Michael Franzese - Mafia Democracy: How Our Republic Became a Mob Racket

If you had told me in 1985 that I would write a foreword for a book by an ex-Mafia caporegime, I would have laughed you out of my office. Thirty-seven years ago, I was putting Mob bosses behind bars, not helping them get their stories out to the pub lic.

But here I am.

Although I had a reputation as a relentless federal prosecutor of the American and Sicilian Mafia, Wall Street fraudsters, Nazis, Colombian cartels and the FARC, terrorism, and corrupt Republicans and Democrats, I never lost my firm belief in redemption. It is true that recidivism is the rule, and redemption is often feigned, but there is embedded in the human personality the desire to do go od.

Two thousand years ago, an overzealous Jewish - Roman citizen made his reputation as the most fearsome and effective pursuer and assassin of early Christians. His cruel excessive use of torture and murder was driven by the same motivation as that of Eastern Europeans who ran concentration camps and slaughtered thousands of Jews and Orthodox to gain preferment within the Third Reich and promotion in the SS. Paul even personally supervised the stoning of St. Stephen. And then on the road to Damascus he was confronted with his atrocities by the intervention of Christ Jesus and became even more dedicated and zealous and effective in spreading the word of the Lord through Eastern Europe and Asia Mino r.

Redemption is the work of the L ord.

Let me tell you why Im writing this foreword for Michael Franz ese.

I first met Michael when my team was prosecuting him. Michael was among the various Mob guys I went after in the mid -1980s when I was the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Our biggest case during that period was the 198586 Mafia Commission Trial, where we took on the Five Families of New Yorks Mafia and won. Time magazine called it the Case of Cases, and we sent the likes of Tony Salerno, Carmine Persico, and the heads of the Five Families to prison with one - hundred - year sentences. We also sent two hundred of their members and eight hundred of their Sicilian co - conspirators to prison for all or most of the remainder of their lives. A few, like Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti, were murdered by their o wn.

I came to know Michael Franzese during those years. He was a high - profile figure in the Colombo crime family, and his father, Sonny Franzese, was a long - time Mafia boss before going to prison for fifty years. We prosecuted Michael more than once in those years and were never able to get a conviction. But I knew it was just a matter of ti me.

I remember attending one of his trials during this period. Michael was at the defense table with his lawyer, and I was chatting with my prosecutors handling the case. Someone later recalled how I turned to address Michaels attorney. His father is in prison for fifty years, I said, nodding in Michaels direction. But were going to put his son in prison for a hundred years! I spoke loud enough for Michael to h ear.

Michael had his hand in a lot of different schemes, but by far the biggest one was his lucrative scam to cheat the government out of gas taxes. Through an elaborate daisy chain network, Michael and his crew used eighteen stock - bearer companies based in Panama to defraud the government out of these taxes, pocketing as much as $8 million a we ek.

We later estimated that the scam cost New York over $250 million in stolen gas taxes. Florida may have lost nearly that much when Michael expanded to the south. Meanwhile, the Yuppie Don, as Michael was called in the newspapers, became something of a media darling. He was listed at number eighteen on Fortune magazines list of the Fifty Most Wealthy and Powerful Mob Bosses, and Vanity Fair claimed he was the biggest moneymaker in the Mafia since Al Capone. I have to admit that seeing these articles angered me and made me even more determined to send this Prince of the Mafia to prison for a long t ime.

In March 1985, we struck a deal that would allow Michael to plead guilty to racketeering conspiracy and tax conspiracy. He was sentenced to ten years in prison and agreed to pay $15 million in restitution. This settlement was a significant piece of our success in crippling the organized crime network in New York C ity.

In subsequent years, I got into politics and was elected mayor of New York City in 1993. I served two terms. I helped clean up the city and return it to its former glory, and after 9/11, I helped unite the city during our greatest crisis. During these years, Id hear about Michael Franzese from time to time. Someone told me hed left the Mafia. At first I was skepticalthe Mafia isnt a social club that allows its members to just leavebut as time went on I could see additional evidence that Michael had turned his life around. He had shifted his attention to lifting people up rather than controlling or intimidating them in the way of Mob bosses. As time went by and the conversion remained constant, I was impressed by how he had publicly left a life of cri me.

Over the years, I heard more and more about Michael. He wrote books and traveled the country giving speeches. He became a devout Christian. More than a few people told me that I should listen to what he had to say about politics. Im a conservative Republican, and Michael, I learned, shared many of my beliefs and attitu des.

In 2021, I was invited to be on a podcast with Michael hosted by my friend Joe Pagliarulo. I didnt hesitate to accept. Hows Michael doing? I asked Pags, a mutual fri end.

What Michael did with his life was not easy. Id seen too many criminals go to jail and come out and start breaking the law all over again. But Michael had been sincere and forthright. He spoke in a way that was more powerful and compelling. As I said, I truly believe in, and respect, redemption. It was clear to me that Michael had redeemed hims elf.

Meeting with Michael that day confirmed for me that I had been correct about him. I had read a lot of his writing, watched him on television, and saw how he had developed. I had an instinct that he was legitimate, and I found myself thinking, This is what can happen to human beings. You can change. You can put your past behind you and become a better person. I believe as a Catholic and as a Christian that it is the work of the Holy Spirit reaching the goodness placed there by our Crea tor.

God has different directions for us, and I can see that he set Michael on a fresh, new direction. Michael broke the law and went to prison, but he came out a different and better person. And just as he was helped through that transition, he now works to help oth ers.