His pals included some of the biggest entertainers of the time, and a Newsday reporter would later ask if he knew Frank Sinatra. So I got her in the back room behind the bar . I figured hes a skinny guy, theyd kill him. What can I tell him? He hung out with Sinatra and fellow Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr. at the legendary Copacabana nightclub in New York. [4] Franzese used Buddah to launder illegal mob earnings and to bribe disc jockeys with payola. We had Joe Valachi, and if you would have opened up, it would have destroyed the Mafia. He loved his children. As a "made man" for the Colombo crime family, he . George specifically told me that Marilyn spent the evening with Sam Giancana. The granddaughter had arranged for a gospel group headed by a singer/piano player known on Instagram as The Black Franz Liszt to perform at the funeral. It also probably was inevitable. There were no flower cars outside the funeral of 103-year-old John Sonny Franzesebut gospel music, funny stories, and eulogies from his loving grandkids made it much grander. I couldnt do that. economy Theres no money in crime no more, he said. You know what she told me? Over the course of the ensuing decades, Franzese cemented his reputation as one of New Yorks flashiest mobsters. Got A Tip? No doubt about that.. When the show starts, over there, you know, in the Latin Quarter, the stage goes up, as the show starts, all the lights go out. The Hollywood actress is said to have spent the evening with Sam Giancana after taking the singers private jet to Cal-Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. On a side note sonny is so old, looking at the era he came up in he mustve seen it all, stories would be insane to listen to. The only other person he mentioned that was there was [singer] Buddy Greco. . He was 93 years old at the time. In October, the Queens district attorney indicted him in the homicide of Ernest (The Hawk) Rupolo, a one-eyed mob hit man from Baldwin. Sonny was always nattily dressed and knew full well that reporters would describe his wardrobe in detail, his cashmere coats included: In those days, cashmere was expensive.. [1][14] His son, Michael, alleged that when Mishler sentenced his father, Franzese declared, "You watch. He loved his children. Wikimedia CommonsSonny Franzese (left) with famous boxer Rocky Graziano (center). His supporters. As Newsdays Bob Greene reported in December 1965 when Franzese and his family were living in Roslyn:For Franzese, the world is his apple. Maybe all the drugs he took. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. That man can do jail time standing on his head.. Dinamo The pastor said, I will make a phone call, Maurice recounted. I heard about you, Franzese said. But neither Frankie Yale nor any other mob boss is known to have had a granddaughter stand before his coffin and recount how Sonny Grandpa gave her wise advice as she became what she termed a rising young business executive., He challenged me to exude confidence no matter what, she said. His procedure was to dismember the corpse in a kiddie pool, dry the severed body parts in a microwave oven, and then run the parts through a commercial-grade garbage disposal. But one particular patron never had a problem. John Franzese as a free man in 2018. Did you know she was pronounced dead, and then they brought her back to the house, and she was still alive, and they took her back to the hospital, and brought her back home, and then the coroners came over, and they found her dead in another bed somebody moved her, he says. According to law enforcement, Franzese remained the official underboss of the Colombo family. Marilyn Monroe spent her last night alive at Frank Sinatras lodge with a Mafia boss, according to extraordinary new claims. Jeffrey Basinger/Newsday via Getty ImagesJohn Franzese as a free man in 2018. Youre chasing me off the table., Sonny replied, I cant have sex with you. He spoke to Newsday, in part, because he said he remembers reporters treating him fairly after his conviction for conspiracy to rob banks in 1967. Notorious Colombo crime underboss John 'Sonny' Franzese Sr - known as 'The Nodfather' for falling asleep during one of his trials - has died at the age of 103. One of his paramours was Jayne Mansfield, the buxom blonde star of the 1950s and 60s who was one of Playboys early centerfolds. "Marilyn was gorgeous, forget about it." The mutual attraction proved irresistible, and their relationship led to an encounter that that left Sonny deeply ashamed. Legendary Colombo family capo John (Sonny) Franzese, who rubbed elbows with Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe before a bank robbery rap eventually made him the nation's oldest federal. advertising Not only was she ultimately proven right on both counts, but Franzese didnt even have to finish that prison term. If he guaranteed a deal, people knew it was good, said his son John. As a caporegime, Michael was making $5-10m weekly from a petrol bootlegging scheme, involving the Russian Mafia.Watch my interview on Michael Franzese's channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6hqYXMeeZU\u0026t=64sSupport us on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/shaunattwoodShaun Attwood merch: https://shaunattwood.shop/collections/allShaun Attwood's social media:TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shaunattwood1?Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaunattwood/?hl=enTwitter: https://twitter.com/shaunattwoodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/shaunattwood1/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/shaunattwoodOdysee: https://odysee.com/@ShaunAttwood:aJen's website: https://www.organiccottonclothing.co.uk/Jen's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/boomer_jen/Jen's Twitter: https://twitter.com/boomerandjenLtdJen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ7utxeVCXBkhDXms36xLfgJen's clothing company on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/boomerandjen_organic_clothing/Jen on FB: https://www.facebook.com/BoomerJen-106167247767169/Andrew Gold's links: YouTube: http://youtube.com/andrewgold1 On the Edge with Andrew Gold Podcast - https://podfollow.com/on-the-edge-with-andrew-gold Twitter: twitter.com/andrewgold_ok Dr DAS' CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/c/APsychForSoreMinds Dr DAS\" social media: TWITTER - https://twitter.com/PsychSore FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/psychsore INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/psychforsoremindsWatch our true crime podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPT_cCpNMvT50d_7cJ55ciKoZEY8q_YPtWatch all of our Wild Man videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPT_cCpNMvT5SlYuhHm-kLYekc8FIAWvzWatch UK Wild Woman, Sammy the Bull Gravano, Arizona, Mexico: Kerry Osborne: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5CKU-Qg0tM\u0026list=PLPT_cCpNMvT50d_7cJ55ciKoZEY8q_YPt\u0026index=3Watch our Royal Family videos here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPT_cCpNMvT7FSrvAJL-44G2_WQTeU5d5 Watch John Abbott's California San Quentin prison stories: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPT_cCpNMvT4opC39yEqNU3fmPBQUHsv3UK gangsters playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPT_cCpNMvT55XryzNClntlWEHGqDs-HZWatch our full interview with a Mafia hit man for the Gambino crime family: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_o3tTOekqY\u0026list=PLPT_cCpNMvT50d_7cJ55ciKoZEY8q_YPt\u0026index=6\u0026t=9075sWatch smuggling stories with David McMillan: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPT_cCpNMvT6P4orHr3HqE2Dpw5aPyv_OOur donation links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/shaunattwoodPayPal: https://www.paypal.me/SAttwoodJustGiving: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/shaun-attwood-1SubscribeStar: https://www.subscribestar.com/true-crime-podcastMerch:Books: https://shaunattwood.com/shaun/books/Wild Man T-shirts: https://everpress.com/wildmanShaun's Website: http://shaunattwood.com/ Shaun's Blog: http://jonsjailjournal.blogspot.co.uk/ #truecrime #mafia #thegodfather #franzese #gravano #sammythebull #podcast Yet he was tried for murder only once, and was acquitted. But just like everyone else, he couldnt beat death. Franzese was released from custody in 2017, at the age of 100; until that point, he had been the oldest inmate in Federal custody. During a break in the proceedings, the elder Franzese rolled into the mens room in a wheelchair. Franzese was a well-dressed regular at the Copacabana nightclub, where he spent lavishly and hung around with the likes of Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra. International After the Army, Franzese resumed his street life and racked up 10 more arrests through June 1963. At the trial, John Franzese Jr. told jurors not to be fooled by his elderly fathers frail appearance (he was dubbed the Nodfather by the press due to his habit of dozing during the trial). Major Franzese was born in Sicily, moving with his family as a child to Brooklyn. [5], Franzese operated out of New York City and New Jersey and was involved in racketeering, fraud, and loansharking. [32] He also helped to finance the $22,000 budget of the 1972 pornographic film Deep Throat, which generated $3050 million, and the 1974 slasher film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which earned over $30 million from a $80,000140,000 investment. Though its unclear exactly how John Franzese died, it is clear that his death closes yet another chapter in the ongoing history of gangs in New York. And Amazing Grace was the recessional performed by Black Franz Liszt and his vocalists. It was May 19, 1962, when Monroe sashayed onto the stage of Madison Square Garden in a skintight, rhinestone-studded dress and sang a breathy Happy Birthday to President John F. Kennedy during a Democratic fundraiser. The late Gambino boss John Gotti was caught on a federal wiretap marveling at Franzeses refusal to rat: Sonny Franzese, hes one tough [expletive] guy, one tough, [expletive]guy. The late Bernard Welsh, an FBI agent who arrested Franzese for violating parole, agreed in an interview with Newsday in 2017: He demanded so much respect because he did all that time and he never gave anyone up., Authorities believe Franzese personally killed or ordered the murders of dozens of people. Sonny frequented all the citys top clubs, but he felt most at home at the Copacabana, with its roster of glittering acts and Copa Girls dance line. diets You know, Ive been away at college for a couple of years, Franzese said. Corona Virus Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, with their vaudeville-style act of songs and jokes, were regulars onstage. On June 23, 2017, Franzese was released and returned home. He vowed to do the whole bid.. Franzese is said to have run a craps game and to have gone into loan sharking. Daniel Bates In New York John Franzese, known as Sonny, had been the federal prison systems oldest inmate and its only centenarian when he completed his last stint behind bars in 2017. Taxes, a number of the roughly 75 mourners joined him in saying. He repeatedly refused. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Abroad I was just like a big hit with them, he said. It's better to take that half-an-hour, an hour, to get rid of the body than it is to leave the body on the street. Their collective charges included racketeering, gangland hits, the theft of fur coats in New York, and a home invasion in Los Angeles with Franzese held responsible as the underboss of the crime family. Maurice recalled monthly visits to see Franzese at college, as prison is termed in the mob world. Sonny was not a man inclined to express regret or embarrassment about anything he did. Sonny was born circa 1919. , updated Franzese was more open about his own family. It is believed it involved the relationship each had with Marilyn Monroe and that the Mafia was using the actress to blackmail the Kennedys.