Emily Chan
For decades, John “Sonny” Franzese was a notorious mobster in the Colombo crime family and a formidable figure in the New York Mafia.
Born in 1917, Franzese’s criminal career spanned everything from loan sharking and racketeering to extortion and murder, making him a legend in organized crime circles. He also had a reputation for violence.
One of the most significant chapters in Franzese’s life involved his son, John Franzese Jr. In a dramatic twist that shocked the mafia world, Franzese’s own son turned against him, becoming an informant and testifying against him in 2010. Here is the story of the mobster who was taken down by his son.
Franzese was among the head honchos at the height of the Mafia’s influence in 1950s New York. By the time he was 33-years-old, he was enjoying a wealthy and lavish lifestyle, frequenting popular nightspots in Manhattan and hanging out with celebrities such as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.
He worked out of Roslyn, Long Island, serving as a lieutenant to Joseph Magliocco, a Brooklyn gang chief who had succeeded Joe Profaci, the late Profaci family boss, in 1962.
In the 1950s, Franzese took part in many illegal activities, including loan sharking and brutal murders. By his own estimations, he killed 40 to 50 people during his time as a mobster.
In the mid-1960s, his loan sharking operations had reached the New York suburbs, where he drove husband and wife owners out of their ice cream shop to install a gambling operation.
However, severe measures were being taken on organized crime at that time, and law enforcement started to catch up to him.
His life began to fall apart in late 1964 when he was ordered to testify about the Mafia’s crimes. He pleaded the Fifth Amendment 18 times in order to avoid spilling any details about his work.
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