Sit Down with Michael Franzese

Michael Franzese
  • 4.8 (102)
  • Personal Journals
  • Updated Weekly

From a high-ranking member of the Colombo crime family to a man transformed by faith, Michael Franzese shares his extraordinary journey like no one else can. In Sit Downs with Michael Franzese, Michael dives into raw, unfiltered stories from his life in the mob, his path to redemption, and the lessons he’s learned about faith, family, and overcoming life’s struggles. With gripping interviews and practical insights, this podcast will inspire, challenge, and entertain

  1. 1d ago

    Former Mob Boss Ranks The Greatest Mob Songs Of All Time

    Frank Sinatra. Dean Martin. Tony Bennett. Everybody thinks they know what the mob listened to because they saw Goodfellas. People, I didn’t watch the life in a movie theater. I lived it. I sat in those clubs. I was at those weddings. I stood in line at the Copa with my father. And some of the men who sang these songs were around our world — everybody knew it. So today I’m doing something I’ve never done: 18 songs, four tiers, S down to C. I’m not ranking who sang it best. I’m ranking how fast it puts me back at that table. Some of these put me right back in the room. Some of them — and you’re not going to like this — Hollywood snuck onto the playlist. Sinatra, Dino, Darin, Prima, the Four Seasons, the Stones, Clapton — and the one song the whole country sang along to without noticing it’s about a gangster. And stick around to the end, because I go off the list and tell you about a song that had nothing to do with the mob — the one I heard in a prison cell that told me I was going home. Tell me what I got wrong. Tell me what I left off. I read them. 📲 Text me your thoughts about this Interview: https://my.community.com/michaelfranzese (424) 325 0921 0:00 What the Mob Really Listened To 1:50 How the Tier Rankings Work 2:50 Growing Up at the Copacabana 5:35 Frank Sinatra: My Way 8:24 Luck Be a Lady & Mob-Era Vegas 9:11 That’s Life 9:48 Summer Wind & Meeting My Wife 10:45 Dean Martin: Ain’t That a Kick in the Head 11:34 That’s Amore 12:11 Volare 13:27 Tony Bennett: Rags to Riches 14:22 Sponsor: Rumble Wallet 16:00 Bobby Darin: Beyond the Sea 17:35 Mack the Knife 17:56 Louis Prima: Just a Gigolo 19:22 Frankie Valli & My Courtroom Story 20:53 Can’t Take My Eyes Off You 21:47 Walk Like a Man 22:26 In the Still of the Night 23:15 Then He Kissed Me 24:19 A Sunday Kind of Love 24:50 The Godfather Theme: Speak Softly, Love 25:57 The Rolling Stones: Gimme Shelter 27:11 Layla & the Goodfellas Aftermath 28:13 Final Rankings & a Sinatra Story 34:27 How Music Got Me Through Prison 36:30 Closing Thoughts #Mafia #Sinatra #DeanMartin #MobSongs #MichaelFranzese #TierList 🤝 Book 1 on 1 Call With Me: https://michaelfranzese.com/book-1-on-1-call/ 🔥 Check out my store: https://store.michaelfranzese.com/ 🎙️ Michael Franzese Podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3Eo39qb 📧 Interested in partnerships? partnerships@michaelfranzese.com Backbone Media Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  2. 3d ago

    Face to Face With the Only Prosecutor Who Ever Beat Me

    🔬 If you're looking for one simple product that actually makes a difference, that's The Great, visit https://CalderaLab.com/FRANZESE and use code FRANZESE for 20% off your first order. ✅ Take Control of Your Money and claim $10 in US Stablecoin (USD₮)! Download now at http://wallet.rumble.com/InnerCircle and use the code InnerCircle10.📲 Text me your thoughts about this Interview: https://my.community.com/michaelfranzese (424) 325 0921 A lot of prosecutors came after me. Giuliani put me on trial and lost. This man is the only one who ever got me. Ed McDonald ran the federal strike force in Brooklyn — and when I took that plea, it was his case I was pleading to. Ten years. He’ll tell you what he told his team at the time: “Ten years will keep him on ice.” And if his name sounds familiar — he’s the prosecutor in Goodfellas. He played himself. He’s the man who flipped Henry Hill, made the Lufthansa case, and went after Jimmy Burke with a witness nobody was supposed to believe. We get into all of it: why I took the plea and the misstep Giuliani made that pushed me there, what the agents told me on the plane, my father’s hatred for him, how he turned Henry Hill, what it was like watching Goodfellas with the real Henry, and the Gotti investigation he ran before anyone had the case. Forty years ago, this man and I were on opposite sides of a courtroom. Today we’re on the same side of a table. I never thought I’d say that. Face to Face With the Prosecutor Who Put Me Away | The Real ‘Goodfellas’ Prosecutor #MichaelFranzese #Goodfellas #HenryHill #EdMcDonald #RICO 🤝 Book 1 on 1 Call With Me: https://michaelfranzese.com/book-1-on-1-call/ 🔥 Check out my store: https://store.michaelfranzese.com/ 🎙️ Michael Franzese Podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3Eo39qb 📧 Interested in partnerships? partnerships@michaelfranzese.com Backbone Media Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  3. Oct 15

    A Lemmon and a Coppola Are in a New Mob Movie. Former Mob Boss Sits Down With ‘Redemption’ Cast

    🥘 Join Me in the kitchen for the cookbook release, a live conversation, and your best questions: http://cookbook.michaelfranzese.com/ 📲 Text me your thoughts about this Interview: https://my.community.com/michaelfranzese (424) 325 0921 People, my father asked me a question once in a prison visiting room. “Son, if you ever had to kill anybody — could you do it?” I’ll tell you what I said. And I’ll tell you why a new mob movie called Redemption made me think about it again.I sat down with the writer and director, Asif, and his cast. Jon Lemmon — Jack Lemmon’s grandson — plays the lead: a good kid who gets pulled into the life to help his father and ends up in deeper than he ever meant to. Weston Coppola — Francis Ford Coppola’s great-nephew — plays Jackson, the guy who brings him in. Two Hollywood names in one mob picture. The movie also has Robert Davi, Frank Stallone, and Jon Lovitz in a role he told the director he’s never played before. The story isn’t mine — but it’s close enough that I had some things to say.We get into why good people do bad things, what it actually costs to walk away from that life, the night I told my father I was quitting school to help him, and why I respect a film that shows the human side of the men I knew.The movie’s coming out in the next couple of months. I’ll tell you when. There’s a New Mob Movie — And a Coppola’s in It. Former Mob Boss Sits Down With ‘Redemption’ Cast 00:00 "Son, If You Had to Kill Somebody — Could You?"00:41 Welcome — A Mob Movie Premiere in Vegas03:17 How Hard It Is to Get a Movie Made05:31 Meet the Cast — A Coppola at My Table06:32 From Cleveland to Hollywood — The Director's Story07:23 Why Mob Movies Never Die09:57 Thank You for Showing the Good Side of That Life10:23 Why Do Good People Do Bad Things?13:16 The Day I Told My Father I Was Quitting School13:42 The Question My Father Asked Me14:02 When Violence Feels Justified18:28 The Real Informant Behind the Film20:53 1980s Cleveland — The World of the Movie22:36 Walking Away Feels Like Betraying Your People23:48 The Milano Family and the Cleveland Mob26:35 I Knew Joe Colombo — And I Loved "The Offer"29:18 My Father Lived to 10329:54 How Weston Got the Call35:25 Releasing a Film the Old-School Way37:24 The World Premiere in Las Vegas38:31 Written With This Cast in Mind39:03 Frank Stallone's Character Was Based on a Real Guy42:14 A Thousand People at the Premiere — What I Saw43:35 God Bless — See You Next Time #Redemption #MobMovie #Coppola #FrankStallone #MichaelFranzese 📧 Interested in partnerships? partnerships@michaelfranzese.com Backbone Media Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  4. Oct 10

    The Biggest Legal Scam in America (Ex-Mafia Boss Reacts)

    Free Insider Training Event: Thursday, October 15th at 3pm ET Register here - https://michaelsinsiders.com Online event, 100% free, learn how to find and copy these insider trades. 📲 Text me your thoughts about this Interview: https://my.community.com/michaelfranzese (424) 325 0921 Congress makes $174,000 a year, so how do so many of them leave Washington worth millions? I sat down with Ross Givens, a stock trading educator who has spent years tracking the trades of politicians and corporate insiders. Ross breaks down how the STOCK Act turned into a loophole: lawmakers and executives have to report their trades, and once they file that form, they’re free to keep trading. Here’s the part most people don’t know. Those reports are public, so anybody can see what they’re buying. My friends, I went to prison for tax fraud. What these people are doing makes what we did look like peanuts, and nobody is ever held accountable. I’ve said it for years and I wrote a whole book about it, Mafia Democracy: our government operates just like the mob. The difference is, we never took an oath to serve the people. In this conversation we get into: - What insider trading really is, and why Martha Stewart didn’t go to prison for it - How the STOCK Act lets Congress and CEOs trade on information you and I don’t have - Real examples of suspiciously well-timed trades by members of Congress - Why banning congressional stock trading is all a show - Nancy Pelosi, and why I say she’d be a mobster if she were a guy - Why Social Security is the biggest Ponzi scheme in history - How the government took over the rackets we went to jail for - How the average person can legally follow the insiders’ money Ross is hosting a FREE online training this Thursday, October 15th at 3:00 PM, where he’ll show you step by step how to find these insider trades yourself. Register here (they’ll send you the recording if you can’t make it live): Be safe, be healthy, and God bless each and every one of you. #Congress #InsiderTrading #Pelosi #StockMarket #MichaelFranzese #MafiaDemocracy This video includes a paid promotion. Nothing in this video is financial advice. Investing involves risk, including the loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Do your own research. Backbone Media Group The Biggest Legal Scam in America (Ex-Mafia Boss Reacts) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  5. Oct 8

    Former Mob Boss: She Deserves to Die. I’m Still Against Executing Her.

    Christa Pike was supposed to be the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years. They strapped her to the gurney, started the execution — and she didn’t die. As of today, she’s alive, in a hospital, and talking. People, I read what she did. The torture of a 19-year-old girl. The skull fragment she kept. I’m not going to sugarcoat it — it’s demonic, and yes, she deserves to die. Even I’ll say that. But here’s where I’m going to lose some of you: the state still shouldn’t execute her. Not because of her. Because of the 203 people who’ve been freed from death row since 1973 — 145 of them because a prosecutor or a cop lied, framed them, or hid evidence. The death penalty isn’t for one person. It’s for everybody. And a civilized country cannot execute innocent people. We’re not Iran. We’re not China. I did eight years. I spent my first night in solitary thinking my life was over. Life without parole in a six-by-eight cell is not mercy, people. It’s severe punishment — and nobody ever gets exonerated from a grave. I also get into O.J., prosecutors who never pay for framing people, and what I think happens to Christa Pike now. Tell me where you stand. Keep it intelligent — we’re trying to have a real conversation here. 00:00 Christa Pike Survived Her Own Execution 00:22 Welcome — Shot Up With Phenobarbital and She Didn’t Die 01:03 Does This Woman Deserve to Die? 01:44 Satanic Murder Scene Still Haunts Police 31 Years Later 02:35 How They Lured Colleen Slemmer to Her Death 03:31 She Kept a Piece of Her Skull as a Trophy 04:41 Murder Is Murder. Torture Is Demonic. 05:29 Text Me — Should Christa Pike Die? 06:23 The Botched Execution — Where Things Stand Now 07:09 Yes, She Deserves to Die. No, the State Shouldn’t Execute Her. 07:38 The Death Penalty Isn’t for One Person. It’s for the Masses. 08:38 203 People Freed From Death Row Since 1973 09:26 My Father Was Framed — 50 Years for a Crime He Didn’t Commit 10:33 Execute an Innocent Person and There’s No Appeal 11:59 What If They Confess to the Crime? 13:26 The Same Stance I Took With OJ Simpson 14:34 Prove It Beyond a Reasonable Doubt or Set Them Free 14:54 Take Control of Your Money With Rumble Wallet 16:40 You Pay for It in This Life or the Next 17:20 Official Misconduct in 71% of Death Row Exonerations 18:21 What If It Were Your Family Member on Death Row? 19:31 Life Without Parole Is Not a Walk in the Park 20:01 My First Night in Solitary — I Thought My Life Was Over 20:56 Prosecutors Who Frame People Never Pay for It 21:38 They Have All the Money, Time and Power 23:22 DNA, Perjury and Doctored Forensics 24:59 If It Were My Daughter... 25:24 Redemption Doesn’t Erase Accountability 27:09 Will Tennessee Try to Execute Her Again? 27:53 My Position — End the Death Penalty 28:48 Thank You for Watching the Family Sit-Downs 31:12 My Brother John and I Are Building an Addiction Recovery Program 31:48 Big Things Coming This Holiday Season 32:18 Be Safe — A 7-Year-Old Girl Killed in Chicago 32:47 Ladies, Walk Next to Your Husband 33:15 Be Healthy — Why I Only Promote What I Believe In 33:51 God Bless America #ChristaPike #DeathPenalty #MichaelFranzese #TrueCrime #Tennessee Backbone Media Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  6. Oct 6

    My Daughter Told Me the TRUTH About Growing Up With a Mobster Dad

    My oldest daughter Miq sat down with her Uncle John a few weeks ago. She hadn’t seen him in years. Now he texts her five times a day. So I figured it was my turn to sit across from her. I was in and out of prison until she was nine years old. I always thought I was there for my kids, even from inside. Miq told me the truth — how growing up with a father who kept disappearing affected her relationships, her trust, and what she thought a good marriage was supposed to look like. She didn’t even realize it until her late twenties. We get into all of it: 41 years with her mother, and the time she thought we might not make it. Why she wishes she’d seen her mom be more affectionate. Her own rough first year of marriage, and why she refuses to be blindsided the way her mother was. Traditional roles — and yes, I said what I said. And I admit something on camera I’ve never really talked about: I wasn’t a good father to my two daughters from my first marriage. That’s on me. No excuses. I’m praying that changes. Our family has been offered reality shows more than once. We always said no. This is as real as it gets. My Daughter Told Me the TRUTH About Growing Up With a Mobster Dad 0:00 Introduction 2:43 My Daughter, Miquelle 6:02 What Miq Learned Sitting Down with My Brother John 8:52 On Trial with Giuliani When Her Mom Got Pregnant 11:24 Indicted Again a Month After She Was Born 14:01 How My Prison Years Affected My Daughter 17:54 Why Kids Need a Mother AND a Father 20:30 Becoming a Father Figure to My Sons-in-Law 23:32 “Anybody I Marry Has to Have a Misdemeanor” 26:47 What 41 Years of Marriage Taught My Daughter 31:01 Why My Wife and I Argue (Two Glasses of Wine) 32:41 The Rough Patch in Our Marriage 34:36 Marriage Is Tough: Money and Trust 35:45 My Regrets with My Daughters from My First Marriage 46:26 Don’t Keep Your Wife in the Dark About Money 49:37 Men and Women Are Equal but Have Different Roles 53:13 Men, Do Your Job: Provide and Protect 56:30 Praying for a New Grandchild 58:38 Why My Family Turned Down a Reality Show 60:30 You Asked Me to Call You “Friends” 62:36 Final Thoughts: Be Safe, Be Healthy #MichaelFranzese #MiquelleFranzese #FranzeseFamily #FatherDaughter #Marriage Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  7. Oct 1

    Face to Face With My Brother — The Son Who Testified Against Our Father (Part 3)

    People, this is it — the final sit-down with my brother John. Three weeks ago we went back to the house we grew up in. Last week he told you why he wore the wire. This week we go to the years in between: when my brother was in the life too, during the war, and our father was doing everything he could to get him made.John was five years sober when he went to see dad. Dad told him, “Son, I’m proud of you.” Took two steps. Then: “It’s a shame you ruined your whole life, though.” That’s our father. And if you knew him, you know he meant both.We get into the night they called John down to the club during the war — no gun, nobody there, and a captain telling him “your father can’t help you anymore.” What dad said from prison when John asked him what to do. The rumor our mother started in a visiting room that almost got our father hurt. The meeting at a lawyer’s office where dad tried to bring John in — and why it never happened. Chicky, Louie, Frankie, and some stories about dad that still make us laugh.And my brother says something in here I want you to hear: 24 years, and he hasn’t raised his hands or wished harm on a single person.I couldn’t sit down with my father anymore. So I sat down with his other son. If you’ve watched all three, thank you — this one was for us.Part 1 and Part 2 are linked below if you’re just finding this.#MichaelFranzese #JohnFranzese #SonnyFranzese #ColomboFamily #MobFamily Face to Face With My Brother — The Son Who Testified Against Our Father (Part 3) Backbone Media Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  8. Sep 29

    Why the Irish Mob Died and the Mafia Didn’t

    📲 Text me — who do you think was the more powerful organization? Make your case. I read them: https://my.community.com/michaelfranzese (424) 325 0921 People, let me set this straight right now. The first real organized crime gangs in New York weren’t Italian. They were IRISH — decades before my people ever got off the boat. The Forty Thieves, the Dead Rabbits, the Gophers, the Hudson Dusters. They owned the docks, the unions, and City Hall. So here’s my question: if the Irish were first, why is there no Irish Commission? Why was there no Irish Luciano? I knew these guys. I did business with the Westies. Jimmy Coonan was a stand-up guy — and I know more about Jimmy than most people do. Some of that I’ll get to. And I’ll correct a few things the legend gets wrong: the Gambinos didn’t partner with the Westies out of fear, and Fat Tony wasn’t the real power behind that deal. We go through all of it — Hell’s Kitchen, Whitey Bulger and the biggest law enforcement scandal in mob history, Danny Greene in Cleveland — and then I give you my verdict. Because the answer to who won isn’t about who was tougher. A feared crew dies with its leader. An organization replaces him by Tuesday. That’s the whole difference. #IrishMob #Westies #Mafia #WhiteyBulger #MichaelFranzese #OrganizedCrime 🍷 Have you tried my wine yet?: https://yt.franzesewine.com/ 00:00 The Irish Were First. So Where's the Irish Commission?00:35 Welcome — And a Quick Word on the Diddy Verdict01:33 Were the Westies Really an Organization?02:20 Why There Was Never an Irish Luciano03:38 What I Know About Jimmy Coonan04:05 The Forty Thieves — New York's First Gang Was Irish04:42 Dead Rabbits, Whyos, Gophers — They Owned the Street and City Hall05:44 The Westies — Hell's Kitchen, Coonan & Featherstone06:20 We Didn't Partner With Them Out of Fear06:56 Fat Tony Wasn't the Real Power. The Chin Was.08:15 A Feared Crew Dies With Its Leader08:47 What Made the Italians Different — The System10:14 Jimmy Got 75 Years. The Westies Went With Him.13:22 Whitey Bulger — Boss and FBI Informant15:00 Danny Greene and the Cleveland War16:13 My Verdict — Hierarchy Beats the Neighborhood Crew17:39 Why the Family Survives the Boss18:48 Could a Non-Italian Ever Be Fully Inside?20:28 Did We Use the Irish for Work We Wanted Distance From?21:51 Were the Westies Really Independent?23:14 They Had Killers and City Hall. We Built a System.23:53 Text Me — Who Was More Powerful?24:33 A Glass of Wine and a Slice25:56 A Warning for the Ladies — Please Be Safe29:42 Franzese Fam, Lives & Ministry Monday31:25 I'm Not Going to Hell for Anybody Backbone Media Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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4.8
out of 5
102 Ratings

About

From a high-ranking member of the Colombo crime family to a man transformed by faith, Michael Franzese shares his extraordinary journey like no one else can. In Sit Downs with Michael Franzese, Michael dives into raw, unfiltered stories from his life in the mob, his path to redemption, and the lessons he’s learned about faith, family, and overcoming life’s struggles. With gripping interviews and practical insights, this podcast will inspire, challenge, and entertain

Information

  • Creator
    Michael Franzese
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    180
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Michael Franzese. All Rights Reserved. "Sit Down with Michael Franzese".
  • Show Website
    Sit Down with Michael Franzese

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