Turning it all around: Michael Franzese

I get a lot of emails calling me a rat, and others who chose to go down the same path experience the same.  Some people want to argue with me about how the life of crime is good.  One more time: there are no happy endings in the Cosa Nostra.

I just watched a DVD with Michael Franzese talking about his life.  I've had it for years and it has moved with me at least twice.  I had never watched it and the other day I sat down and started watching.  The funny thing is I am sure that I got it from someone in law enforcement at some speaking engagement I’ve done in the past - I can’t remember when or how.

It has taken me ten years to come to grips with my former life.  I take responsibility for my life and all I've done.  I lay it all out and tell it like it was and is now.  

Michael has a great Christian testimony, one of the first things he speaks about is the toll that being in the life takes on those around you.  All these people that think the Cosa Nostra is about a bunch of guys cracking jokes, living the high life are wrong.  The toll it takes on the families is huge and that is an untold story.  I know a number of family members from the life and it was never as good as the movies portray, in fact it was more like a horror movie.

Michael had to live a life growing up where law enforcement contact became normal.  The police arriving to arrest his father Sonny, or to search the house was routine.  To read about Sonny in the newspapers and to have friends like the Hawk and the Chubby Brothers.

Michael did go to Catholic school and he did study the Bible, but they were just subjects in class.  He would lose his father to a 50 year prison sentence for a string of bank robberies.  

It is crazy that Sonny would get convicted for that crime when there is no way he would deal with such low lifes.  I spoke to Jerry Zimmerman about it and he told me it was crap. A set up.  The problem is, Sonny lived the life and committed many more crimes that in reality were worse.

Michael would lose a sister to drugs.   There was another sister in LA who passed away a few years ago.  John Jr., his brother, was a drug addict who was in Los Angeles for a time.  I knew him and he was just a sad guy.  He could not live in his father's shadow.  He would end up going back to New York to work as a helper for Sonny after he got out of prison in the 2000’s for his 5th parole violation.  John Jr. would end up wearing a wire on his father and even testifying against him.  

John was home with his wife in Los Angeles one day and he went into the garage and that was the last she saw of him.  He was whisked away into the WITSEC program.   So even in the storied Franzese clan there are no happy endings.  In the American Cosa Nostra or as the media likes to say it the Mafia you do not get much higher than Sonny Franzese.

Michael far surpassed his father in money making.  Michael made money in car dealerships and traditional Organized Crime activities.  It was when he partnered up with Fat Larry Iorizzo in the gas business that he went into the stratosphere of mob moneymakers.  I've written about guys in his crew that worked in the gas business with him.  They had huge homes and helicopters. They made huge amounts of cash by stealing the federal and state gas tax.  Jerry Zimmerman, who moved to California to get into the movie business, had a picture with a large cooler sized stack of cash from those days.  

Michael’s life changed because of Jerry Zimmerman but he had no idea at the time.  Jerry got him involved in a movie that would be called Knights of the City.  It was a breakdance movie and even though I've not seen it in years I'm sure it represents that time period well.

Michael would meet his future wife on set.  What Michael did not know was that he was setting the foundation for him to completely change his life.  I've heard it all about Michael. I've never met him, but like I said we have many former friends in common.

Michael’s life was not to be spent in prison or murdered on some street in Brooklyn. Michael had no idea that by sending Jerry Zimmerman out to California he would touch people all over the world.  Like Michael or not, he has a powerful message that people listen to and understand.

Michael found that he could be forgiven through Jesus.   The best part of the DVD is when Michael says that it was not until he surrendered his life to God that everything changed.

It has been many years now and Michael is alive and well.  He has never gone back to the life. The proof is there.

That is the message in a nutshell.  We can all try and force things to happen.  Do what we think is right.  It will not be until we surrender to God and do what we were put here to do that we will find peace and happiness.

The money and the power that comes with being a Mafia boss is nothing.  You would never be happy or have a good life. I'll say it again, in that life there are no happy endings.

Bill Ferrante

I have been asked if Louis Ferrante is related to Bill “The Crusher” Ferrante.  The answer is No.

In the 1990’s I was hanging around Jerry Zimmerman, who was a close friend of both Bill Ferrante and Sonny Franzese.  Jerry was a huge man and one of the best con men that ever lived. I called him the gentle giant.  The name Sonny Franzese is thrown around by many people.  I never met him in person, only spoke to him on the phone.  Most of the people who drop his name have never laid eyes on the man.  

Back in the days I was hanging with Jerry, I was working as a criminal also and I was known as one of the people who could get x rated movies made.  Porn was an outlet we used to launder money from other crimes.

My “work” brought me to the right place at the right time, because Jerry and Bill decided to become partners in a wholesale porn warehouse. I was on parole at the time and my parole officer was on me about getting a job.  So when I was chosen to go to Fort Lauderdale by Jerry to meet his partner Bill, I was really happy.  It was a great way for me to get out of town and out of sight.

I met Bill and we hit it off immediately. Only a select few of us were allowed to call Bill “Billy,” including Jerry Zimmerman and Sonny and Michael Franzese. I also met Billy's younger sister Gina, who was the widow of Vinny Lynch.  Vinny was a bank robber and a suspect in over a dozen murders.

I would get to the porno warehouse early everyday before Bill or Gina arrived. I answered the phones a lot and more than a few times it was Sonny calling.  He often called not only to speak to Bill but to speak to Gina also.  Sonny and Gina were close and had been since the 1970s.  I quickly discovered Sonny and Gina had a long off-and-on relationship.  Bill never bragged or spoke about his criminal activity.  If anything, he played it down.  He is 30 years older than me and had quite a record.  Bill Ferrante, also known as “The Crusher” and his partner Vinny, aka “The Butcher” (not to be confused with Vinny Lynch the bank robber) were in Michael Franzese’s innermost circle. They were the two main enforcers for Michael during the gasoline scam. Bill had gas stations all the way from Long Island down to Florida.

Bill and Vinny (The Crusher and The Butcher) were partners involved with a multi million dollar counterfeit scheme that also included stolen bearer bonds. They were so slick that the agents from the secret service tried to infiltrate them. The undercover secret service guys went along on some of their deliveries. They met with the crusher and the butcher and gave them a downpayment of $10k on some paper and when they returned they were busted.  They were both given the maximum sentence that the judge could give them.  Immediately upon their release both men resumed their roles with Michael.

Soon Michael and his whole crew were in the gas business. To this day, the gasoline scam was the largest money maker in organized crime history. For years everyone was flying high.  The pressure became too much and a player in gas business, Larry Lorizzo, decided to flip in 1986. That was all the government needed, and they started falling like dominos. They started rolling up the whole operation and nobody was safe.  Most of the Russian criminals who had worked alongside them in the gas business also plead guilty.  

Bill was soon indicted by the state of Florida.  To make it worse, he was already out on $250k bond from the feds.  While in the Dade County jail he hired Jayne Weintraub and she represented him in his state RICO trial.  

One day during the trial everyone was asked to evacuate the courthouse. They all thought it was a bomb scare. When they all came back to the courtroom there was Larry Lorizzo in the witness box.  All 500 pounds of him.  He was sitting there surrounded by marshalls, ready to testify how Bill was part of the Colombo family, a collector for Sonny, and Michael’s enforcer.  A lot of guys testified against Bill in his state RICO trial in which he was facing 30 years.  Could it be a surprise that he got convicted? Bill was off to prison, once again, to do his time.  Bill hired Stanley Neustader to represent him on his appeal. 2 ½ years later  Neustader won Bill’s appeal. The Feds could not try him because the state found him guilty.

Michael Franzese never testified against Bill. Bill found out Michael became an informer while he was in prison.  One thing I must say about Billy, he is a stand up guy.  I miss him, his sister Gina and my late friend Jerry Zimmerman. Don’t ever think for a moment that Bill is related to that other Ferrante guy on TV who claims to be a former gangster (Louis Ferrante). I never met Sonny in person, only over the phone.

Flipped: A Mobster tells All Kenny Kenji Gallo May 13th

The world changes everyday. Life goes on. The world stays the same for my former friends who are locked up. I wonder how Johnny Goggles Baudanza likes solitary? I bet Eddie Garofalo has slimmed down in MCC Brooklyn. Eddie likes the easy life. The question is how tall will he stand? Will he be like the Rock Sonny Franzese? Sonny's new words I have to die someplace!
Sonny has had no life. Two sons flipped, two daughters are dead and all his siblings are gone. He lost his home and all his clothes. He has a wife who hates him and yells at him. He has been locked down half his life. How is that a good life. The Feds keep charging the Colombo Family. It is not over yet. I bet Frankie Blue Eye's has a lot to say. I think Michael Persico has a lot to worry about. Eddie Garofalo brought me into the Persico's life, He brought in Steve Marcus and there maybe another informant there. What kind of life is that?

This week on May 13th on Discovery Channel they will show my documentary Flipped: A Mobster Tells All, Kenny Kenji Gallo
Then on June 8th The Deadliest Warrior is on Spike TV.

I am amazed at the people who are still drawn to the life. People never see that it is all smoke and mirrors. You have a bunch of guys who cannot make a living and a select few who live it up. The guys on the bottom do the work and end up getting most of the time.
The big question is will Tommy Tits Geoli flip? If he does what can he give the Feds?

Have a great week! Kenji OC