Mafia Wiki  Michael Franzese  1,673pages on this wiki Michael
Franzese Michael Franzese  Michael Franzese (born May 27, 1951),
is a former New York mobster with the Colombo crime family who
was heavily involved in the gasoline tax rackets in the 1980s.
Since then, he has publicly renounced organized crime, created a
foundation for helping youth and become a motivational speaker.
Member of the Colombo crime family Edit  Born in Brooklyn, New
York, Franzese is the son of reputed Colombo crime family
Underboss John Franzese. After finishing high school, Franzese
entered Hofstra University and started a premed program.
However, in October 1975 Franzese decided to quit college and
work full time for the Colombo crime family. By the 1980s, he
had become a caporegime, or captain, of a crew.  Gasoline
Bootlegging Edit  Franzese's rise in the Colombo family came
from the infamous gasoline bootlegging rackets, which were very
lucrative for the family. Working with the Russian Mafia,
Franzese sold millions of gallons o