Michael Franzese is an author and television personality from the United States. He’s well known for being a former gangster and the Colombo criminal family’s caporegime. In the 1970s, the son of former underboss John “Sonny” Franzese dropped out of a pre-med program at Hofstra University and entered the criminal justice system.
Franzese, Michael $1 million in net worth
Franzese, Michael Earnings: Michael Franzese has a $1 million net worth as a former gangster and captain of the Colombo crime family. In May 1951, Michael Franzese was born in Brooklyn, New York. Michael is the son of John “Sonny” Franzese, a well-known Colombo underboss. Michael went out of college to join the Colombo family’s crew as a capo regime (captain). He was a part of the Russian Mafia’s gasoline bootlegging ring, selling millions of liters of gas. In 1986, he was ranked #18 on Fortune Magazine’s Fifty Most Wealthy and Powerful Mafia Bosses list, having made more money for a crime organization than anybody since Al Capone. He formed a partnership with Norby Walters, a booking agent, and extorted a role for Walters in Michael Jackson’s US tour. Motion Picture Marketing was co-founded by Michael. In 1986, he was charged with 14 counts of racketeering, counterfeiting, and extortion in connection with the gasoline bootlegging network, and he was sentenced to ten years in jail and $14 million in compensation. In 1989, he decided to quit the Colombo family and was liberated. He received a four-year term for breaking probation in 1991 and was freed in 1994. In 1992, he wrote his memoirs, Quitting the Mob. He is a motivational speaker and the founder and chairman of the Breaking Out Foundation.
How Did Michael Franzese Amass so Much Wealth?
As a member of the Franzese family, the caporegime was able to earn millions of dollars. Throughout the 1970s, he was mentored by Joseph Vitacco, a Colombo soldier (known as Joe-Joe). He met a number of influential people, including John Gotti and Angelo Ruggiero. Michael made an estimated $70,000 for just a week thanks to his contacts and relationships later that decade, while he was just in his twenties. In 1980, he was promoted to caporegime of a 300-person crew. Michael Franzese’s highest peak net worth was reported to be $200 million at the time, and some even speculate that he became a billionaire for a brief period of time.
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Why Is He so Well-Known?
Michael Franzese was born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 27, 1951. He is the first of John and Christina Franzese’s eight children. His Italian father operated as an underboss for the Colombo Mafia family. Sonny’s mother met him while working as a cigarette girl. Michael initially doubted his biological father and believed he was adopted by Sonny; nevertheless, it was revealed throughout his adolescent years that Sonny is his original father.
Michael spent the majority of his childhood on Long Island. In 1969, he enrolled at Hofstra University after graduating from high school. His family didn’t want him to connect himself with organized crime, so he enrolled in a pre-med program there. He dropped out of college to aid his family after his father was sentenced to 50 years in jail for bank robbery. He rapidly made connections with his father’s friends, particularly Joseph Colombo, who was instrumental in his early success. By 1975, Franzese, together with Jimmy Angelino, Salvatore Miciotta, and John Minerva, had taken the so-called blood oath and been initiated as a created man.
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What Do You Think Made Him so Successful?
Michael’s Prosperity Stems from His Several Businesses in The Fields of Gasoline, Entertainment, and Sports Management. Most Notably, This Individual Has a Razor-Sharp Intellect. with A Talent for Devising Innovative Strategies and Schemes that Have Netted Him Millions of Dollars Over the Years. Even Now, in The New Internet Age, He Has Demonstrated Great Versatility in Reinventing Himself as A Sort of Celebrity.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the Mafia Controlled Businesses Such as Vehicle Dealerships, Auto Repair Shops, Leasing Firms, Contractor Companies, Movie Production, Distribution Companies, Restaurants, Nightclubs, Video Stores, and Travel Agencies, in Addition to Gasoline Bootlegging.
Michael Franzese Was Cleared of Racketeering Charges in April 1985. He Was Sentenced to Five Years in Prison and Forced to Pay $1.7 Million in Restitution for His Theft of Gas Taxes by The End of The Year. He Was Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison and Compelled to Pay More than $15 Million in Reparations in March 1986, After Pleading Guilty to Tax and Racketeering Conspiracy. Franzese Was Freed from Prison in 1989 After Serving 43 Months.
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Summing-Up
Michael Franzese Is One of The World’s Wealthiest Criminals. He Was Able to Amass Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Barely Two Decades. of Course, Criminality Does Not Always Pay Off in The Long Run, and He Appeared to Have Lost His Riches Before Recreating Himself on Netflix and You Tube. Michael Franzese’s Net Worth Is Expected to Reach $750 Thousand Dollars in 2022.
Despite His Retirement from The Mafia, He Continues to Appear on Many Lists of The World’s Wealthiest and Most Well-Known Criminals. Furthermore, the Cosa Nostra, to The Best of Our Knowledge, Is Not the Same as Your Local Library; You Cannot Simply Return Your Membership and Go Your Separate Ways. So, Whether You Believe It or Not, I Believe Michael Franzese Is Still a Member of The American Mafia.