The Long and Winding Road: An Inside Look at Michael Franzese‘s Journey Leaving Organized Crime Behind
Like many children who grow up in mafia families during the peak mob era of the 1970s, Michael Franzese was groomed to follow in the footsteps of his elders from a young age. His father, notorious Colombo crime family underboss John “Sonny” Franzese, forged a profitable career in organized crime over decades.
Rising Up, and Falling In Line
Sonny took deliberate steps to position Michael to carry the Franzese name to upper ranks one day. The indoctrination began early, with Michael dropped into street gambling operations as an adolescent to get hands-on education. Recalling initiations like using a knife for the first time at age 12 trained him not only in mafia business but also the detachment needed for violence.
According to research, this pattern of grooming children to enter “the life” often stems from older generations seeking to build a dynasty legacy. Their loyalty to mafia families means protecting the tree by fostering tight family control. It typically takes a major rupture to break the cycle.
By his 20s, Michael Franzese built upon early training to become a money-making machine for the Columbo family profits. He earned the mafia rank of capo, running a crew of soldiers, by designing a lucrative bootlegging scheme involving skimming gas station receipts. At the peak, some estimates placed his weekly income between $5 million and $8 million – an unheard of sum even amongst mobsters.
Yet this rapid success still came at immense cost behind the scenes.
The Hidden Costs of Loyalty
While glorified in movies, the reality of crime family allegiance devastated Franzese’s household and emotional stability at the deepest levels. The wreckage included:
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An absent father: Despite fame within the mafia world, Sonny Franzese spent over half his life incarcerated. Between federal indictments and parole violations, his 33-year combined prison sentence left children without reliable support.
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An anguished mother: The instability coupled with mental health challenges overwhelmed his mother Cristina. She turned to alcoholism and pills which sadly cut her life short via overdose when Michael was just 14 years old.
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Addicted siblings: Growing up, Michael’s older brother and sister struggled with drug abuse and addiction cycles that appropriate interventions may have reduced if not for the chaos at home.
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Premature death: Trauma and lack of proper medical attention contributed to his younger sister’s death from cancer at just 38 years old.
The Franzese home remained damaged without accountability from Sonny for the destruction left in his wake.
Refusing Responsibility: The Criminal Coping Cycle
According to Franzese’s firsthand accounts, his father Sonny dealt with the carnage through emotional distance and refusal to admit wrongdoing. This pattern manifests in many career criminals.
Psychologically, gang members often rationalize harm via “cognitive distortions” allowing them to conduct business detached from empathy. This dissociation stems from compartmentalization – sealing off certain acts from their overall identity. As Franzese explains, “You create circumstances where you can separate yourself from the event…you train yourself that this action is not really you.”
Additionally, personality research indicates higher narcissism prevalence in organized crime members. Key traits like lack of empathy, sense of entitlement, and unwillingness to reflect make accepting responsibility rare. Sonny Franzese exhibited these markers through brushing aside reckonings.
For Michael, witnessing his beloved yet toxic father modeling complete deniability without remorse shaped his perspective. It planted seeds highlighting discrepancies between actions versus moral character that he would one day use to disentangle himself.
Triggers Diminishing the Mafia Mystique
Though misgivings crossed his mind over the years, several key betrayal events crystallized Franzese’s conviction that moving on held fewer downsides than staying.
Rumors Bring Danger
In one chilling incident, false rumors spread within Franzese’s mafia network accusing him of improper business dealings. Members can face violent retribution for the slightest reputation slander whether factual or fabricated. Leadership placed Franzese “on record” documenting the allegations as potential ammunition against him.
In mob lexicon, this classification signals distrust warranting disciplinary action. Michael knew innocence meant little – any associate could gun him down and claim restoring honor as justification later. He avoided harm only by keeping constant vigilance. Still, the sting of being branded untrustworthy without recourse rattled his sense of security amongst the bredren.
No Safety Net from Family
Another inflection point arose during a dispute with notorious capo Greg Scarpa over tribute payments. When Franzese believed Scarpa disrespected his protocols during a nightclub meeting, tensions escalated given Scarpa’s hair-trigger temper. Michael’s father Sonny bore witness when Scarpa’s crew nearly attacked him.
Yet despite the code demanding shows of force when honor under siege, Sonny Franzese stood down that night refusing to defend his son. This stunned Michael given expectations of blood pride. But Sonny remained removed, offering no explanation.
The primal betrayal Michael experienced in this flagship moment drove the reality home. If his own father exercised indifference seeing him under fire, he alone was responsible for his wellbeing going forward.
To Have Loved and Lost: Keys to Forward Momentum
When assessing motivators that ultimately led him to walk away from the mob lifestyle, Franzese credits two vital influences.
His Wife Made Space for Authenticity
Firstly, the patience and non-judgment Michael’s wife extended when he began confiding family secrets created room for transparency. Her insight mirroring back harm caused without accusing his core character granted perspective. According to Franzese, “She gave me the ability to stand outside myself…and see it”. By focusing on specific actions rather than attacking personal value, she avoided triggering his engrained defensive compartmentalization habits.
This emotional safety even amid confessing violence enabled self-reflection critical to redefining his identity. Franzese emphasizes the power of relationships to encourage change trajectories, for good or ill, depending on the trust and space they foster.
His Father’s Betrayals Led to Emancipation
The second galvanizing force could be summed up as “losing to win”. Franzese admits longing for connection with his legendary father made separating from the mob incredibility difficult emotionally. Their bond kept him fiercely loyal to the bitter end despite misgivings.
Yet his father’s dismissal when Michael desperately needed backup became the proverbial last straw. By refusing to stand with his son out of apathy for anything beyond his own interests, Sonny Franzese severed their final strands binding Michael to the old life.
Ironically, the outrageous absence of support that once protected Michael from harm now granted the permission to walk away he could never give himself. It conveyed no rules or codes mattered more to Sonny than flesh and blood.
This revelation wholly freed Michael Franzese from lingering obligations holding him hostage. Unmoored from a dutiful son’s hopes, he recognized no further expectations existed to obey. With his future solely his own, Franzese soon orchestrated an escape from the exponents that shocked even his FBI adversaries.
The Journey’s End Is Only the Beginning’s Start
When sharing lessons learned, Michael Franzese notes organized crime lifestyles often end in only three ways – prison, death, or vanishing quietly with a new identity. Walking forward into independence rather than looking back needs courage regardless of catalysts.
Yet forging new purpose, meaning, and life outcomes in that context proves an even more monumental challenge. It requires unpacking decades of learned behaviors founded on exploiting others, refusing emotional connections, and solely serving oneself.
Franzese deserves deep admiration for the integrity and grit to transform not only action patterns but mental models from the ground up. By spotlighting his father’s lack of conscience while nurturing his own, he embraced responsibility for harm once deemed acceptable detached from the self. And revived spaces inside that lay dormant when living for power alone.
This ability to hold seemingly incompatible truths side by side – recognizing his father’s greatness equally alongside his life’s demolishment – symbolizes the enlightenment Michael Franzese attained through his underworld journey. His hard-won redemption wisdom now hopes to spare others from traveling that path first.