MICHAEL FRANZESE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A RAT, STOP BUYING HIS BULLSHIT.

It's something I've talked about before.  It's something that just drives me nuts.  I have really nothing to gain against the guy, but the fact is the sheer amount of bullshit and lies spewing from the mouth of Michael Franzese are pretty hilarious.   The problem is, mainstream fans, and those who follow the genre are often too lazy to invest time to actually look at the facts, or they are so enamoured with mob guys to begin with they just cannot fathom that someone out on the talking circuit is completely full of shit.

Michael stands on whatever pulpit and wants you to believe three keys things.  1.  That he never ratted or testified against anyone.  2. That he was the wealthiest and most intelligent boss there ever was, and 3.

He left the life on his own terms and never gave the government anything.  While I would love to tell you all three things are accurate.  They aren't   In fact, they are all lies.  I know I will have those who will scoff at the notion, but I merely suggest you do a few things.  Watch one video to the next with him.  His story changes from one to the next, and he can't seem to keep his story straight.  Even the worst of liars can keep some semblance of a story.

This guy cant.  He never mentioned John Gotti until a few years ago.  Gotti was never the name he uttered until the last three or so years.  It began with people asking him about Gotti in general as Gotti was the face of Cosa Nostra at least via the public's perception.  The Al Capone of his day.  However, as Franzese keep the motor running on overdrive, these stories would go from a characterization of Gotti, to intimate detials, of which, Franzese was laughably telling long winded stories with no truthful foundation behind them.  In many ways, Franzese was always considered soft, it was his father John's legacy and reputation that probably likely kept him alive all these years.  Michael by all accounts to those who knew him, always have said he wasn't a tough guy. He was more suited to be an accountant that a mob toughie, which is one of the reasons why I believe he chose to begin this Gotti narrative where he beat him out of deals, beat him out of money, intimidated him, and all these other laughable things seem to be emminating from.  He had to appear bigger than what he was.  Most mob rats do that, and MIchael is not different in that way.  He wants to see a story, and I get it, but factually, it's laughable.

The point of this, is to point out how these guys get on a platform, tell a story and leave out massive facts.  Too many people get enamoured with him to stop and logically sort out the jack in the beanstalk stories he spews.  So where do we begin?

Let's begin with money.  The root of everything that the mafia is.   The infamous gax tax scam, which Franzese has flip flopped on consistently.  At first it was a scheme devised by him which made the entire mafia wealthy.  Then it was, well I wasn't responsible I just hoaned it.  Big difference between being the guy who invented it versus the reality of a guy who attempted to steal it, until Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso put him in his place.   So how did this all happen?

Marat Balagula, who at the time was the Russian Mafia's head in Brighton Beach.  He actually had a gas tax scheme which was fully functional in Brighton Beach worth billions.   Balagula was close with Casso.  Michael Franzese took it apon himself to attempt to shake down Balagula.   Balagula had friends and wasn't about to allow Franzese to do anything.  So he goes to Casso, who isn't going to have it either.  Before Balagula went to Casso he approached Chris Funari, who at the time was the Colombo crime family Consigliere.   He wanted Franzese out of the way, and Funari held a sit down at the 19th hole crew's club in Brooklyn.

It was Funari who said there was "no reason" for Franzese to shake anybody down, that there was enough money for everyone to make, and making war was just a stupid idea.  Funari put the word out that Balagula was now represented by the Lucchese crime family.   He let Balagula know if anyone came near him again, the Lucchese would react and Anthony Casso would take care of it.  So Franzese was already in trouble, causing trouble, and was nixed at the offset of the deal.  The scheme would make all five families incredibly wealthy.  There would be problems however.

The Russians soon found out that Balagula was paying off the Italians, which infuriated his Russian counterparts.  They thought Balagula lacked balls and reserve, and even though they were getting a small portion, the writing was on the wall, Balagula was strangling them finanacially.    By all accounts Balagula was a very serious guy had massive balls, and also could be a diplomat when needed.  The Russians wanted him dead because they knew with the five families behind him, they stood no verfiable chance.  His biggest enemy Vladimir Reznikov had it, and shoot up Balagulas club with an AK-47.   A few associates and a few secretaries got killed that day.  A bit later Reznikov entered the Rasputin nightclub in Brighton Beach and put a gun against Balagula's head demanding $600,000 in exhange for not killing him on the spot.  He also demanded a huge percentage of everything Balagula was involved in.  Balagula would relent and promise to pay, and Reznikov then threatened to kill his wife and children.  

Balagula stressed out, would have a heart attack not minutes later.  Shortly after Casso arrived and went fucking nuts over hearing what Reznikov did.    Casso then setup a plan.  The plan was to offer Reznikov money.  FInd a spot, and splatter the prick all over the cement.   That's exactly what happened.  Reznilkov showed up the next day to collect his money and Joey Testa, Anthony Senter,  opened up and Reznikov never left the lot.  The Russians never again tried to fuck with Casso or Balagula.

Now, I ask, where was Franzese in all of that?  Nowhere.  He had made claims, that he setup the scam through Salvatore Iorizzo.   Not true.  This was a Balagula scam.  Always was.  He then has made claims that he "had to bring in Genovese solidier Joseph "Joe Glitz" Galizia.   Also not true.  In fact is was Funari who settled the entire issue.  He is the one who brough other families in and gave the control to the Lucchese's.  So that entire line Franzese has spewed is an utter lie.    He went on to make wild claims that he organized the Russian mafia in Brighton Beach, also another long winded and hilarious lie.  Here's why.   First of all Balagula was organized, however the Italians forced out the other Russian mob factions and after Reznikov was whacked they stayed out of the way.  The Italians made their point very clear.  So what would Franzezse have to organize?   He claims to have organized them, brought them in, and became partners with them.  It's very hard to believe that considering the mob was not into doing business with the Russians.  Otherwise they would have cut them in from day one.  Franzese here is trying to make himself look brighter and tougher then he ever was.   

What is true, is that Franzese was good at moving money into legit businesses and moving the money around in a way where he did become wealthy, but at the ire of his own crime family, who suspected and rightfully so that he was skimming like crazy,   He was skimming.  It was to the point the Colombos thought of killing Franzese for his discretions.  They even brought John Franzese into the conversation, who didn't defend his son.  He pretty much through him under the bus, if he was stealing go ahead and kill him.     Where Franzese got his wealth was by skimming and being able to take money and dump it into legit enterprises.  I never said Franzese wasn't sharp in that way, but he tends to overinflate not just his wealth but his business acumen.  

In 1980 Franzese becomes partners with Norby Walters, whom he considered his uncle.  Norby Walters was a racketeer and booking agent.  Franzese's role in this agency was to intimidate and shake down various entertainment acts, and perspective clients.  Walters would extort The Jackson Five, Dionne Warwick and others.    Why is this important?  Because Franzese would inform on Norby Walters, and even testify against him in Federal Court, and Walter would get a fresh decade in prison.  It goes against all the claims that Franzese has made about never ratting on everyone.   He in fact ratted on many many people.  He would rat on a janitor in his fathers office, would tesitfy against him, and he'd get time in prison.  Those were his words in  Vanity Fair article he sat down for.  So his claims of never ratting, never providing information is a huge lie.

Franzese wouldn't stop there.  He would also provide the FBI with the names and ranks of made men in each of the five families.   Another rat move.  But there is more.  In 1983, the FBI launched an investigation into Don King, the FBI felt that Don King had enormous organized crime connections, and wanted someone to infultrate him.  Who?  Michael Franzese.   They went to Franzese, and asked him to introduce an undercover FBI agent  using the alias  Victor Quintana to Don King.    It's worth noting Franzese met King through Al Sharpton, who was another informant.  Sharpton had been giving information over to the feds about the Genovese crime family for years.   Franzese helped the FBI get close to King, but the case fell apart when Quintana, for some reasons didn't hand over the money to King who believed that Quintana was buying his way into the boxing world.

More on Norby Walters.  In 1985 Walter set up a sports managing company.  He brought in Franzese as a silent partner.   Franzese would buy in, but later suddently Walters would suddently be arrested.  Guess who the start witness would be?  Michael Franzese.   Walters would get hammered and sent away to prison.  It's Franzese's story that in 1987 while in prison he had a come to Jesus meeting and would leave the life of crime.  But before he did that he handed over names, ranks, in each of the five families and suddently his sentence went down to 43 months.  He would get out of prison, violate his agreement, and go back to federal prison for 4 years.   In fact when he got out the first time, he went to Los Angeles where he began a tax fraud scheme.    He'd be released in 1994 and claims to have left the life, yet in 2012 was arrested for passing fraudulent checks.

How can he claim he was not an informant?  He was.  How can he claim he never gave up anyone?  He did.  Where the area will get gray is some will say he never testified against a mob guy in court.  The problem is, the fact that he sat down and gave names and ranks is the same exact thing.  He gave the FBI information which led to arrests.  Just because he didn't have the balls to testify doesn't make it any less revolting on any level.  He's a snitch, and a rat.  That's the biggest glowing lie he tells.  Search on google, "franzese colombo, gotti, vanity fair," and the article will come up where Franzese acknowledges he was an "informant."   So please, explain to me how this guy is held on any level as anything other than a pos snitch.
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GOTTI GOTTI GOTTI
"John was a feared guy, but he feared me."  "I beat him in cards, and tons of business deals."   Do the math of when Gotti was in power.  Check the dates.  They don't add up.  Not only did Franzese NOT know Gotti, but he never beat him out of anything, nor did he shake the foundation of Gotti in any way.  I'm not defending Gotti, but I'm stating that he is putting himself into events, and scenarios that aren't true.  It's his way of resonating with someone who had more balls and had more affection in the streets then he ever could.  It's the same shit all these rats do.  

 They are not very relevant, so they have to get on these puke enducing shows, and mention names to make themselves more marketable and infamous.  None of them are as bad as the rat from New Jersey, who has really made up some good stories along the way, but was petrified at the suggestion that someone from Philadelphia was in a casino.  He didn't leave the room for three days out of panic and fear.   This is what informants of ALL ilk do.  They make shit up, attempt to lure you into thinking they are "Don Coreleone," when they are really absolutely zero's with no abilities other than to lie and decieve because they lack the innate intelligence to do anything on their own.

 I don't catogorize rats, they are all one in the same to me.  Franzese is no different from Gravano, whose no different from Rubeo to Previte to Veasey.  They are all trash, and garbage.   Franzese is no different.  There is NO difference between Gravano on a stand versus Franzese hiding in a cell giving up the same information.   Just because you don't sign an agreement doesn't make you any less a peice of shit.   So remember those three things at the top?  Wealthiest boss, inventor of the gas scheme? No true.   Bested John Gotti at every turn?  Never happened.    I never ratted.  Yes, puke face, you did.  This is why your such a scumbag.   This is why people shouldn't be fooled.   The only decent thing you could do is leap off a bridge, because your not worth the piss stained high dollar pants you wear.  You're a rat.


FRANZESE ADMITS TO BEING A RAT