Fascinating story today out of the Big Apple, where John "Sonny" Franzese, 93 -- a reputed former second-in-command Underboss of NYC's Colombo crime family (he's in the first picture above, on left) -- gets pinched & hussled off to the hoosegow for up to 20 years after being convicted today for racketeering involving shakedowns at some of the local strip joints and pizzerias (links to story at bottom).Sonny (I thought your name had to be Santino in order to be nicknamed "Sonny" in the mob?) garnered his new nickname, "The Nodfather," during his trial as he struggled to remain awake (once actually nodding off) while his turncoat son John Jr., 50, broke Omerta (the mafia code of silence) and testified against his old man.
And Junior (and since he's the Junior to a Sonny, does make him "Little Sonny"?) also testified as to some of the wonderful fatherly influence and advice that Big Sonny (whom I will henceforth refer to as "the old man") provided over the years. First, Junior testified that the old man had Junior, from a very young age, out on the street running messages for Daddy to other high-ranking mobsters, much akin to the role that a teenaged Henry Hill performed in the motion picture Goodfellas (based on a true story). And besides enlisting the boy to be his lackey and messenger boy, the old man was also full of wonderful life advice for his son, such as lessons in how to properly handle an extortion victim. The old man told Junior, "If he don't give it to you, leave him in the floor." With parental counseling like that, who needs bad influences, right?
But alas, the old man's shyster (errrr, attorney), Richard Lind, did during the trial try to argue that the old man's nefarious activities tend to pertain to the distant past, telling the jury that the old man hasn't been a threat since "the age of Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson and maybe the age of George Washington" (funny line, frankly). And indeed, the old man's heyday was in a bygone era: He was reportedly (along with Lola) a regular at the Copacabana nightclub, "where he mixed with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr." and other members of The Rat Pack. It's even alleged that Sinatra once kissed a ring on the old man's finger. But that was 30 years ago, when they used to have a show.
However, the old man's reach into the High Life of celebrities and American pop culture didn't stop there. It's reported that he also put his financial weight behind several American recording labels and also had a little taste (just enought to wet his beak) into such motion pictures as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the '70s porn classic, Deep Throat. I mean, talk about a total Pulp Fiction piece of work over there, this old man!
And finally, the old man has taken a rather matter-of-fact attitude towards this whole trial thing and the fact that Little Sonny took the testimonial stand to rat out his old man. The old man's earlier reaction to the possibility of being sent to the can and his son testifying against him: "Who cares? I gotta die someplace."
No word yet, BTW, on whether the old man will get to pull another Goodfellas (see second picture above) and live in a posh prison dormitory with other imprisoned wiseguys, separated from the rest of the prison population (I believe they call that "Gen Pop"), complete with all of the amenities, plenty of contraband food and drink, and an exclusive kitchen used for nightly dinners always featuring a pasta course and a meat course (along with a steady stream of white and red wine). My best advice to the old man: First thing, tell that damn Vinnie not to use too many onions in the pasta sauce!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/7879702/Mafia-boss-93-faces-prison-after-son-breaks-code-of-silence.html
Posts
