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if a mob boss was ever visiting a
psychiatrist he'd be in the trunk of his
car by the end of the week along with
the psychiatrist that would never happen
my name is Michael Franzese and I was a
former capo in the Colombo crime family
one of the five New York Mafia Cosa
Nostra families I'm now residing in the
Los Angeles area and I'm here to be a
movie critic this would never happen
first of all it's too much work involved
in this you know you've got so many guys
and usually mob hits are not done like
that I mean that normally done at close
range
small caliber guns and shotguns being
used I never saw anything like this
before
I know back in the 20s they used machine
guns tommy guns was that was the term
back then but to me this scene seems to
be unrealistic oh hey he's the weekend
there was always a guy of that size and
every crew and every family there was
always somebody that big that was around
Italians eat a lot and some of them get
real big you know I doubt you'd ever see
this many people the last time something
like this occurred was Appalachia back
in New York when guys from all over the
country came in I think they probably
modeled this scene after that you know
ever since law enforcement invaded that
that meeting it never happened again and
that I know for a fact we were both part
of the same hypocrisy but never think it
applies to my family all right some
people have to play the games we
infiltrated society on every level from
the guy on the street the numbers
business right up to the White House and
you would never see a politician talk to
us like that because most of them we
supported and I'm wondering if I would
have been able to stay calm which was
the right thing to do
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I know there's kissing that that was a
Sicilian thing I believe and and
certainly something that might have
happened in Italy this is a scene that
you know that that became close to me
because I had a brother I have a brother
that actually turned informant testified
against my dad and actually tried to
hurt me and went into the witness
protection program I haven't seen him in
ten years it's very hard to bear hard to
deal with since I walked away from that
life and basically you know violated my
oath just by walking away not that I
ever heard anybody but just by walking
away contract on my life the whole bit
did you ever worry about your family and
my answer is no we didn't go after law
enforcement we didn't bother anybody's
family that was hands off in Italy you
know they go after you your family law
enforcement I mean you know there's no
rules when it comes to stuff like that
you do it with your left hand oh wow I
never try so you're right yeah I can
tell you this scene is not unrealistic
because you know in a mob run casino we
certainly wouldn't have tolerated
anybody cheating like that so it could
have been this I mean he breaks
somebody's legs put him in a hospital
even though this is lefty Rosenthal he
wasn't a made member but he was an
associate but he dressed the part DeNiro
and Gotti and you know even myself we
dressed up pretty good
every weekend I was at weddings and
funerals
at the time I didn't know who died or
who was getting married but we had to go
as a matter of respect so we had to
dress up quite a bit I mean I probably
had 50 suits at that time
like Raquel Welch's one great piece of
ass forget about it but then if you
disagree like a Lincoln is better than a
Cadillac forget about it oh I got to
tell you this this is probably one of
the most realistic scenes in all of mob
movie dump you know it's funny I'm a
speaker now and every time I say forget
about it which I say by habit people
laugh you know this the scene made that
word famous it applies to everything
just like this sit down
anytime you had any kind of meeting it
was always that it sit down had to sit
down and discuss you know a
life-and-death matter we had to sit down
just to have dinner everything was done
at a sit down you're an entry in my book
I saw you just a guy who owes me money
it's number one it's the perception that
this person is a serious guy that can
you know maybe hurt you and that
intensifies that look because I know a
lot of times you know people said hey
all you got to do is look at somebody
and they get nervous revolt that I
thought killed this role you know a lot
of mob guys I mean myself being one of
them got involved in entertainment
Travolta took it to another level
wanting to be a director and whatever it
was we were more or less behind the
scenes you know financing some of these
things getting to know some of the
people some of the perks involved with
it really that was a that was it
and you had Nikki eyes mm-hmm and Mikey
franchisee yeah no I don't think he
really looked like me I'll be honest
with you I was into theater I had just
gotten out of prison and I went to see
this with my wife and after a few
minutes she looked at me and she said
you know is this really what you guys
did is that what your life was all about
and I said oh honey come on it's a movie
they make things up you know don't pay
attention no sooner do I say that then
they introduce my character and she
looks at me I said come on we got to go
and I walked out because I didn't know
why they put me in it was a different
crew Frankie the waffle Freddy no knows
people so how did you come up with those
nicknames you know like there was a guy
that we called chicken head and the
reason we called him that because he
used to shoot the head off of chickens
when he was practicing his marksmanship
you know we had Benny eggs why did you
call him Benny eggs well he liked eggs
he ate him all the time so we weren't
really original with the names we had
Fat Tony Salerno why'd you clone Fat
Tony well he was fat what do you mean
funny funny how how am i funny just you
know they made Henry out to be a lot
more significant in the life and he
really was he was just a lost soul he
always had a drug problem alcohol
problem
for me Joe Pesci is is the best
portrayer of any mob guy you know he was
around street guys he knew guys on the
street and he just had it down so
perfectly hey put your eyes up
you know most of the local police they
didn't bother us you know it was really
the FBI and you know investigative
agencies like that especially the feds I
doubt if anybody even though he was
protecting his son would ever come right
out front like that and and look to put
people on Front Street so to speak front
street in other words you're telling the
police that you know one of these guys
might be guilty of doing something so
you're you're actually you know in mob
terms you're becoming a rat or a snitch
and you know you pay a price for that
where's the rest it was the rest while I
was wait
you know this whole shylocking scene you
know very accurate shylocking
loan-sharking you know basically lending
money at you juris rates and everybody
that was in that life was in that
business that had any money you know he
plays these roles good I think today you
know the way De Niro was acting he
thinks he really is a mob guy you know
it's kind of permeated his whole being
in his character
fell off a truck you know Chuck truck a
lot of things fell off a truck I mean
that was the expression that we use
whether it be clothing sue you know
electronics cars whatever you know
hijacking was a big thing back in the
day no question about it and there were
some guys that were professional
hijackers today it's very difficult but
it was a lot easier to change the serial
numbers and and make a new car out of it
nobody could really find it so let's get
you know I'm a little bit jaded when I
when I look at this film only because I
know that the shear had story is fiction
I mean he didn't kill Hoffa I didn't
know Jimmy Hoffa personally but it was
during my time but I do have insight
into you know the what really happened
there he was a hot-headed guy and he was
a very he was one of the most powerful
guys in the country at that point
remember this you control the Teamsters
in a big way you control the country you
know number one you got zillions of
dollars in your pension funds you call a
strike as a teamster you know you got
two and a half million people stopping
no thing gets delivered everything stops
and that's a tremendous amount of power
the Joey Gallo killing that was because
I know you know for a fact what happened
there like I said that was our time and
you know I was I was in the middle of
that I wasn't the shooter don't get me
wrong but I knew it was our family to
him to be so you know out spoken about
doing that it was just so wrong I mean
the scene was accurate I mean he did get
killed in that way he did get out into
the street and they did get him there
and his family was there the whole thing
but Sheehan wasn't the shooter you are
in effect the mayor of Chicago not
simply being appointed to that position
I mean he certainly looked the part
you know everybody looks at Capone like
he was a 40 50 year old guy he was like
29 years old he was in his 30s when he
passed away I think you know Capone was
bigger than life in the movies
he wasn't bigger than life with us I
mean nobody really regard
him you know even my father said you
know he was we chased him out of
Brooklyn he went to Chicago me and my
father my father's 103 so he was around
all of these guys you know unfortunately
I get asked about all the time is about
murder in that life and and I will tell
you this murder was taken very seriously
okay
it can only be approved by the boss so
I've been very very fortunate to be here
where I am now and and not dead or in
prison like just about all of my
associates if a mob boss was ever
visiting a psychiatrist he'd be in the
trunk of his car by the end of the week
along with the psychiatrist that would
never happen there's no way in the world
if a mob boss hit anybody that that guy
would come back at him no way especially
in front of all if he did you don't ever
raise your hand to a made guy no matter
who you are you raise your head to a
made guy you're dead and so and they
know that so this this is not a
realistic scene so David Chase gets in
touch with me through a friend of mine
Jack Gilardi and I see him and he says
look I'm doing this series for Fox and
we want you to be involved as a
consultant and I said you know I'm on
parole and all this stuff I think so I
turned it down that's how smart I am
right
The Sopranos but I always wondered why
he contacted me in my house back in the
60s when it was being built the
government the FBI installed a bugging
device they had it in the kitchen of our
house and they picked up a lot of the
conversation on a daily basis and I am
Telling You that Tony Soprano's mother
was so much like my mother you know
maybe got the Freedom of Information Act
maybe did something but he got a hold of
that surveillance tapes and he patterned
that woman on my mother and I said I
would I tell you I would almost stake my
life I've never had a chance to talk to
him about it well not to think though
John said he went to a cookout at your
house yeah Don doesn't weigh shirts
that that's not true at all I mean I saw
you know on a hot summer day in Harlem
you know guys would sit out in front of
their social clubs and they'd be
insurance even the boss I mean you know
that's that's not true let me go on a
boat your insurance oh maybe somebody
told him that did you know didn't know
they were talking about but that's not
true
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you