Michael Franzese
Appearances
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.