there really is an eternity and I'm facing it, I want to know what's real or what's not real. And that's when I said, I kind of challenged God that night. And I said, just show me.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And for the next 29 months and seven days, nonstop, I mean, if you see my prison Bible, there's more of my notes than there is scripture in there. I mean, I put notes on everything. And then I had my wife send me in books on every faith, and I just started studying. And I had a Sony Walkman. I would listen to Pastor Greg Laurie. I don't know if you ever heard of Greg. No.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
He's a huge pastor out here. He's got Harvest Crusades. He runs every year. He's actually been at the White House several times. And I started to listen to him, and he was helping me interpret Scripture when I had an issue with it. He didn't know it, but he was doing it. It just happened to work out. And I just came out of there.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I don't want to say a different person, but I came out feeling different. You know, I really believed in God at that point. And I believed in Christ. And it's carried me through the last 30 years. Interesting.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
He went on trial three times while I was younger, twice for grand larceny, once for murder. Very serious cases. And fortunately, he was acquitted each time on that. This was happening throughout my childhood. And then in 1966, my dad was indicted in federal court for masterminding a nationwide string of bank robberies. Convicted and sentenced to 50 years in prison.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
No, I can't say that about myself. I'm actually, I normally do it the other way. Well, it depends who I'm dealing with. A lot of times you start out at a thousand percent with me. As a matter of fact, I think I'm less, I'm less eerie about people than my wife is. My wife is more, her radar is up and she usually has a better perspective than me, believe it or not.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
But when I was on the street, it was different because there you have to watch everybody.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
It's a tough life to navigate, especially if you were somebody in my position where you had law enforcement and the street to worry about. So I was always pretty keen back then. But it's changed now. But, you know, I have to ask you something. Yeah. Because I had this conversation with Jordan Peterson and we were talking about lying. Yeah.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And I said, my father always said something to me, and it really hit home. And that's what I've practiced throughout my life. My dad says, I'll never lie to hurt anybody. Understand that, son. But I'll lie to help somebody. When I said that to Jordan, he said, well, you're a liar then, if you believe that. And I said, well, why?
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I said, if I want to help somebody, I don't want to put them in trouble. why would you consider that wrong? I just want to know what your feeling is on that.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, yeah. I mean, business-wise, absolutely. And if I don't know somebody, I'm careful that way. But I like to give somebody a shot first and see. Like I tell my son-in-law's future, you start out at 1,000%. You can only go down from there. Or you can stay the same. That's it. Maybe get better.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
It was a great conversation. I'm sure of it. It was very deep. Jordan went very deep into the psychology. He was very interested in my time in solitary.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
We didn't go into that too much. He was more interested. He was really analyzing me. It was kind of an analysis, but it was a good conversation. It was very deep, probably the deepest I've had up to that point.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
No, I don't think so. But I think the lying thing got to him a little bit. And I said, you haven't changed my mind.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, I would lie to help somebody again, yeah.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
He goes off to prison in 1970 to start that sentence. I was a pre-med student, Hofstra University. My dad wanted me to be a doctor, and that's where I was headed. And at the same time, Joe Colombo, who was the boss of the family, I knew him well. He kind of took me under his wing. I started meeting a lot of my dad's friends. They said, Mike, why are you going to school?
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah, and he said, because if you're lying to help somebody, in essence, you're hurting them. Because maybe they should have.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah, they should have paid the price or they should have been exposed. And I said, Jordan, I can't go for that.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And I totally agree with that, having dealt with drug addicts for a good part of my life. I will say this. People say, are you really a different person? And, you know, I don't live in a pattern of bad things anymore. Because you can't be a Christian and live in a pattern of sin, so to speak. You can't do that. But, you know, you get the same thoughts. You know, you don't act on them anymore.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
You know, and that's what's happening. Because, you know, the Bible says you're a new creation. And I guess you are because you're not doing the things that you might have done before. But it's not that you don't have those thoughts, if you understand what I'm saying. Kind of, yeah.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Right.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, I still have the thoughts of... I'll say this, and I get in trouble. I say this in church. We're not in trouble, but I always look at the pastor and say, excuse me for this. But I said, I would have no problem, and maybe you can justify this or not. I would have no problem taking tax money from the government like I did before one time, especially now, knowing what they do.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And I can do a lot better with the money than they'll do. So I don't have a moral issue with that. But I wouldn't do it because I'm not going to jeopardize myself, my family by going back to prison, getting in trouble. But morally, I don't have an issue with it. I don't know if that's right or wrong, but that's just how I feel.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
If you don't help your father out, he's going to die in prison.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Let me tell you what happens. A Christian will come back to me and say, well, remember what Jesus said, you know, render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. And I said, okay, but let's understand the context in which he said that. He's got all those people around him. He's got the Pharisees trying to challenge him, trap him.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
So what is he going to say naturally? He's not going to get his people in trouble. I said, yeah, the Romans are bad people. They're overtaxing you and you shouldn't have to pay that. And they're really they're really abusing you. He's not going to say that because then he's telling people to, you know, to break the law. So he's not going to do that. So he couldn't be outsmarted.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
You know, initially he wanted me to stay in school. He didn't want that life for me. But, you know, and I will say this, you know, later on we'll get into it. I went to prison for a crime that I was guilty of. And my dad had obviously, you know, he spent a lot of time in that life. He did bad things. But that particular crime that he was convicted of, my dad was innocent of.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Didn't mean that he believed that what the Romans were doing was right. I'm sure he didn't like it.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
So what I'm saying is, so I'm taking it a little bit differently. I don't have to worry about people around me. This is just me.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
That's all I'm saying. Make sure you keep using it for good. But I want to make it clear, I'm not going to do it.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I will tell you this, you know, I am really dead set against solitary confinement for young people. Because I saw a lot of guys that not do well in that situation. And I don't blame them. I don't demean them at all.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, the lights go out and, you know, you hear all sorts of crazy people cutting their wrists and things like that. Anything to get out of the hole. Yeah. You know, they don't realize that that just gets them to the hospital and then back in the hole.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I don't believe he committed suicide. I can't fathom. I was on that same exact tier. And first of all, there's nothing to hang yourself on.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
There's a bunk, and maybe the bunk is this high. You'd have to be a midget to try to hang yourself. It would be difficult, number one. Number two, I don't remember a time when the cameras weren't on or people weren't walking the tier, the COs. So it would be so hard for him to do that. It would be very difficult.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
No, I don't think so. I think, look, I think he had enough on people there that he thought he can get himself out of it. And I think if it ever comes out, I don't know if it ever will. But if we ever get the real black book and the real evidence, because they have the evidence, whether they destroyed it or not, we don't know. I heard they did now.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I think there's just a lot of powerful people that have been doing a lot of bad things. I mean, I'm hearing, you know, I've heard things about the Clintons from people allegedly in the know. I don't want to repeat it because I don't know for a fact, but they were very definite about Hillary and Bill Clinton. And some other people. But again, I don't repeat it because I don't know for sure.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
But I think he was brash enough to believe that nobody's going to hurt me. At the end of the day, I'm going to barter myself out of this thing. And I believe they killed him. I really do. Look, if I had to make a choice, you have one answer or another. Wrong answer, you're going to die. I would say somebody killed him.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And believe me, Dr. Drew, I'll take that to my grave. I investigated the case thoroughly. Every witness recanted their testimony. So I believed he was framed. And I wanted to help him out. And I knew I couldn't do that in school. So I met him in Leavenworth Penitentiary. I was in the visiting room with him and said, Dad, I'm not going to school. If I don't help you out, you're going to die in here.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Dr. Drew, I would say another situation. I heard my entire life. from the people in the know, who normally don't take credit or talk about things like this, it's just the opposite, 100% that this was a mob-helped killing. What do I mean by that? They didn't set it up. I don't believe they set it up. Hated the Kennedys enough, and they had reason to hate the Kennedys.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Robert Kennedy went after the mob after a deal was made for them to back off. We delivered Illinois for them. That's a fact. Jack Ruby, 100% was a mob associate. All the way going back from Chicago to Dallas to New Orleans. He was 100% hooked up. His strip clubs were owned basically and operated by people in New Orleans with him. He was the operator.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And he was the guy that was designated to kill Oswald to clean it up. Was that ahead of time, do you think, or once it had happened?
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I believe it was ahead of time. Look, it was the third or fourth or fifth time that they came to us for something. They did it in World War II. They did it in, you know, what was I going to say, when they wanted to execute Castro. They were trying to kill Castro. They came to us to do it. They were supposed to poison him. It didn't work, but they came. These are facts.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
So I'll tell you what the real measure of this is. If we ever do get these documents, the classified documents, They have tried to say that Jack Ruby was not a mob associate. They tried to take that away. If those documents say that, you can throw everything out. Because you 100%, and they knew he was. So I want to see what they say in those documents about Ruby.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Because if they try to wash that over, then forget it.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
It's all garbage, as far as I'm concerned. And again, I would stake my life on it.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well... We were in control of the casinos for quite some time. And then that fell apart when really corporate America came in and started to buy everything up and we sold. So we had a lot of control. I mean, we built Vegas. There's no question about that.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah. Yeah.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah. Some of the people that deliver some of the tablecloths and all that stuff, they were still mob affiliated. That's so funny.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And we had a discussion and that's when he kind of said, okay, but if you're going to be on the street, I want you to do it the right way. And he proposed me at that time for membership into the family.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
No, I didn't really know him. There was a lot packed into that question.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, he... I'm good with somebody I don't know.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I would just open up these investigations.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, first, you have to see where it leads. If it leads, the investigation.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, because they didn't want to pursue it. That's the only reason. I mean, look, his own special counsel said, you know, he had classified documents he wasn't supposed to have as vice president and even as a senator. I know. But he was old and demented and he would never get convicted. So they let it go. But he was guilty of that. As a matter of fact, he was more guilty than Trump was. Yeah.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah, you know, you go through a period when you have to prove yourself. And for me, I was a recruit for about two and a half years. And I was 21 when he first promoted me. And then in 1975, I actually took an oath with five other gentlemen. And that's when I became a term as a made man.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
You know, on everything.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
But they just didn't pursue it. So... If Kash Patel and Bondi are on the level, I think they should investigate January 6th. That whole thing. I mean, I spoke to two of them that were pardoned. And these people did nothing. They absolutely did nothing, went to jail for no reason. And I think that's a story about a lot of people there.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
They should investigate the whole committee, how it came about. The fact that I think Kash Patel said it. I don't know if you read this, but a few days prior to Trump going to that rally, whatever you want to call it, his speech, he went to the FBI and he said, we need the National Guard there. Kash Patel went to Pelosi and went to the mayor and they refused him. refused it. Why?
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I believe that was the first setup to try to really get rid of Trump. The whole committee that they put was all whitewashed. There was no real Republicans on there. It was so much damage. If you listen to these people that were pardoned, they didn't do anything.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, listen, I don't put that past the government, honestly.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I think it's all these kickbacks and all the manipulation and all the maneuvering. I think he may know more about the Epstein. I think they know more about the Epstein case that they're letting. Even Trump, I think. I don't know how much he wants to say about it. Because there's a lot of people involved. And people are trying to say that Trump was involved. Trump was involved.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
He knew the guy 30, 40 years ago, but they have no other evidence on him at all. He wouldn't be asking to release the documents if he had a problem. He's not that stupid. I think that here's my position on this. You know, this government is so out of control. They have to be held accountable, Dr. Drew.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
You cannot let this kind of behavior continue because I totally believe had Kamala Harris been, this country would have been destroyed. We would have not been able to go through another four years of what they did to us for those four years prior. I mean, Joe Biden's got absolute blood on his hands.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
What this guy did, I don't think people can understand it because they're not paying that close attention.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Oh, it's true. I was so in tune with this. And look, I have no horse in this race. I have no axe to grind other than I got seven kids and seven grandkids more on the way that I want to make sure this country works for them.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yes. Even harder. I mean, this is a bad guy. He was a bad guy. People wanted to give him a pass because, no, you don't give him a pass. He's been in government for 50 years. Yeah. I have no empathy for him whatsoever. He could have been a man, manned up and said, no, I was voted in by the people to do the right thing for the people. He did just the opposite. Bad guy.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah, I had some success in that life. You know, I knew how to use the life to benefit me in business and went on to make a considerable amount of money at that time, both legally and illegally. I had, you know, a lot of things going. And in 1980, they made me a captain. Capital regime is the term.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Let's say this. The country, we're at $36 trillion in debt. Nobody at this table caused that. No taxpayer caused that. We're giving them the money. How do you explain getting $36 trillion in debt? Well, they don't explain it, but they did it. They mismanaged the money.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And to believe that it went to some wonderful cause and that people didn't earn, you know, even Mitch McConnell, he's a Republican, you know, go right down the middle. The guy makes 200,000 a year. He's worth $90 million. How do you explain that? It's not going to be good.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And, you know, I want to say that... I believe, I'm very upset that the Democratic Party right now doesn't stand for anything. All they stand for is anti-Trump. Because I believe we need at least a two-party system. I totally agree with you.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Exactly. Stand for something. If you have an opposing idea, that's good. But stand for something because we need that check and balance with the two-party system. You don't want a single party. But they don't stand for anything. And you watched them the other night. Everything was opposition to Trump.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And from 80 until about 95, when I consider myself formally removed from that life, I operated as a captain.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, you know what? It's almost laughable if it wasn't so serious to sit back until I'm saying, how are these people even thinking? There's no common sense involved in their antics and their actions. It's only anti-Trump. And look, Trump is no angel. Nobody's saying he's an angel. No. But at least what he's trying to do now, I believe he's draining the swamp. He said he was going to do it.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
They're accusing him of things that make no sense, that there's no truth to it. And I always tell people, tell me what he did wrong. Just tell me, and if it's right, I'll agree with you.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And they can't come up with anything.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I think, look, I think people are seeing through this now. I was very encouraged to see, you know, November 5th, how many people voted Republican. They didn't necessarily like Trump. I think many of them, but they just said, hey, we had enough of the other stuff. You have to do something. Yeah, I think that's right.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, throughout my time, I had a bullseye on my back from day one because of my dad. So I was arrested 18 times. Did you ever get him out? He got out. He did 40 years on the 50. But I got him out on parole after 10 years, but he kept going back. He went back five times, each time parole violation.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
If you need, I have the attorney for a number of them. You can get them.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Five out here.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And most every time for associating with another felon, somebody alleged to be an organized crime, you can't do that when you're on parole. And he just couldn't stay out. Wow. So he did 40 years on that. He was actually released at the age of 100. Oh, my goodness. Dr. Drew, he was the oldest inmate in the federal system at the time of his release in 2017.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
You're saving me a lot of money.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And he passed away during COVID at the age of 103. Okay. So he lived probably longer than anybody else in that life. It's not a life conducive to a long lifestyle. So he went pretty far. Yeah. And, you know, so, you know, I had moved up in the ranks. But like I said, I had a big bullseye on my back. I was indicted seven times. I had two federal racketeering cases, one brought on by Rudy Giuliani.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah, you know, I sat down with Rudy, and after 30 years, you know, it was funny because on my arraignment in the courtroom, he said to me, if I convict you on this case, Francis, you're going to get double what your father got. I'm giving you 100 years. And that's the kind of time they were giving us guys back then. And I said, all right, Rudy, bring it on.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
You know, he was really the one that used the RICO statute effectively, and that's what really dismantled that lie.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And after a several-month trial, I was acquitted in that case. Some of my co-defendants got convicted. They got 30 years, so I would have gotten at least 50. But, yeah, I sat with him not too long ago, and he said, you know, I've been watching you for 30 years, and I think this whole transformation is legitimate. I would consider him a friend now.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Isn't that something?
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, I can tell you this, Dr. Drew, and I don't know how political you want to get, but I have watched very closely—I'm very into the politics lately— For the past several years, and I've watched the whole GOP matter against Biden and Hunter Biden and his family. And I can tell you this without going into detail, but I can if you like.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
There was more evidence to have him indicted on a RICO statute than there was- Hunter. Hunter and Joe Biden. Between the laptop, the eyewitnesses, the people that he sat down with, the text messages, the emails. Mm-hmm. It was more evidence for an indictment. You're always proven innocent until proven guilty. Then there wasn't any one of my three cases.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
So I think it would be a very effective tool if they use the problem.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, I would start looking at Nancy Pelosi and all of these people that have used their office so effectively to enrich themselves.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, the RICO statute is pretty widespread. So, listen, when they came after us... You know, I don't know if you know this, but as a predicate act for a RICO, you can have gone to trial, been acquitted in the case, and you can still use that charge as a predicate act for the RICO. I see. It's almost like there's double jeopardy allowed in RICO.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
So, listen, without knowing all the details, I'm sure they can find something. Believe me, they found it against us very easily. Yeah. You know, look, with the insider trading thing, I mean, they exempt themselves from insider trading, I think. So I don't know how effective that would be. But there's so much shenanigans going on. I would have to believe that they can find it.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
In the Hunter Biden, Joe Biden case, it's so there.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, I had 18 shell companies. I was in a scheme that I ran for almost eight years where we were defrauding the government out of tax on every gallon of gasoline. In order to do that and to get the money into our accounts, I had 18 Panamanian companies that were all shell companies. No brick and mortar, no employees, no product.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
We just opened the bank account and we were collecting tax money through those accounts. We had suspicious bank accounts the same way that, you know, was alleged in the Biden case.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
They were family, yeah.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Absolutely.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Absolutely. I mean, it can't explain where this money came from. There was no service that was performed. No. It was just money coming into the accounts, exactly what we did, you know, the same way. And that's why I said it's a RICO indictment. Whether he's found guilty or not, that's another thing. You know, innocent until proven guilty. But there's definitely enough there for an indictment.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And he had more because he had text messages. He had emails. He had whistleblowers. He had phone calls. There was so much evidence to indict him under the RICO statute.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, all you need the shell company for is to open up a bank account. It does nothing else.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Yeah, we incorporated in Panama because it was hard to trace. And at that time, to own a Panamanian company that had bearish stock, you didn't even have to have a name on it. Whoever held the stock owned the company.
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Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
100%. You think they're going to be quarterly minutes? Not only that, explain the suspicious bank records. Where did this money come from? What were you paid for? What was the service? What was the product? There is none. There's not. Not for 20 some odd million dollars.
Ask Dr. Drew
Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I don't think so. I think they just, they're not going after him. I mean, from what the GOP found in their committee, there's enough there for an indictment. There's no question. And I asked Rudy Giuliani, and he said 100%, Michael. He said, I have more evidence in this case than I had against yours. And he called it the Biden crime family.
Ask Dr. Drew
Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
I don't know if he talks in his podcast, but he just wrote a book, Biden crime family. So he's going to put it all in there. It's all in there.
Ask Dr. Drew
Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
Well, you know, we have to go with current information that's coming out now through Doge and, you know, all of this U.S. aid and the money that's being spent.
Ask Dr. Drew
Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And you'd have to almost believe in Santa Claus to not believe that there's kickbacks coming back on this.
Ask Dr. Drew
Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
You know, I read, I don't know how true it is, but it was pretty well documented that Chelsea Clinton received $80 million to do something in Haiti for Haiti aid. And $3 million out of that went to pay for her wedding and $9 million to buy a mansion.
Ask Dr. Drew
Ex-Mafia Capo Michael Franzese: The REAL Gangsters Are Running Our Government – Ask Dr. Drew – Ep 464
And nobody talked about the rest of it. $3 million.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Oh, he's definitely doing what he said he was going to do. Everything that he campaigned on. I mean, I didn't hear a lot about Greenland before he won, but okay. Yeah, I don't know where that came from either, but that's Trump. That's Trump. You know, I mean, it's no longer the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America. I mean, we didn't hear any of that.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I don't think that mattered to the American people, but The fact that the important things, the important things, the border, you know, the economy, let's see what he does. I mean, he's in office two weeks. I always found it amusing the connection between the mafia and their view of America, which is very patriotic. I mean, the very first scene in The Godfather. Yes. I'm sure you know it well.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Inside Out. Inside Out. And what is his first line is, I think, I love America. Yeah. The undertaker who's coming to Don Corleone for justice. I love America. I came here. And then he goes through the whole story about my daughter. She went out with a boyfriend who brought another boyfriend. And They treated her like an animal. I sat in that courtroom and they laughed.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
How many times have you seen it? Oh, I could do it. It's on every week now. You can't miss it. Oh, I mean, it's that kind of movie where you're like... If you see two seconds of it, you go, no, no, no, I've seen this too many times. And then you're home. And then you watch the whole thing. It's amazing. But they love, but he loves America. And Don Corleone understands.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
He's a little insulted because the man is asking him to commit murder because they raped his daughter. On the day of his daughter's wedding. When you can't refuse any favor that they're asking you.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
That's it. You didn't need a friend like me. There we are again with the protection racket. But that's it. He's competing with America. America has done for this guy what he used to do when they were first immigrants in the country. America, there are courts of law and police to protect you. You didn't need me anymore. Right. That's so interesting to me. Yeah, that's true.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But also that, you know, they really do love America. I mean, Michael Corleone, when he has to go testify, you know, he's a war hero. Let me tell you this. I was indicted seven times. I had two federal racketeering cases and a state racketeering case, and I love America. And at one time, I hated the FBI and I hated the government.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Absolutely. Godfather, finally. I swear to God, I didn't know it was a hit. This is years in the making. Why? Because I've always wanted to meet you. Oh, really? I'll tell you what happened. I've always wanted to avoid you. Good idea. No, I'm only kidding. About 25 years ago, you were in a movie theater. We were in a movie theater together in Westwood. Okay.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I grew up hating them because I love my dad, and they were constantly harassing him, in my view. Now I understand a little bit more. But didn't he kill people? Well, that's what they say. But wasn't he head of the Colombo crime family? He was the underboss. You were the head of the family. No, I was a couple regime, a captain. Right, a captain. I mean, it was an official position.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Do you ever beat yourself up for not getting the top job? I didn't want it, Bill. You didn't want it? You didn't want to be there? Too high profile? I had too much of a bullseye on my back. And, you know, you got to understand, I had investigations from the time I was 20 years old. I had a 14-agency task force on me for years. And kept getting these indictments. I went to trial five times.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I beat every case. But aren't these investigations of you for good reason? Because you were breaking the law? Here's the thing. Here's what they're talking about. And this is what Bondi recently said. You know, we're no longer going to use the Department of Justice to target an individual and find out what crime he's committing. That's what they said.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
That's what's been going on in lawfare for the past couple of years. But I can almost understand it. You know, mafia organized crime because we were allegedly criminals at that time. So, hey, let me see what this guy is doing. We know he's doing something. We don't know quite what, but we'll figure it out. We'll investigate him because it's backwards.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
In our life, you didn't have a crime and then they go investigate it. They were investigating you to see what crime you might commit. But the mafia was committing crimes. You deny that? No, I'm not saying that. Extortion, loan sharking. I'm saying you could almost say that's okay. All right, we know these guys are criminals. We don't know exactly what they're doing. We hear it.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
We have to find out. This is a criminal organization, so we'll target individuals and go after them. That's kind of okay. It was a fishing expedition where there were a lot of fish. That's a good way to put it. Okay. But do you do that to legitimate people that are not involved with organized crime? But you were involved. I know, no, no. But I'm saying, I'm okaying that. Oh, I see. Yeah.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But do you do that to legitimate people that are not involved in organized crime because you don't like them, because they disagree with you, they don't have the same agenda? No, that is wrong. And there is some of that that does go on. Absolutely. Would you agree that a lot of it went on with Trump? Yeah. With Trump. Oh, you're obsessed with Trump.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I'm not obsessed with him, but I just want to have this discussion. Oh, you're talking about lawfare. Well, I mean, it's a tough question that he put the country in because as president, you don't want to go where so many other countries have gone, where the guy loses an election and now they prosecute him. Because they prosecuted him while he was president also with two impeachments.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Yes, because he does commit crimes. See, this is the little fly in your ointment, like not conceding the election, trying to get fake electors to show up.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
when he knew, and every court told him, you can't do that, that went to court over 60 times, laughed out of every court, pressuring the Justice Department, calling up the guy in Georgia who was a Republican, the vote counter there, and saying to him, I need you to find 11,000 votes. It can't be more blatant than that, that these are crimes. I would also say,
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
The Russia thing, even what he just said out loud, Russia, if you're listening, I wish you could help me with my campaign. We never did that before, Michael. You see, we ran our own campaigns. We didn't bring in ringers from the outside. It's part of the original documents that the founding fathers wrote. We don't want any help from outside because we're going to handle this ourselves.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Maybe the Republicans and the Democrats fight each other to the tooth and nail, but don't bring in somebody from the outside. He broke that. He broke so many laws, not to mention norms. So the idea that, well, it's just lawfare going after him, it's not lawfare if the guy actually did commit crimes.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And again, you have to weigh that against what's the better tact, because you don't want to become that country where as soon as somebody leaves office— They prosecute them. What the president gets to do should have broad, broad protection. That's true. Because when you're president, you do have to make difficult decisions like we may have to bomb you.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And I was going to come up to you then, and something happened, I don't know, that I didn't, and then you were gone. I just wanted to say hello. Oh. Well, yeah, I never hang around the movie theater when the movie's over. I'm always gone. You were gone quick. Well, what were you going to say 25 years ago? Hello, how are you?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And so you can't, you know what, okay, you can't just be called a war criminal for everybody you bomb. Sorry, that's just the way of the world. But he took it to a different level. So, yes, I don't think it's, I don't think it was all just lawfare. Bill, these crimes that they alleged, these are all nonsense.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I just listed why they weren't. You don't care. You just like him. I like who you like. You don't listen to the logic about it or the facts. You just like him. It's okay. You're entitled. Just don't bullshit me, man. Let me give you logic and facts, okay? I told you I had three racketeering indictments. Three, okay? I know the statute inside out and upside down. We're back to you now. No, no, no.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I'm coming to a point. I will tell you this. The information and the evidence That was uncovered by the GOP investigation on Joe Biden and Hunter Biden and his family. There was more evidence than there was in any one of my racketeering indictments. Joe Biden is treasonous.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I'm agreeing with you. Okay, he's treasonous. He's not treasonous. Yes, he is. He sold out his vice presidency. That's treason for money. Oh, for fuck's sake. You just don't like him, so that's treason. But your guy— Bill, no, no, no, no. Let me tell you. You know why I don't like him? Oh, for fuck's sake. I don't like him because he's a liar. Let me finish my point. I didn't say anything.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
He's a liar. He was never competent to be president. He lied about everything. I'm not a huge fan. He lied about the laptop. He lied about everything. He had 51, him and his cohorts there, got 51 intelligence agents to lie about the laptop after they knew that the FBI had authenticated it. Absolute liar. Okay. Okay. As far as that, let me tell you this. Not a huge fan.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
He had 18, 18 shell companies that did nothing. There was no brick and mortar behind him. There was no employees. All they did was collect money. How do I know about that? I had 21 shell companies when I was collecting, defrauding the government out of tax on every gallon of gas. I know the whole system. He sold out his vice presidency. He sold it out. He's treasonous. And he lies. The guy lies.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
He don't even know how to tell the truth. And he destroyed the country. Treasonous. If we were at war and he was selling secrets to them, we weren't. How do we know what he did for the money? Bill, how do we know what he did for the money?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
He got his ne'er-do-well crackhead son a job in an energy company when he knew nothing about energy. Is that okay? It's not okay, but you have no perspective on what is the bigger crime. You just like the guy you like. No, I don't. So everything he does, you see through rose-colored glasses. No, you're wrong. And this other guy. No, you're wrong. It's okay. It's what most of the country is like.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I would tell you. Just don't ask me to respect it as critical thinking. I like Donald Trump for the policies that he put into this country. And I think during his time as a president, I didn't know him before that. I met him one time. 30 years ago with Roy Cohn for five. He probably wouldn't have even remembered me. We had a little meeting. I had to meet with Roy Cohn. He happened to be there.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Oh, good. I'm glad. Yeah, it was going to be nice and cordial. Well, thank you for making the time, and congratulations on being such a success in this field. Appreciate that. It's interesting podcasting, isn't it, that like the biggest subject, maybe the two biggest, are what we're into, comedy and crime. Absolutely. Some people would say they're often the same. I'm not one of those people.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
That was it. I don't know him. I have nothing to do with him. Let me tell you something. I don't I'm not in awe of anybody. I just like the job he did as president. I don't care about anything else. And listen, I have a podcast and I tell my people straight out. If I see Donald Trump doing something wrong, I'm going to hold him to it. I doubt it. I sincerely doubt it. I give you my word on that.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I will hold him to it. But I already told you like 10 things he did and you don't see any problem with there. So I don't know. Like what could he do? Give me an example of something he could do that would piss you off if he did it.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
If he did anything near what Biden did, making campaign promises, lying through his teeth about a laptop and about money that he collected and about what he did with his son, and then preemptive pardons for his family, unheard of for anything known or unknown. This guy just pardoned all the people who beat up cops and forced their way into the Capitol.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Bill, I'm going to tell you what I think about that. I'm going to tell you.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
No, no, I do like cops. A lot of good friends of his cops. Oh, yeah. My mentality has totally changed. But let me tell you this. I just interviewed two people that were pardoned. They got pardoned Monday night. I had them on my show on Wednesday. Did you know... I know this is going to be a tough point with you. I don't trust these people.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
You lied to me once, twice, three, you continue to lie to me. It's on tape. No, what's on tape? Them doing these crimes. It's on tape. We can watch it. Let me tell you something. One of these people who happened to be an ex-Marine, never in trouble in his life, veteran, never in trouble. You know what his job was when he got out? He had a foundation going after people that were human trafficking.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
He was rescuing people. I don't know everyone. No, no, no, but I want to tell you my experience. But there are people on tape. We see them doing it. Well, maybe it was the 25 informants that the FBI planted that day. Oh, God, you listened to way too much. It's the truth, Bill. There were 25 informants. They admitted to it. They weren't, well, informants. What were they doing there?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
If you mean that the FBI was aware that there was a riot brewing and put some people on the ground, but they weren't fomenting the riot. How do you know that? Why would 25 informants be there? Not one of them got arrested. So all these people who came to Washington, some from all over the country, they came there just looking for a picnic grounds or something. And then the FBI on the spot.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
What about the ones who came with zip ties? They came for a protest. They didn't come for a riot. With zip ties? I don't know about those people. Exactly. You don't know about these things that you don't want to know about. You see, I listen to both sides.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Bill, I've listened to this for four years and finally had an opportunity. You've listened to your channel for four years. No, I have not.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But yeah, and who knows more about crime than you? I guess that depending upon what side of the fence you are, you could say that's either good or a bad thing. I've certainly had a lot of experience with it. I think it's a bad thing. I'm with the law generally. Although, of course, as we all know, very often the people on the side of the law are the biggest criminals.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Well, then you then you there are people that caught with zip ties and stuff to to basically kidnap people. I'm going to tell you, I'm going to tell you my theory on what happened based upon what I know. Okay, speaking to people that were pardoned, speaking to the lawyer that represented a lot of these people that were pardoned that worked on it. Number one, did you know this?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Nancy Pelosi's son-in-law was in the crowd telling people to go into the Capitol where her daughter was taking pictures of people coming into the Capitol. Her daughter's a producer. Oh, I know her daughter well. She's a director. Okay, a director. But she was there with a camera inside the Capitol. Why? What was she doing there? Well, it was the day we were transferring power.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But why was she there? Because she's a filmographer. That's what she does for a living. Okay, so she just happened to... Her husband was outside telling people to come in, and she happened to be there with a camera. So that's your theory?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
No, no, no, no, no. I'm not saying that. Let me ask you this. Kash Patel just testified in front of the confirmation hearings. Yeah, he said even he, even this fucking right-wing QAnon nut, even he says he's against Trump pardoning the J6 rioters. He said that. He did say that. Did you know that? Because some of them beat up the cops. I understand that. Right.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Okay, but did you hear what else he said? That days before this protest, Trump went to the—he was in the Department of Defense at that point. And he went to Kash Patel and he said, we're going to need the National Guard there that day. We want to make sure the area is secure. They prepared and got the National Guard ready to be there.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Kash Patel himself called Nancy Pelosi, called Chuck Schumer, and called the mayor of Washington, D.C., and they all refused the National Guard. Why? Now, that could be true. If the president wants them there because he knew maybe this will get a little out of hand, why did they refuse it? I'm going to tell you what my theory is, and you can say you're crazy.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I'd have to look at those facts again, but I have heard that before from reputable sources.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Kash Patel testified to that. Testified doesn't necessarily mean it's true. Well, in the confirmation hearings. Yes, I know. Well, this is a kangaroo court. Now it's a Republican Congress. No, Democrats are questioning him too. They're questioning him, but they're not going to get to vote him out. He's going to be the... Yeah, but we're not talking about that. Whatever the vote is, the vote is.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I'm just saying I don't take it as the word of God, his testimony. But if Donald Trump requested the national God and those three people refused. That part I would definitely look into more. I mean, I have heard that from not just right-wing sources. And there was something. But plainly, when it started to go sideways— He did not seem very invested in figuring out a way to stop it.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
He could have, you know, done a hundred things, but he just seemed to want to watch it on TV. But look, Michael, that's not even the thing that I blame him the most for, because it's a little squishy. Some of the facts, look, he's Donald Trump. Do I think he played it wrong? Of course he's Donald Trump. But, um,
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
What I blame him for is just to this day, but including, and most importantly, from the election in 2016, rather 2020, until January 20th, 20th when Biden took office, still never conceded. So, of course, if you don't concede, the people out there who are your rabid followers are going to do something like January 6th. They were going to do something.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I wrote a book, Mafia Democracy. I have a copy for you right here. Oh, good. And you're going to read this book. Now, I want to tell you something. Mafia Democracy. Now, I wrote this a year and a half ago. It wasn't current, but I mean, not today. But, Bill, when you read that book, you're going to see that This is exactly how our government is operating, just like the mob. In some ways, yeah.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
His crime to me is a slow-moving crime of, nope, I never conceded. All I try to do is find crazy ways to contest this election. I will pressure the Justice Department. I will try it in the courts. I will call attorney generals and ask them to find votes that don't exist. I will send fake electors. I will do all this shit.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And while he's doing all this shit, of course, his people out there and his shills in the media are going to be saying, look, he hasn't given up on this. How can you... possibly do something that would not give up on this? What could you do? Oh, like go to Washington the day that they're going to pass the torch of power, which is the jewel in our crown in this country, man, is that we do that.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
We pass power. You know, like in your business, your old business or your father's business, that's not how they pass power. You come out of Spark Steakhouse, they shoot you in the head. It was a lovely dinner and you wish you had that after dinner. operative because now you're dead and you would have enjoyed it, but you didn't. But that's not how we want to do it in this country.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I agree, Bill, but I got to tell you this. I'm a former street guy and I look at things sometimes very cynically. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. The way these people acted in the past four years, everyone, first of all, Nancy Pelosi, listen, Nancy Pelosi's father was connected with the mob in Baltimore. They put him in office as mayor there. She has the same characteristics as a mobster.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I'm telling you right now. And I take it personally. She's tough, I'll give you that. She's not tough. She's crooked. Nancy's crooked? 100%. She made herself wealthy on inside a trading bill. You got to tell the truth.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
There's no doubt about it. She uses her office for her own piggy bank. She hates Donald Trump. Again, I honestly don't think she's in it for the money. She definitely had money. She's got a half a billion dollars or something like that. Half a billion? You're sure about that? Well, no, I'm not sure. But these are the numbers. No, OK.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I'll tell you what I am sure of. I'm not sure, but I just say it. She's worth $300 million. I'm sure of that. How do you... You're not sure of that? You're just saying it? No, I am sure of that. She's admitted to it.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
She's worth $300 million. Her and her husband. No, I read that there was something shady about some... But she's not the only congressperson, was there? No, I said that before. They even introduced... Okay, look, when it's right, I... Republicans and Democrats. I'm an honest broker. I know you are. That's what it is. I know you are, but I think you're misguided. I will never, ever.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I'm going to have a, by the way, you don't drink wine, huh? No, I really don't. I like to go straight to vodka. You got wine on the bottle? Oh, thank you. Is that for me? That's for you. That's very kind. Thank you so much. That's Francine's wine. The wine is from Armenia. But I understand you're in the olive oil business. Not in the olive oil. Pizza and wine.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
You know what I love about your history is that it's almost the story in The Godfather. You wanted to go to medical school. True. And you came back because your father needed you. That is the plot of The Godfather. I mean, one of the reasons it's such a great script is when you first see him, he's with Kay at the wedding, and he tells the story of Luca Brasi. And then he says to Kay...
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
That's my family, Kay. That's not me. That's not me. I know. And then when he's in the hospital, when he's taking and he's moving his father because they're going to come get him, and he says to him, I'm with you now, Pop. I'm with you now. It's such brilliant screenwriting because it works on both levels. I'm with you physically, and I'm also, well, I'm with you now. Yeah. You got me.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I mean, come on, that's a bit of an exaggeration. I can tell you many ways the government doesn't act just like the mob. But you're not without a point as far as, I mean, what is the mob basically based on? It's based on the old idea of the Roman Empire's protection racket. The Roman Empire was a protection racket. I mean, they would go... You know, would you like to live?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I didn't want to be in the mafia, but you know what? Neither did I. It's kind of a good job. You mind if I have a little? Oh, no, I'm sorry. I have more for you. Please. We have this here, too. Pomegranate wine, something you've never tasted before. Is this something you do as a business? Yeah, absolutely. Pomegranate wine. Well, we know that's good for your balls, right?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Now, isn't it good for- That's what they say. For urinary health or something?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Very healthy, flying off the shelves. People love it. It is? Yeah. And you made the decanter look like a pomegranate. People love it. They're making sangria out of it, everything. They love it. I love a hitman who's artistic. That's what I got. No, you were never a hitman. Well, I wish I could claim the design, but I can't. You were never a hitman, right? Yeah. Let me put it here.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Did you ever push a button on a guy? Oh, Bill, come on. I'm asking you. I always have to ask that question.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Come on. Did you ever push a button on a guy because Godfather? Is it one or two where Cheechy is testifying? Mr. Cheech. That's true. That's true. And they brought his brother in. Right. Mr. Cheech, what is a button man? You know, Senator, they tell me to push a button on a guy. Push a button. Push a button. Yeah. You kill them. Remember, we have a lot of buffers. Remember that line? Yeah.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Did you ever get the order from Michael Corleone? No, we had a lot of buffers. All right, just to show you how honest I am, I'll go to a certain point. Okay. I spent 20 years in that life. Obviously, it's a violent life at times. Right. You're involved in life, you're involved in the violence. Can I leave it at that? Yes. I don't want any guest to feel uncomfortable here. Well, that's my answer.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
They make me uncomfortable. I want to go back to something. This is important because I'm going to tell you this. I'm not blowing smoke. I really have a lot of respect for you, especially lately. I appreciate that. No, I mean that because you just tell it like it is. I do. You really do. Even when it's right back at you about Trump.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
As a matter of fact, I did a whole podcast on you saying something about – you know, the, the left and how they've not been honest and all that. And I said, look, even Bill understands this. Nobody puts the knife into the left better than me because I understand them. And it disappoints me so much when she won.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I mean, when she lost, what I said was, um, first of all, I just, you didn't want her to win though. Be honest. Yes, I did because I don't want him to win. There's only two choices. Okay. Let's not go back. That's not right. Let's not go back. I got to tell you, this is what bothers me. It's what bothers me. So we have to just leave it at that.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
We have to leave it at that. Let me just say this. You're not going to convince me and I'm not going to convince you. So why? Why would you want somebody that's so incompetent that couldn't take care of our country? Well, there you go. That's why I didn't vote for Donald Trump.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
um okay so we just see it different yeah you see it definitely so the key to this country is we have to be able to like have that and then go and let's talk about other things like how many guys you killed we don't have to do that but uh no that was that's fine you you you're in a violent life and well what are the what are the good times like though like right like Great.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Because, I mean, I picture the scene in Goodfellas where they're walking into the nightclub and they're going through the back and they put the table down for them.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Henry Hill never walked into the back of the Copacabana. Henry, he never looked so good as he looked in that movie. I knew Henry very well and I happen to like him, but Henry was a problem person. He was either a drug addict or an alcoholic at the same time. He didn't have the stature... that they showed him to have in that movie. But he wasn't even Italian. No, he was a maid. He was a maid.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Like at the Gap. Would you like to talk to one of our sales associates? Well, that's what they call him. He was an associate. He didn't take the oath. But the movie was fairly accurate. It was fairly accurate. Except for that part, huh? He wasn't a mocker like that. He wasn't one of the big ballers. No. Okay. But was he a good earner? No. Not a good earner? You got to be a good earner.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Oh, it's going to cost you. Would you like to keep your grocery store from burning down? It's going to cost you. That's the protection racket. There is some of that in government. I mean, what would you tell me? You wrote the book. What are some examples of that? To me, it's just all about power and control, Bill. Oh, that's vague. You're going to have to do better.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
He wasn't a good earner. He got involved in drugs, which he shouldn't have done. What makes a good earner? In that life, you had two different kinds of people. You had the racketeers, and you had the gangsters. The racketeers were the guys that brought the money in. You can consider me a racketeer.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
The gangsters, see, I was fortunate, and some of us were, where we knew how to use the life to benefit me in business, to benefit us in business. The gangsters just didn't have the capability of doing that. So they did a lot of the heavy work. Let's put it that way. Heavy work. And I'll give you an example. In our family, the Colombo family, we had 115 made guys in my time.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
We had a lot of associates and people, but we had 115 made guys. Out of those 115, 20 of us were really honest. Really? Yeah. The other 95 who had a no-show job, who got a union job, who's trying to scrape out a living. That was it. And why weren't they let go? Like they would do a GE every year, cut out the bottom 10. No, you can't because once you're in, you can't, you can't.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Well, that's what they say. But what sort of pressure do they put on you to be a better earner? If they know you can't, they don't. Really? Yeah. But like if, you know, some other work had to come out, you had to do that. Hmm. And what would you say the perks are? Like what, what, Like, okay, say Henry Hill didn't get to go into the Copa.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But somebody, but you did. You went to the Copa like that. My father was a king of the Copa. I was going there since I was 9, 10 years old. And so they would treat you like? Royalty. Royalty. Yeah. Because they feared you. No, not because they, look, my father, myself, we were outgoing people. We took care of the waiters and the waitresses. We did the right thing, you know.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
They had a problem in a place, we straightened it out for them. You know, we made sure that everything was right in that place. You know, I want to tell you this. My dad taught me a lot of good things. Unfortunately, he did 40 years in prison, and he wasn't around me that much when I was on the street because he was always in jail. But he taught me a lot of good things.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
One thing he taught me that I never forgot and really worked for me in my former life and now, he said, Mike, always be good to the little people. Now, he didn't mean that in a demeaning way. It's just the way he spoke. He said, take care of the little people because they're the ones that make you strong. It's not the people on top that want to cut your legs out in this life, especially.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
He said, but it's the people that you take care of and you give respect to. And I've been that way my whole life because my father told me that it's the right thing to do. And, you know, so that's why you get into going to the back of the Copacabana, not because they're afraid of you, because that doesn't work. It's just treating people the right way, being there for them. That's important. Now,
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I met everybody that you can imagine during that era with my dad and then really on my own. The Copa closed later on, but it was a great place. It fit 300 people. The tables were this big because they crammed you in there, you know, narrow. But it was the best place, you know, to see a show because you were right on the stage and guys right there like me and you right here.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Well, power and control, meaning that these people get into office. They get intoxicated with the power. They never want to leave. as evidenced by most of our Congress people. And they enriched themselves. Yeah, but give me a specific example of how the government acts like the mafia. Well, there again, I mean, it's all about, what are we all about?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But you cherish those memories of your father. I'm talking about teaching you those. I loved what my father taught me. My father taught me the other thing. He said, listen, be the last one to judge somebody, the last one, because your turn is going to come, and they're going to remember how you judged the other person. Because, you know, look, I've got to be honest with you.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
In that life, you know, you're sitting down in meetings sometimes where somebody's life is at stake. I was always glad this house didn't go to strangers. First Clemenza took it over, then you. My father taught me many things right in this room. Used to be a big desk. Can I say that you're a fan of mob movies? You taught me keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Did your father teach you that? Absolutely. Really? Yes, absolutely. And what's the best way to defeat your enemies? Kill them. No. Kill them at Steakhouse when they walk out after a fine meal. The best way to defeat your enemies? Make them your friends. Yeah, think about it. No, I mean, that's very true. I mean, I think in the third one, he says, anger clouds your judgment. That's right.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But let's be honest. That is not really the history of how the mafia works. I mean, the mafia works basically on fear, do it our way. And by the way, this is something that empires throughout the ages have done. This is what the Roman Empire did. This is what Genghis Khan did. We can get along very well if you just do exactly what we say or we'll kill you. So which would be a choice for you?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Less for a time, but Chaz Palminteri, Yeah. Very dear friend of mine. Yeah. We were together last night. Bronx Tale. Together, you mean? We had dinner together. Bronx Tale.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Great movie. Do you remember the scene when Sonny is talking to little Cologio, and Cologio says to him, is it better to be feared or to be loved in your life? And Sonny talks about it, and he says, it's better to be feared in my line of work. Okay, good line in a movie.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Cut to, I asked Chaz, I said, Chaz, you around, Chaz is not a mob guy, but he was around, grew up in the neighborhood, he knew people. Ish. I said, let me ask you this right now, in our life, my former life, you think it was better to be feared or to be loved? He said, oh, it's better to be feared. I said, you're wrong, Chaz. Right. He said, what do you mean?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I said, let me tell you, fear did keep people in line, myself included, no question. Fear kept us in line to a degree. But here's what happened. When the RICO statute came out and Rudy Giuliani, you have to say the guy that learned how to use the RICO statute against the mob, the most effective prosecutor in that regard.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
When that statute came out and became so detrimental to our life because now you could get murder can now become a. a federal crime, where before it was only a state crime, but it's a predicate act in the RICO. There was some mission creep. Yes. So here's what happened. Now you get indicted for RICO. You're going to get 100 years like all the commission guys.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
So what they did to guys is they said, listen, we're going to put you away for 100 years. You're not getting any bail. You'll never make parole. We'll give you some money. We'll put you in the witness protection program. And you testify against these guys. They're going away forever. Don't worry about it. What happened is the fear of the mob was transferred to the fear of the government.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
We wanted to make money, and we wanted to stay in control of people. And the government operates the same way, in my opinion. Give me an example. I mean, listen, I don't throw one blanket over everybody in government. There are honest people there. I'm not saying that. But I think the mechanism has now become really all about power and control.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
That's what destroyed that life. Governments can be a mafia. So can police departments. You know, I mean, when you give people power, some will take it. Like government. Yeah. No, absolutely. No, it's, you know, but what Winston Churchill said about our form of government, democracy, and it's the worst form of government, except for all the others. Yes.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
You can't give people too much power. Too much. I agree. Jack Webb on Dragnet said, when somebody was complaining about one of the cops, he said, Yes, ma'am, but we have to recruit from the human race. You know, humans are not good people. That's my essential... We're inherently bad. People are inherently bad. Yeah, kind of. They got to turn to the good.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I mean, there are some who somehow are saintly and altruistic, but it's not the default setting for humans. I agree. And civilization... I always say it, it's a mile wide and an inch deep because like you, the slightest little thing and, you know, people would eat each other, you know. I agree.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I'm not saying if I was on a plane crash and there was nothing else, I would eat somebody, but yes, I would. You would. What? As opposed to being eaten? Yeah, well. You know. Hopefully we never have to make that choice, but I understand. You know, dog eat dog world. I agree. I mean, we are animals very close to below the surface.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And it's amazing, actually, that we keep the veneer of civilization as much with the lid on as we do. When I think about how many nutty people are out there with nutty ideas and weaponry, and it's basically, you know. Because they're not accountable to a higher spirit. like I am, accountable to God. So you try to stay on track.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I mean, just when I drive around the city, okay, there's like hundreds, thousands of people who were all in these big, very dangerous things that we could, if we wanted to, just go fucking nuts and drive it through the plate glass window of the store. And people don't. And there's the occasional accident, but basically we're whizzing by each other. Who the fuck?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Well, they know that they would hurt themselves also. Maybe if they weren't going to hurt themselves, they might do it. Who knows? Yeah, but, I mean, like a lot of accidents these days are people on their phones. Yes. I'm not saying it's necessarily malicious or they go nuts or zombie-esque and, you know, it's Mad Max. But, yeah, some of that.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I mean, the kind of people who live on the streets who you see are crazy. What if they got behind a wheel? What would a homeless, the kind of person who you're like, oh, that guy, I feel bad for him, but I'm staying away because he's obviously dangerous. He's got something. He's swinging. What if that guy got in a car? How does that not happen?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But truly there must be like examples if you wrote a whole book. It was like, you know what? At the Department of Labor, they did this. No, I'm not going to – I won't be specific like that. But listen – And I can only go with you so far. Okay. You got to be specific. Let me ask you this. You're making an accusation like that. All right, let me ask you this.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I don't want to give the homeless any ideas because they're big fans of this podcast. Well, I mean, from what I read at one point, they were standing on an overpass in On the freeway and throwing rocks down on there. Yes. You know, on the cars. Look, as an olive branch, politically, I'll tell you something. Because I'm telling you, I don't hate everything. I'm not going to pre-hate.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Here's something I absolutely do not hate about Trump being president again. Police morale will go up. And police morale needed to go up. After George Floyd in 2020, police who have a racist history, but so does everything in America have a racist history. Okay. We're unfairly branded something they're not. There are bad people everywhere, but it is a tough job. And we also know about the police.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
They're quite sensitive. I don't blame them. They do a hard job that is pretty dangerous. Not as dangerous as others. I have the list. But okay, still dangerous and stressful. And you wouldn't do it. And somebody has to do it because of that whole civilization being an inch-deep thing. And, you know, people in this city...
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Even the nice liberals, you know, the ones who still have their houses not burned down. We had a little trouble here with fire recently. Okay. Thanks to your governor. Well, it's not thanks to the wind, but yes, there were things that— Oh, Bill, come on. Sweetheart, my first editorial this season was all about how the government could have done better. So don't tell me— No, no, I know that.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I know that, yeah. But it was mostly the wind. I also made that point. Okay. Anyway, water and the hydrants would have helped. I've made that point. And the reservoir would have helped. And the mayor being here. And the mayor being here. Lots of things. And not choosing a fire chief because she was the best lesbian. A lesbian can do the job, I said, which is true. Of course it's true.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But they didn't choose the best person. They wanted to just, it was, let's have a lesbian first, and then we'll get the best lesbian. Okay, that's not good enough. No, no, no. For a job of this kind. It was very important. It was very important to choose a lesbian. No, no, listen.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
In case they had to rescue a lesbian in the fire, the lesbian's going to be a lot more comfortable seeing another lesbian. Didn't care how big she was or if she can carry her out. Bill, this is so insane. What?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Politicians, many of them come into the money. They come into power. They're middle-class people. They don't have a lot of money. And they go out millionaires, multimillionaires, many of them. How do you explain that? Oh, no, there is graft. I mean, that characterizes, well, finally we have a guy in office who that does characterize. Who's that? Donald Trump. You may have heard of him.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
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Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
We've been doing this podcast for over five years now, and there are still so many crazy stories, it amazes me. It's basically like hanging out in the garage, chopping it up with your friends, hanging out, good vibes. So check out Past Gas wherever you get your podcasts.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And that's what I call it. What you're referring to, if people don't know, is somebody else in the department, a deputy chief, said something like, when people are in an emergency like a fire, they want to see someone who looks like them coming. Yeah. No, they just really want to get out of the building. Should have been fired on the spot for this ridiculous thing.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And again, this goes back to what I said about the worst thing Biden did. He just gave in to every bad impulse from the fringe. That's not the worst thing Biden did. Okay. Take yes for an answer. Bill, the worst. No, no, no, no. Forget about him stealing the money and being treasonous. That was as a vice president. Well, okay. Let's go back to when I was being nice to Trump and saying that he.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
No, no, no. Before you say that, the worst thing Joe Biden did, The guy's got blood on his hands for what he did at the border and allowed people to come in here to kill people in this country. He did a terrible job with the border. Is it enough that I agree with that? Okay, why did he do it? Because he wanted to turn every state blue. There was no other reason for it.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And so they would never lose another election. These people don't play fair. I don't know if that's so much as it is something even worse. Oh, let's hear it. Oh, yeah.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Well, the left, their biggest problem, I think, they have many psychologically, but one is the wine-sipping liberals, the white liberals, the white liberals, this is mostly, they just have this crazy need to beat themselves up about race. What else do they do? It's so part of their identity. And, of course, it's so hypocritical.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
It's like, if you really feel that bad, go switch houses with somebody in Compton. I'm sure they'll be happy to live in your house in the valley, and you could live in Compton. You'll never see that happen. No, of course not. So that's the thing, is that they so don't want to be seen as racist that it's somehow in their—this is, again— what they do that's so infuriating.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
They go to the ultimate end of what's counterintuitive often or just dumb. And they go all the way to, well, then we can't stop anybody from coming into the country because that would be racist. And that's not racist. It's just what every country has to do. I hear you and I appreciate that, but I don't believe that they're that That they're worried so much about that.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
These people... No, they aren't. Trust me, these are my people. Well, no, they're not even your people. I know these people. Bill, they're not even your people anymore because you've said it right. You haven't changed. The party has changed. They're not your people anymore. No, what I mean is there are people I know because I live here amid show business in Hollywood.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And I'll admit this too, show business in our community is the epicenter of the problem. It is where the stupidity is deepest about this kind of stuff. I mean, I'm a proud liberal, but I'm not a... Do you think they really care about these people? That they're bleeding hearts and they needed to come here. No, I'm not saying they do. I'm not arguing with you now.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
What I'm saying is similar to what you're saying. It's so important to their identity. They're what I call liberals in theory, because I see how some of them act like in day to day with people, with their assistants, that kind of stuff. And it's so not liberal. It's just so cunty and, you know, born to the manner.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And, you know, they're often very well-to-do and not afraid to spend their money on the stupidest things. So, yeah. Such hypocrites. Come on. They're such hypocrites. Thank you. Yeah. They really are. You don't have to. Biden couldn't give a – if Biden – if he showed any empathy – We're talking about a sliver of people here. We're not talking about all Democrats.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
He won the election again. Yeah, but he had money before he came into office. He didn't come into government to make money. Yeah. Are you fucking kidding me? No, he didn't. First of all, in his first term, we thought, oh, this is as bad as it can get with the graft because he did things that no president ever done, like kept all his assets. People were staying.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
He's at the head of the – he was at the head for four years.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Right, and that's why the Democrats lost, because they lost their touch with their own voters. They lost because their policies were horrible. Right.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And they still haven't gotten it. No, they're still fighting. We'll argue. We're going to probably talk about this on my show Friday. The new head of the Democratic Committee, is it? Yeah, I see it. And they started the meeting like, okay, we lost an election. terribly to the guy we said could never win. Okay. And he did it again. Okay. So we need a new leader and a new way of doing things.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But first we must acknowledge that we are sitting on land that was properly owning by the Chumash people. Same thing. You fucking idiot. You know, I did a whole bit on it in my special.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Either shut the fuck up or give it back. Those are the only two choices. And you don't want to give it back. Okay. So my theory, I think it's based on sound foundation. The only reason he opened up the border, didn't care who came in, who killed who, whose taxpayer money went to spend. He didn't care. Make every state blue. That's it. You never lose another election. I mean, that's a theory.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
That's, again, the reason why I believe you think that is because I have a pretty good idea of what media you listen to. So that's the kind of thing they say. And there may be some truth to that.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
First of all, it's a bad idea. You know why? Why? Because the Latinos are voting for Trump now. But they didn't know that. They were so bad.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
They thought it was great. going to go the other way.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I'm not sure that was the... I think it's more the other thing is we're not racist. Everyone should come here. Yeah. Okay. Everyone should come here and every taxpayer should take the... They didn't calculate anything. As with everything, there's a sane middle ground. I mean... Like when Trump says they're rapists, they're criminals, and they're eating the dogs. Okay. Well, they do eat dogs.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
It's so funny. Like nobody will just come to the middle. Like absolutely most immigrants just want a job and they're law-abiding. But also, you know, that Venezuelan gang is not a boy band. You know, I don't want them in my country to get back to my thing about the police. Yeah, the people in this city, and again, oh, here we got off track when I was going.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
These kind of phony balonies, you know, here in the nice restaurants and the people you see out on the town, like they're fed up. They're fed up that they can't go east of La Brea anymore without fearing for their life. They're fed up that they saw carjacking and they don't wear their good watch when they go out now because they don't want to live in that world, that city. Like, oh, please.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Foreign dignitaries and leaders were staying at his hotels. That's outrageous. And then he upped that. He put out a meme coin and made $58 billion the day before he took office. All right, but he was a billionaire when he went into office. Yeah, well, we don't even know that because he's such a liar that we have no idea what he was.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I'm saying that this is what the Democrats have to get. You're even going to lose... the Upper West Side, unless you come to grips with this. And again, I think the police will have a better morale because Trump, again, with everything with him, nothing in the middle, a little too much perhaps, but at least they know this guy has their back. And they feel like nobody has our back.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
You wouldn't do it. It's a tough job. You have to make decisions in split seconds. We get tarred as racists for the entire police force of the country because this asshole did this and this asshole did this. And, you know, things have changed. I always say to people, live in the area you're living in. I did some very rough editorials about the police 10, 15 years ago.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And a lot of the things I was complaining about have changed. Back then, no cop ever went to jail for anything. You could do whatever the cop did. They would come out and say, it's right in the manual. It's right in the manual that you shoot a guy in the back if he's six years old. Then keep up with what happened. Live in this year.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
There have been many cops who have gone to jail and also police chiefs who have not backed the guy who did the crime. You know, it's a different world. And cops, most of them are young. What's the uncoolest thing you can be in Los Angeles if you're 25? A racist. So, you know, I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but, you know, I want the police to feel like, no, we appreciate it.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
We don't want to live in uncivilization. And we get it that you're the guys who make that possible. Now, can I get another drink, waiter? The dumbest thing that I ever heard... and this is from a former mobster who didn't like the police at one time, is defund the police. It was the stupidest. So stupid. They come up with stupid ideas.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Make it out stupid, that. How about... When a baby's born, we don't know what sex it is. I mean, a penis is a what? It's an indicator of some, I don't know. So you like Trump's executive order there are now only two genders recognized? No, but I'm very glad that I'm in one of the ones we're keeping. I really... Okay.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Don't you think it's... Don't you think life is better when it's... What's the pussy like in the mob, speaking of that? Come on, it must be... What? The women, like, do they throw themselves at you like rock stars if you're in... Really? It was pretty good, yeah. It was pretty... Is it like in... Henry, what's that? Goodfellas? Goodfellas. I mean, there it was. Women were attracted to it.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Young woman that saved my life. Saved your life. If I don't meet her and walk away from this life at some point, I'm either dead or in prison. No doubt. So a woman got you away from the life? Yeah. Tell me that story. I met her. She was 19 years old. I was producing a movie in South Florida. How old were you? I was 31. Completely appropriate. Yeah, 31. And we had taken cast and crew from L.A.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
to work in the film, and 20 professional dancers. It was a dance movie. And she was one of them. I love it. I met her, and that was it. And then I'll tell you what. That was it? You knew right away? I did. How? I just knew. You know, people say this. I'm blown away by that. Something about her.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
It was different than, look, I was around a lot, and she was different than every other woman that I had met. And I'll tell you this. I'll go even deeper. I call the mob life, Cosa Nostra Mafia, they're evil lifestyles. But I want to be clear. I'm not calling the guys evil. Right. You know, why do good people do bad things? There were good people there. Hate the sin, not the sinner. Correct.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I like that. Well, that's what the Christians say. And you know I'm a very devout. One day, can we have another conversation about that? Not today, but about Christianity? Why not right now? We can do it now. But let me finish my point. Do we have an agenda here? No, that's even better. Do I look like I have one? That's even better. But let me tell you this.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
He certainly acted rich, and he certainly was rich by any people's sentence. He had his own plane, but we don't know. I mean, he wouldn't release his taxes. He was rich, and he likes getting richer, and he has no qualms about enriching himself in this office. I'm just saying this is new, but it's not new— In many other countries in the world, they say Putin is probably worth $40 billion.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
The reason I call it an evil life, I don't know any family of any member of the life that hasn't been destroyed, including my own. Destroyed? Destroyed. Like dead or? No, destroyed with a family is just a mess. Let me explain. Now, not my wife and kids. I've been able to shield them from that. But Michael, you can never lose your whole family. You can. That's what his mother says. No, she's wrong.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Michael, you can never lose your family. I know. Well, she didn't.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
He didn't yet. And then he go and killed his brother, right? But he didn't. He killed Fredo after that. Yes, he did. Okay.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But my mother, my dad does 40 years in prison. My mother, 33 years without a husband. She passed away in 2012. Her relationship with my dad, ugly. Because she blamed him for everything that went wrong. Rightfully so. She was innocent. My sister dies of an overdose of drugs, 27 years old. My brother, 25 years a drug addict. What I had to go through just to keep him alive on the street
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
My other sister, 40 years old, dies. She wasn't all there. Oh, my God. The family was destroyed. And every family of every member of that life that I know goes through a similar fate. So any lifestyle that does that to a family is no good. It's bad. So I meet this girl. I fall in love with her. She's 20 years old. I said, am I going to marry her and put her through the same thing?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Because I got a huge target on my back. Seven indictments already. They're never going to let me go. Never. Never. I'm going down. I'm not, you know, hey, I beat all of these cases. I'm not the Teflon Michael or any of that. I knew eventually I'm going down. And I said, I got to make a choice. At the same time, Giuliani went crazy with the RICO indictment.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Giuliani told me in the courtroom, day of my arraignment, he gave me a million dollar bail. He said, if I convict you on this case, you're getting double what your father got. I'm going to give you a hundred years. That's the kind of time they were giving us. By the grace of God, I beat that case or I wouldn't be here right now. So I said, it's only a matter of time.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And when I go, I'm going forever. There's no question. So that's when I started to say, I got to get away from the life. So you met her before you went to prison? Yeah. And she stayed with you even though? She stayed with me eight years while I was in prison. Really? And visited you how often? As often as she could.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
The government gave me a very hard time because they would move me around to all different prisons. Do they still have conjugal visits? No. Feds never had conjugal visits. Do they still do that?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
You get conjugal visits? In the state. Under certain conditions. But you didn't, for eight years, you didn't have, you were in prison. Yeah. And you couldn't get a conjugal visit? No. I spent 29 months and seven days in solitary. Six by eight, so that's it. Me in the cell. In the hole. In the hole. Shoe. That shoe. Special housing. How do you get through that? Tough. Tough. Like what?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Like what do you do all day? You read. Oh, you can read. Yeah. Even in the hole? Well, they give you books. Well, then that ain't the hole. That ain't the hole I know.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I can't believe that they have ruined the hole. That's the hole you know. Okay. Everybody can have books. The hole was just like, it was literally a hole. Like in World War II movies. Like when you throw, when the Nazis throw you in the hole, trust me, there's no reading. I don't know what a military prison in Germany was, but I'm saying in Germany, civilized prison here in the United States.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
You can read. In the hole. Yeah. No television. What do you think about people who are in solitary? You know, that to me is almost... Well, that's solitary, Bill. Oh, I know. But I'm talking about solitary just permanently.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
We only get that from literally robbing the Treasury, when the Treasury and your personal bank account are basically the same thing. And potentates have done this all over the world, Asia, Africa, the Americas. We certainly have not been that country in general. There has been Grefg, never on that scale. Because those are the kind of people he likes, or autocrats like that.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Yeah. What? It's crazy, right? That'll drive you crazy. You need human contact. Absolutely. I mean, to keep your sanity, I saw a lot of things happen bad there with guys that just couldn't handle it. And I don't demean them. It was rough. I mean, I've seen wrists being slit and a lot of bad things. So how do you take care of your sexual needs for eight years? You don't. That's it. Very simple.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
You don't. Yeah. I remember one. You come out crazy. There was a great scene in The Sopranos where Tony sees a guy at a gas station who, you know this scene? Yeah.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
No, he didn't kill him. Oh, which one? No, this was a, he ran into him. He had just, this is a guy who had been in prison and he just sees him and he comes over and he's like, oh, wow. You know, it's great to see you. I'm glad you're out. And, you know, the guy, you could tell, is a little bitter. And Tony says, you know, I wanted to this and I wanted to that.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Does that describe your experience? I'm not saying it doesn't happen. But masturbation, why are you so shy about that? I'm not shy. You're in prison. At least you didn't take it up the ass. No. Right. Right. A lot of guys did. A lot of guys did? Yeah. Against their will? No, I didn't see much of that. Not against their will. Most guys. It's interesting that. You see more of that in the state.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Not as much in the feds. Feds a little more. They got more control. Okay. So if you have to go to prison. Oh, you want to do federal time without a doubt. But I will say this about the Michael Corleone killing his brother thing. May I? Yeah, go ahead. I think it was wrong, but you got to admit, after that, Connie stopped her bitching. Okay? Yes.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
It was wrong. You don't kill your brother. No. Hey, my brother, you know, became an informant. Really? Yeah. And is he alive? Yeah. Really? Witness protection? He was. He was? Yeah. What's that like? Do you know? I don't know. Is even the family kept away from knowing the identity? Yes. Really? Yeah. So you're not in touch with him because he was in the program? Yeah. Really?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I didn't speak to him. So he could be living as Joe Flumstein in Sheboygan? I mean, my brother, I didn't speak to him for 10 years. Wow. Holy crow. And then at a 70th birthday party, surprise party, and my wife invited him. Wow, you're 70. You look good for 70. I'll be 74 this year. Holy fuck. Good Italian olive oil skin. My dad lived to 103. Johnny Fontaine with his olive oil skin.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
The man in my position cannot afford to look ridiculous. That's right. Will you get out of here? You tell him I ain't no band leader. Oh, yeah, I heard that story. Until he got the horse's head. And by the way, people ask me all the time, did you ever cut off a horse? I said, no, we don't do that.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And then two months ago, I read an article about guys in Italy that cut off a head and left it in somebody's... You know what they ought to have? A mafia museum. They do. The Mob Museum in Vegas. You've never been? No. There's a Mob Museum. You would love it. And they have like a horse's head. You would love the Mob Museum.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Cement blocks that they put guys' feet in when they put them over the dock. I can't believe you don't know there's a Mob Museum in Vegas. I don't. It's a terrific exhibit. Terrific. Well, a lot of people say Vegas was better when the Mob were in it. 100%. A hundred percent. You know that?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But I don't think, for example, Xi in China does that. He doesn't need to. Why would he need to? He's the leader of China. He has his own plane. He has his own palace. You can't get richer than being the president. You cannot, even if the salary was zero, because everything is provided for you. And if you want to go somewhere, you get there faster than any other person in the world.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And Bugsy Siegel, I mean, the great speech that... Lee Strasberg has in Godfather II, there was this kid. We started out together, did all our first work together. That was Meyer Lansky. Right, Meyer Lansky. He kind of looked up to me. I was a little older. Made a fortune. During Prohibition, we ran molasses to Canada. Your father, too. I'm really impressed with this.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
He had an idea to build a city out of a desert stopover for G.I.s. This was a great man, a man of guts and vision. Someone put a bullet in his eye. That's Mo Green. That's Meyer Lansky because he's saying he's a great man because he built Las Vegas, and he did. It's his idea. It was his idea. What did he say? He said, I didn't get mad. I didn't get mad. I didn't blame anybody.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Headstrong, saying stupid things when I heard about it. I didn't ask who gave the order. I let it go. I said, this is the business we've chosen. You got it down. Now, that $2 million in your room. It's not here by tomorrow. It's on the table when I get out of, I'm going to take a nap. And that was a phony scene. What do you mean?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Because Maya Lansky had juice, but he would have never taken control of that meeting with other May guys in there. Never. Really? No. No way. He was a lucky Luciano's guy. You know that. What do you think about other mafias that come along? I mean, are you jealous? Do you guys have sort of beef with each other? I mean, there's a lot of Russian mafia. I got along great with them.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
They were my partners. They were my partners in the gas business. That's so cynical. We made a lot of money together. The Russian mafia? Yeah. You worked with the Russians? Yeah, I had three Russian partners. Made more money with them than anybody else. They were great partners. Now, don't try to connect me to, you know, Donald Trump or something like that. But that's because they're ruthless?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
No, they weren't ruthless. They were good businessmen. They worked 24-7. And, you know, I'll tell you what happened to the Russians. I meet them, whatever. You know the background, that I was defrauding the government out of tax. You know that. I've heard. So when I meet them, they had a number of gas stations called Gas Stop. It was their own brand.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But they couldn't get the licenses that we needed in order to collect the tax. Couldn't do it. So I cut a deal with them. And I said, here's the deal. 75% me, 25% you. There's three of them, right? Mike Markowitz, he was a Romanian. He goes, I don't think that's very fair, Mr. Michael. I said, no, it's very fair. He said, why? I said, because we're street guys.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I know you're going to steal a little bit. I said, this way, I got the major share. I said, you steal a little bit. I said, just don't let me catch you, right? He goes back, Bill. He talks to his other two Russian friends. He comes back. He says, we got a deal. And we were together seven years. We never had an argument. We made a ton of money together. There's a lot of heart in crime.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
You know, it really is. I didn't realize that. So you have a kind of a camaraderie with the other criminal that you're. Hey, we're still, we're men. We're still, we had this brotherhood going together.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Listen, I have said this, and everybody, Michael, come on, it's not true. It is true. In my era in that life, we were not allowed to deal with drugs. Right. We were told if we dealt with drugs, we would die. And I know guys that got killed because of it. We were not cartels. We didn't move. In Italy, yeah, the big heroin deals and all. Not here. We couldn't do it. Were guys doing it on a sneak?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
All right, well, let me ask you the difference. He came in as a wealthy guy. We're not counting his money, but we knew he was wealthy. What about Obama? He didn't come in wealthy. He didn't leave with that kind of wealth. He's worth, from what I'm hearing now, he's worth $100 million. I doubt if he's worth $100 million. That's what I heard. That's what I heard. That's what Trump says. Yeah.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Of course. They're trying to make a living. But you weren't allowed to do it. The reason Gotti was in trouble, because his crew was dealing drugs. I'm not saying John was. I don't know if John was. He's probably getting a piece. But he wasn't directly doing it. But that's why Castellano was going to kill him. But that is really the difference between the old mafia and the new mafia.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
They got into drugs, and it was a corrupting force. Well, drugs are bad business, dirty business. Right. Exactly what Don Corleone said. Exactly what he said. He's 100% right. They don't forgive drugs. The DEA, the cops, they don't forgive drugs. Right. And they shouldn't. And that's another reason I got to go back. Why I hate Biden. Bill, you know fentanyl is coming in in this country in droves.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
How do you not? You're the president. You were put in a position of trust. Your number one priority is for the safety of the American people. That's what you swore to. You took an oath. Can I tell you something? Joe Biden is worse than half of the mob guys I knew on the street. Bill, you got to admit it. There's a bad guy. Come on. He's a bad guy. Donald Trump wouldn't do that.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Donald Trump is closing the border. He wouldn't do. He has a conscience at least. Yeah. I mean, Joe's shortcomings, I don't think, come out of a desire to see kids on fentanyl. But he did. But you're right. You're right in the sense of, are you responsible? 100% he's responsible. They're not going to stop all the fentanyl coming in by stopping immigration.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I think 80% of it comes in through citizens of the United States. Yes.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Some of it too. Yeah, I know that. But a lot of it is coming over the border. I like what Trump said. You bring this stuff over, we're going to shoot you. And that's what they should do.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But so far in this conversation, there are things that they will pull out. the whole first 40 minutes of me railing Trump's asshole, they'll put that and say where they'd hate me. And they'll hate me too. And then they'll put the things where I'm agreeing with you about how crazy the left is, and they'll just show you on that. Oh, I hope so. No, but that's what they do.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Whereas to really understand, you have to watch the whole conversation. Yes. I think a lot of people do when you're involved. I hope so.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But plainly, thank you. How long have you been doing this? 31 years on TV without a break. I'm going to tell you something. It's amazing. To do 31 years without a break in this industry. And this is how much the media hates me. They won't even cover that. Because even though I voted for her, I'm not good enough. That's one reason I really have a thing for them. They're so exclusionary.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Unless you're with them 100%. And anybody who stands out of line and goes, yeah, I'm not going to go with you 100% because a lot of what you think is so fucking stupid. And I'm not going to pretend I don't see it. I know, but that's because you're a man. You have integrity, and you speak what you say. I mean that. Yeah. I'm serious. And you pay a price for it.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
My son-in-law absolutely loves you, and I was mad at him at times. What do you like this guy for? I'm serious. I used to say, what do you like? And now look at us. We're bros. And then in the last couple of years, I'm saying, man, I think I was wrong. Bill— He says it like it is. What do you believe? And I really mean that. Well, I will not be the one to break the peace we've made today.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But listen, I just want to – you don't have to admit to anything. I just want you to think about this because maybe we'll come back. It doesn't have to be we'll come over dinner. Give Trump – and you are. You said it. I'm not going to hate everything. I'm going to give him a chance. I will not pre-hate. You will not pre-hate. And what I hate, I will say. Okay. And what I don't hate, I will say.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
That's what I heard. People are saying, well, it must be true. Come on, man. Well, look at his life. Come on, look at his lifestyle.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I believe this about Trump, and there's no reason why I like him. I don't know him. I think he cares about the people in this country. He does. I would not argue with that. He genuinely loves America, loves... you know, everything it gave him. He just has a mental problem. He's a, you know, narcissist is the word they throw around a lot.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
They don't really understand when they talk about it, I think, that it's an actual psychological issue. It's in like the psychology digest. It's diagnosable. Like if it was bipolar, people would be like, oh God, bipolar, we can't have that. Narcissism, they just kind of think, oh, it's a personality quirk. It's way beyond that with him.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
If you love him and you flatter him, everything is great and he will never disagree with you or denounce you, whether you're Vladimir Putin or Satan. And if you oppose him, then he will just, goes immediately into five-year-old, I will destroy you mode. I just don't think this is a way to run a railroad. I just don't think ultimately this is going to turn out well. But you know what? Again.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I'm not saying he's not entitled to it after all, but I'm saying he became a very wealthy guy. Okay, well, you tend to get famous when you're the first black president of the United States. It's kind of a big accomplishment. So, you know, did he, does he get a speaking fee? Probably gets half a million or even a million dollars speaking fee. Yeah. Okay. So, but he didn't go in it for the money.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I don't think it's bad that we're reexamining a lot of things that just slowly this country was bloating itself to death. It's just things like slowly over time, like the way no government program ever ends. If you start it, it grows and it grows. And yes, I'm not yet going to condemn Elon Musk, even though he seems to have a cadre of teenagers.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
are running through the government to find things but i don't know maybe nobody but a 24 year old has the energy to do that well some of these kids i mean i have a team around me i can't even i couldn't compete with them these kids are brilliant that what do you mean a team around you for your podcast yeah for all my stuff you know my company and all that and a lot of them's just my partner here i mean he does things that i can't even i don't even want to know
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
When I say I don't even want to learn, it's too complicated for me. These young kids are smart. And are any of your managerial skills that you brought to podcasting borrowed from your days in the old life? Like you break a knee if somebody is, you know, in the break room too long or something? I mean, look, you know. The answer is yes. I mean, I don't mean to break knees and all that.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
No, I don't mean that. But I'm saying, I think the most important thing in life to be successful, I mean, one of the very, very strong elements is really know how to deal with people. Know how to deal with people. Networking is extremely important. knowing how to deal with people. And you're on the street. If you don't know how to deal with people, you're not going to last.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
You know, and honestly, I was one of the younger guys. You were in New York. Yeah, New York, mostly. One of the five families. Yes. Columbia. I was in Brooklyn. Not affiliated with the Columbia School of Broadcasting. No. Or the university. No. Just a completely different family. Completely different. And the families were, I think I can name, Colombo, Gambino, Bon Jovi. Close. Wait, uh,
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Oh, God, I used to know these. Lucchese. Lucchese. Lucchese. What was Carmine Galanti? He was a Genovese guy. Genovese. Yeah. Genovese. And then one more. One more. You could eat it in the morning with your cereal. Germaine. No. Oh, that's a Jackson 5. It's yellow. Yellow. Custard, close. No. Lemon. No, no. Eat it in the morning.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Orange juice, family? No. Banano. Banano, right. I forgot about those. And Columbo, you forgot that. I remember when I was living in New York in 1979, and the front page of the Daily News, I'll never forget it, The picture of Carmine Galanti gunned down with the cigar in his mouth and the blood running out on the floor of Umberto's Clam House. No, that was Joey Gallo that got killed there. Really?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Yeah, Carmine Galanti was in another restaurant. It was not? Okay. Yeah, Joey Gallo was killed just outside. Okay, so they have the mob museum. What about a mob tour? They have that too. Okay. They got one in Chicago. I'll tell you what, listen to me. Do they have one in New York where you can see all the places, Sparks? I could take you there. No, but wouldn't that be good?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I mean, all the places where... That's where it started with the black hand. Remember the black hand? Maybe they do have one. But here's a deal I'll make with you. And this is totally on you. If you ever want to go to the Mob Museum... In Vegas. Yeah, I might do that.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Believe me, if I'm going, I'm going with you. It'll be good. Am I going to go with Carrot Top to the mom museum? No. Go with you to the mom museum. Go to Carrot Top to the Spearmint Rhino. We'll have a good time. But you're going to watch that movie, right? Gotti. Oh, Gotti from 1996. You think I can only get it on YouTube? Well, I don't know anywhere. I mean, no.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
He wasn't. We don't know that, Bill. I mean. Oh, for fuck's sake. We don't know that. Really? I mean, honestly, that wasn't the only reason he wanted to be wealthy. He wanted to be president. We get that. But I'm sure he thought about. you know, what it was going to do for him financially too. Why not? Okay. I just don't think that was Barack Obama's motivation.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I don't know where I'll— I'll get it. Yeah. I will get it. It was brilliant. Okay. Want to go back to Trump or you want to forget Trump? Go ahead. Whatever's on your mind. Well, you already said you're going to give the guy a chance. And you said this, too, which I appreciate. You believe he loves America and you believe he loves this country.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I don't think Donald Trump will do anything to hurt America.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Not intentionally. Okay, well. And I think the other side has done a lot to hurt. Not intentionally. Oh, come on. Oh, Jesus. It's such bad faith to think that way. So this is what I always tell the left to not to do, is to hate the other half of the country. I don't hate them. But you just said that you think they want to hurt America intentionally. They do. They do.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Okay, if I thought the right intentionally wanted to hurt America, I would hate them. But I don't think that. And the left doesn't intentionally want to do it either. When you know... When you know that people are coming into this country and killing other people and raping and murder... Not most of them. But many of them. Some of them.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
In any group of a million people, there's going to be some criminals. Same with immigrants. Actually, less than the percentage of citizens because immigrants, when they're here, mostly what they are is scared and they don't want to be caught. So, like...
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I notice when I drive around here or anywhere, but definitely my area where there's a lot of maids and gardeners and so forth, like those people drive perfectly. They do not want to get involved with law enforcement.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
The white people will do anything. The white people are like, excuse me if they wave. I'm going to jump across three lanes and cut you off and then come back and cut you off again the other. Thank you. That's what the white people do. Let me ask you this. Let's take it a step further. Christopher Wray, what did you think of him? Head of the FBI. Oh, God, are we going to go there?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
No, no, no, just quickly. I thought he was a straight arrow, which he was. And if you don't think that, you're ideologically captured. No, no, no, I'm not going to comment on him personally. Christopher Wray got up there and said, We have terrorist cells that have entered this country in the past couple of years.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Because when he knew it was happening, why didn't he close the border? Okay. Letting the people in was intentional. The motivation, no, it wasn't to hurt America. Well, once he knew that they were here in this country. Because the left has, again, this thing in their brain. These are the people with the signs on the front yard that say, in this house we believe.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
So you think Biden was a humanitarian? It's very important in their minds that they think of themselves as humanitarians. He was a racist too. Look at all the racist comments he made in his career. Biden was a racist. Well- He was a humanitarian. He's the same kind of racist that Trump is. A man of a certain age who hasn't gotten certain memos. That's all it is. Do they really?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I think it's something that comes along with getting to that. If you were at that level of success in any field, yeah, you would have some financial remuneration. I mean, it's peanuts compared to what some of the, again, what Trump is doing, that the kind of money he is making from, just basically selling the job. I mean, he was, for example, very much against TikTok. Let's get rid of TikTok.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I don't think even Trump is that kind of a racist. They want to paint him. No, he did some terribly racist things like, you know, his crusade against the Central Park Five. That was wrong. That was wrong. No doubt. And also, the Central Park Five were not innocent of other crimes, just not that one. Okay, so I'm glad you admit that was wrong. Yeah, that was wrong.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Okay, but do I think he hates black people? I do not. I think he wants to be a hero to everybody. And I think, like with anybody, again, back to his quirk, anyone who flatters him, black, white, or green, is persona grata. And anybody who doesn't... But you're getting off my point. What was the point? Biden...
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
When Biden knew, no, when Biden and the whole, no, listen, when Biden and the entire Democrats in control. You're giving him too much credit. And everyone in control knew that this was happening. Why didn't they immediately shut the border? Say, we got terrorists within our country.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
We have to stop. Okay. Our own FBI director is telling us that. I explained to you why already. I'm glad I'm not married to you because it must be hell. I live.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
We're almost the same age. Really? You don't look 69. Look, if I look like you in five years, I will fucking take it. But yeah, you know what? I never would have thought when I was younger and when I heard about this age, that it was going to be like this. I would have thought it would be way worse. Really.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I mean, they kind of presented it as like you're one foot in the grave, decrepit, and you can't do anything anymore. It's like I'm not that different than I am. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. But at the moment, nothing is that different. I'm glad you said that because I don't feel much differently than I felt 20, 30 years ago.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Yeah. No, I was expecting a much older man and a more reasonable one. You know what? I think, listen, you might think I have this block in my head with Trump. I don't. The way I look at it this way, Bill, I have a wife. I have children. I'm 74 years old. I probably live longer than I thought I was going to live when things were tight for me. Right. I'm worried about their future.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I want this country to be the country that, believe it or not, I grew up in. Right. It was great. I love America for that. I want them to have the same. And in the past four years, it scared me. I said, what the heck is going on here? It really scared me. I said, what are my kids and my grandkids? I have seven grandkids. What are they going to, what kind of world are they going to live in?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
What kind of country are they going to live in? And it really worried me. And that's why I like Trump because I think he's trying to straighten America out. There are things that, I mean, I said it on my, it's so funny to the point about like they only report the part they want to report. Last week, I said something very complimentary about Trump, probably maybe the only thing in the whole show.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And of course, I forget what outlet was it. That's the one thing they picked out because they hate me, so they want to show them. Bill Maher was like kissing Trump's ass. What I said was, and I'll say it again, and I'm perfectly happy to say it a million times. When they asked him about the plane crash over the Potomac, and some reporter said, are you going to visit the crash site?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Now, any other politician would go, well, of course, it's our prayers and thoughts. And he went, the crash site? It's the water. Do you want me to swim to it? I remember that. And it was like, that's when I liked Donald Trump. And that's why people like him. Because he said what was real. Yeah. He has the ability to do that. You know, he's done other badass things.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
That thing where he was with the Taliban dude and he has the guy bring in the aerial photograph of the guy's house and he goes, that's your house. If one American is hurt in this withdrawal... Yeah. We know where it is. Right, right. You know, I love America. I do, too. I know. Always have. And I'm a history major, and I've read the news since I was a teenager.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Until the TikTok guy came in and said he would give a big contribution to his campaign. Then he was all for TikTok. He's very transactional. He doesn't even make a secret of it. He doesn't understand how government works. He still runs it like it's a business. In some ways, that might be advantageous. In the long run, I don't think it is.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I know, not from traveling as well as other people, perhaps, but I know what the rest of the world is like, and I'm old enough to have studied the history of it going back to the 60s. I have a good perspective on this country versus every other country. These... So many of the young people today, they have no interest in even finding out.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
They have this idea in their head that they live in a terrible place that's worse than every other world. They could just get out. That would be the thing. Just get me the fuck out of here. Good fucking luck, even with all our problems. No, I will always be with the, you know, I like America. It's got its issues for sure, but we don't need a revolution. We need to fucking fix it.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Fixing is different. Now, would I go about all the fixing ways he's doing it, invading Greenland, et cetera? No. But I'm willing to see where it goes. I will never be willing to concede that he should be there in the first place because you really shouldn't be a guy who doesn't believe anything. in elections results. That's a no-brainer and one thing that I can't give on. But he's there.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I live in the present. You know, it's funny, Michael, these people, they come up to me all the time, you know, when I'm out. And it's like... oh my God, Bill, what are we going to do? And I'm always like, get a fucking grip. Look around you. You're in a fucking restaurant. You're eating a fucking $800 dinner. Shut the fuck up. When your life actually goes in the toilet, then tell me.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But don't confront me with this cognitive dissonance between, oh my God, what are we going to do? And your cushy fucking life. There are some people who are going to be hurt, like perhaps by what Trump is doing, the people who can't afford eggs now. Yeah. I didn't see him solve that problem. Well, you know what you proved?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
You just said the media's not supporting you or whatever, but 31 years, you didn't need them. Didn't need them. And now more than ever. You don't need them now. More than ever now. Yeah. It's interesting. They let the podcasters into the press room now. I know. I applied. I applied. I don't know if I'll get in. Oh, I think you will after this. I think you will. I would love to.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
That would be like a milestone. You know what else was a milestone for me? I can actually arrange that. Could you please? Well, at least a conduit right to the top. Please. I really mean it. I would be very appreciative.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Any favor that you have. It's not even my daughter's wedding, and I'll do whatever you want if you can get me in. You know the other thing that was really satisfying to me? Three days ago, I had Rudy Giuliani on my podcast. How's he doing? Well, he was great. He was a terrific sit-down. It was just great. Yeah, for me, it's like came full circle.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
This is the guy that want to put me away for 100 years. You know what he said to me? He says, Michael, I've been watching you for 30 years. He said, I really think what you're doing is real. He said, I respect you for getting out of that life and turning your life around. And that meant something to me, coming from him, because I knew we were badly on opposite sides. Right.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
For people who don't know, in the 90s, he was the prosecutor in New York, and then he was the mayor. He was a great mayor. Come on. After 9-11, he did a great job. America's mayor. He was great. Yeah.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
What do you think of his last, the first two weeks in office? What do you think? There are some things, well, I said before he took office, I would not pre-hate anything.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
That, to me, that's the formula. Amen. Republican moderate, which he was then, in a blue place. When you find that, like Republican governors in blue states, Larry Hogan in Maryland or others, it just works because they can't get too far right because it's a blue state. but they're not full of bullshit, woke nonsense. So their popularity is always like, you know, 80%. So can we do that here?
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I was going to say, can we just fucking get that formula here? In California. Oh, in California.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
That could happen here in California. That's exactly what California needs. Absolutely. And I say that, and I like Gavin Newsom a lot. Don't even start the argument. But, no, I was hoping at some point he would moderate to the center. It doesn't look like it's happening. So I can like somebody personally, but— Taking his heels in. Yeah, as all the Democrats are.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Looking for $50 million to fight Trump while the city is burning. Well, we have done this podcast on land that rightfully belongs to the Chumash tribe. I'm not getting that. And I would like to apologize for us just being here before we go off the air. Okay. Do you have anything you want to plug before I... No, I mean, we had a great glass of wine. The book, Mafia Democracy.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Where do we find your podcast? Your very popular podcast. My podcast is on YouTube and Rumble and everywhere else like you. And the book, Mafia Democracy. Promise me you'll read that book. At least breeze through it. I want you to read because it makes a lot of sense. I don't want to get into all now because I get carried away. I like Mafia books and movies. And it's, trust me.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And now that he's in there, there's some things I hate and there's some things I don't hate. You know, it's a breath of fresh air as far as like we're going to look at things in a way we've never looked at it before. Like maybe Gaza doesn't have to be this utter hellhole.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And then say, you know what, you're full of shit, or I agree with you. No, no, no. Well, I already know what I think about you that's full of shit, and I agree with you, and it's a healthy dose of, that's what makes friends, you know? That's right.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
You got that down. You sound just like him.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I got to tell you. I'm going to do the other line, but okay. I did it, Pop. I checked it, Bill.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
That is amazing. That's for you. That is awesome. Oh, there's Chaz. There's Chaz. Marlon. Paul Cervino. Oh, Phil. That's the guy who I jerked off into a tissue. That's the guy.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
where the people are constantly attacking Israel and they are themselves constantly being attacked by this terrorist organization that runs them like a mafia. maybe, you know, it's a beautiful area on the beach. Maybe it could be more like Dubai. Okay, it's great to think about that. But then we're going to just take it over? Like what? We're an imperial power. It's 1898 again.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
We're just going to take over Gaza and Greenland and the Panama Canal. It's, you know... Yeah, but Bill, don't you think he just puts things out there to get a reaction from people? You can't just put things out there.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Look. He's not a podcaster. Look what he did with the tariffs. Everybody jumped up and down.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
All the Democrats were upset. And what did he do? He named the tariffs just to bring these people to the table. Okay. He's a business guy. Yeah.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
It's a week into the tariff thing, Michael. Yeah. It's a week. We'll see. We'll see. Okay. Yeah. It also could like fucking put us into a depression because everybody – we've had tariff wars before. 1930, okay, right after the stock market crash. It was the worst thing for the depression was the tariff war. So a trade war – we'll see what happens. Okay. But so far, no damage.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
He accomplished what he wanted to do in the short run. He brought them to the table to get security at the borders. Okay.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
There are people who have been damaged already because he froze all spending. People didn't get their Medicaid checks. And then he unfroze it. Okay. Well, you just can't do it. First of all, it's illegal. You have to have Congress has to pass the laws. He seems to forget about that part of governing this country. But yes, people, you know, we'll see. I mean, it's too early to make giant judgments.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Like I say, I don't mind relooking at things. This country is bloated. I want to see what Musk is going to do with all that. The idea of just going with a sledgehammer through everything, not thinking things through, talking about us taking over places like an imperial power again. No, I don't like that.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
And he just doesn't understand how this country works or doesn't care to learn, nor can you tell him anything. I know, but you know how this country works, especially in the past couple of years, it hasn't been working well. All right, but it hasn't been working well, and it also could get worse. I think it would have gotten a lot worse had Trump not been elected as president.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
I'm getting that impression. A lot worse. Great. Well, you know what? What did you think of Kamala? I mean, I've heard you, obviously. What do you think of her? Do you think that she should have even been a nominee? You know, my line on her was, do I love everything? No, not even close. The woman wasn't even competent to be.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Okay, but at least she understands how the United States government works, that it's not a monarchy. At least she concedes elections. Conceding elections is the most important thing in this country, in a democracy, and your guy doesn't do it. Let me tell you what my thoughts are, and I know where you're going with this.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
These Democrats for the past four years have done nothing but lie to us in every sense of the word. Lied. They've... Totally disregarded our trust for four years. Come on. Lied to us. You know, Biden wasn't even competent to be in that office. He didn't run the presidency. He didn't run the country. We had a shadow government basically running the country. And for me, I look at it this way.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
You lied to me once. Okay. Things happen. Second time. I don't know. Third time. Forget it. These people have been lying constantly. They don't know the truth from a lie. And you find no lies in Donald Trump's history? Let's put it this way. Forget about his history. Come on, man. No, no, no. Forget about his history. I don't care what he did 20 years ago. I come from New York.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
You care what he did four years ago when he was president? Yeah. What did he do? How did he hurt the country four years ago? When he was president, how did he hurt the country? Aside from the fact that let's not go into the fraud on the election, if there was or if there wasn't, whatever. Well, listen to what you just said.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Tell me how he hurt the country, but let's not go into the main way he did it. Not yet. Forget that for a moment, because that was the election at the end. I can't forget that. Okay, but everything... I can't forget that. And nor should I. What did he do for the country? Great question. What the fuck did he do? How was the country four years prior to Biden's administration? In your opinion.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
Well, okay. I mean, he would say that he... had the greatest economy of all time. Basically, he had the economy he inherited, which was Obama's economy. Well, that's true. Okay. Okay. He didn't destroy it, right? He did not destroy it. Okay. No, he did not destroy it. I mean, there are people... Look, he... cut taxes for the rich. He cut it for the middle class also. Yeah, I understand that.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
But if you look at the numbers, if you look at the charts, most of it goes to the rich. Look, I'm not a communist, and I've been very hard on the left. You have been, and I love it. Yeah. When they are wrong. What Biden did mostly, I think, wrong was that he was feeble. He was old. He had not the strength or the appetite in any way to stand up to the far left fringe of his country.
Club Random with Bill Maher
Michael Franzese | Club Random
So he let them do anything. I'm not against some of these things that Trump is undoing now. DEI did go way too far. Get rid of it. So, you know, there is a—and look, people voted for him. Elections have consequences. Somebody gets when they get in office, they have that is their right to then go go ahead and do what they said they were going to do. And he's doing that.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
Thanks for having me, Dan. Good to be back.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
Yeah, there's no question, Dan. You know, I always say the golden years of the mafia, Cosa Nostra, especially in New York City, were really from the late 40s right through to the mid 80s when, you know, Giuliani and company really used the racketeering laws effectively. But up until that time. We had so much control, both politically and obviously with the unions.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
You know, and I've told people, Dan, if you control the unions, you basically control a good part of the country. Because even with politicians, what are two things that they want? They want votes and they want money. And through the unions, you can provide both. And that gave us a lot of leverage. And, you know, we had a lot of strength.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
Yeah, that's okay. I was with the Columbus. Yes.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
No, actually, it happened before that, Dan, because, you know, during my I hate to say career, but I guess that's the word, you know, my time in that life. I had 18 arrests. I had three undercover investigations on me. I had seven indictments, two federal racketeering cases, one brought on by Giuliani that unfortunately I was acquitted in.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
Well, he said he was going to give me 100 years if he convicted me. And then I had a state RICO in Florida. So I said to myself, how many times am I going to beat these people and walk away free? And I knew they were really tightening the noose, and I would never get away with it. I mean, I was too high profile at that point. They weren't going to leave me alone.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
And then, you know, with the RICO law, I said, man, you know, Dan, it was always – People ask, you know, what kept you guys in line? And if you remember the movie The Bronx Tale with Chaz Palmateri and he was the mob guy, they said to him, is it better to be loved or feared? And he said, well, in my line of work, it's better to be feared. And Chaz was a good friend.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
I spoke to him and I said, Chaz, did you really believe that? And he said, yeah, Michael, I believe that. I said, well, Chaz, you're wrong. He said, what do you mean? I said, well, yeah, fear did keep us in line because we knew if we violated the rules, we could pay for it, serious consequences.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
I said, but what happened with the RICO Act, the RICO statute, is the fear of the mob was transferred to the fear of the government. Because when you tell guys, hey, you're going to go away for the rest of your life unless you cooperate with us. And, you know, guys don't want to spend the rest of their life in prison. And they tell you, look, we'll put you in the program.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
We'll change your identity. The guy you testified against is going to go away forever, so don't worry about it. Well, that's what caused the collapse of my life. There's no question about it. It wasn't John Gotti. It wasn't my profile guys. It was the RICO law. But, you know, it required me doing eight years in prison.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
So, I mean, I didn't get away scot-free and I had a huge restitution and things like that. But in the end, it worked out.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
No, exactly, Dan. I right away said this was so sloppy. First of all, the last thing you want to do is hang around the scene. Be around there before, obviously not after. But, I mean, the guy was in Starbucks. He was buying things. I guess he doesn't realize, you know, in today's day and age, you got cameras everywhere. You got people looking at you. This was extremely sloppy from day one.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
Then, of course, you know, the words on the casings. I mean, when I saw that, I said, it's just a matter of time before this guy gets caught. He wasn't a professional. You know, people thought he was a hitman, but he certainly was not.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
Oh, absolutely, Danny. Remember, you're in a subway. You're stuck. You're in a box. You know, if somebody's going wild there, what are you going to do to get away with it? You know, I think it all goes down to this Alvin Bragg and all these political things that he does. He's not interested in keeping people safe. It's all politics with him. We saw what he did with Trump.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
And to even bring this case is unbelievable. When you had people saying that they were in fear of their life, you had a guy with, you know, multiple arrests, not acting right. And all he did was try to restrain him. You know, unfortunately, the result was we know what it was. But, you know, I think the toxology report showed that he had drugs in his system. There was so much going on.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
But, yeah, I mean, look, I would do it, Dan. You would do it. Anybody that, you know, has any kind of sense of manhood or whatever about him would have done the same thing. And what do you expect? I mean, these are dangerous places when you have somebody going wild and there's no escape. What do you do? You know, thank God he stepped up.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
Well, Dan, I don't know if you remember, but they mentioned me in Goodfellas. I was actually a character in there, and I knew Henry Hill really well. I knew Jimmy Burke really well. I knew Paulie very well. I mean, these were my friends. As a matter of fact, when I went to the theater and I saw the movie,
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
and they mentioned my name i i immediately got on the phone afterwards with nick palegi and i said hey nick why did you put me in that film that was a different family a different crew he said yeah but you have name value michael and you know all those guys henry was talking about you and so i put you in there i said okay the next time it was good fellas an accurate portrayal though of the the guys you knew jimmy jimmy burke and henry hill and others
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
Yeah, you know what? It was. It really was. I mean, it was very well done. And the story was pretty accurate, you know, with the whole Lufthansa robbery and all of that. But I will tell you this. Henry Hill never looked so good as he did in that movie. That's for sure. That was not really Henry in real life.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
Yes, he was. He was one of the wild guys. Wow. Absolutely. Pesci, you know, whatever Pesci does, he does terrifically, but he really nailed the character, no doubt.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
Yeah, no doubt about it. You know, between the technology and the RICO statute that puts you away forever, you know, unless you cooperate and making murder. Remember, murder was never a federal offense until the RICO statute came in and they used that as one of the predicate acts. That's when you can go down for murder. That was devastating for guys in that life.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
So, you know, the increase in informants because of the statute, all this new technology, I mean, it's very, very difficult to operate. You know, it's one of the reasons I made an exit. I saw it coming.
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
know the commission case look they never took down all the bosses like that took them all down you know got them 100 years that's it so you had to have your eyes wide open and see that this is this is over and if and if the uh you know law enforcement and the prosecutorial agencies in new york would just do their job properly you see a dramatic decrease in crime i believe but we'll see what happens
The Dan Bongino Show
Sunday Special with Michael Franzese, Jeff Van Drew, Ned Ryun, Andrew Gruel 12/22/24
Dan, no problem, but I got to give you one last tip. You want to know the greatest mob movie, the most accurate portrayal of any mob movie ever? It's the HBO 1996 Gotti movie with Armand Asante and Anthony Cameron.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
My dad was involved in 30, 35 murders. Now, 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.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
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. 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.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
You don't violate the rules. That's how we maintain control in this life. That's how we existed for 100 years. And that's how it's going to stay. So now you're saying, OK, 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.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
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, 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.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
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 it.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
Well, for some of us it was and for others it was not. And I've seen both sides of that.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
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.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
Well, you know, Steve, look, 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 committed, even murder.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
I mean, the government give you immunity for murder 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.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
And listen, 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 I'm not saying I was in that position. I'm just saying that's the law. So why talk about it? Number one. And number two, murder is ugly. You know, it's ugly. And you don't ever want to talk about it. I mean, I don't.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
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 defensive. 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?
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
Well, you know, Steve, let me, 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.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
Oh, yeah. Well... When you come in today, 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.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
This was about two weeks after my father sent word downtown that he was proposing me to be part of that life. You can't just go up to somebody and say, 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.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
And 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 the message. Is that true? And I said, yes. He said, well, here's the deal. From now on, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you're on call to serve this family, the Colombo family. That means if your mother is sick and she's dying, You're at her bedside.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
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, we'll let you know. That's it. And do you accept that? And I said, yes, I do.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
And so for the next two and a half years, I was in like a recruit pledge period where I had to do anything and everything I was told to do, prove myself worthy. It 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 8 o'clock. You weren't there at 7.30. You were late. You can never be late in that life.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
I don't care what the situation is. You had a meeting at 8 o'clock. If there was traffic and you were concerned, come the night before and sleep in the car. You can never be late. No excuses. You know, drive the boss to a meeting, sit in the 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.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
We could have had trouble. You were 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. You paid the price. Well, paid the price. In other words, I got a real good tongue lashing. I'll tell you, you know. You know, just stuff like that.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
They kind of put you on the shelf for two weeks, you know, 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, you want to, if you want to, number one, want to survive, and number two, you want to move up. You never repeat your mistakes. So, you know, things like that.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
And then look, I'm going to be honest with you, you know, 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.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
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. And you were tested?
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
Back then, I mean, I might have. I mean, you know, I was a play-by-the-rule guy. You know, I was very fortunate in that I had a great teacher in my dad. He was a student and master of the life. And 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.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
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 96, 97 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, another thing is this.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
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. Sounds a bit like a cult. In a way. 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.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
Yeah, 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. What's the difference? 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.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
So 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've got to earn your keep in that life. We in the Colombo family had 115 maid guys at that time.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
Out of the 115, 20 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. He 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 got to do it.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
So, you know, I was more of a racketeer. 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 walk into a meeting with somebody, number one, try to know the personality of that person.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
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.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
And so my people skills in that regard, as far as negotiating and identifying a true leader, were really honed to a high degree because I came out on top many, many times.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Most Shared Clip: Former Mafia Boss EXPOSES How The Real MAFIA KILLS People...
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're told straight out. We have rules. You don't ever violate another man's wife, daughter, sister, girl, never.