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Sit Down with Michael Franzese
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Sit Down with Michael Franzese

Author: Michael Franzese

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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

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⚕️Give your liver the support it deserves with Dose. Go to https://dosedaily.co/FRANZESE or use code FRANZESE at checkout for 35% off your first subscription. ✅ 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 People, a lot of you asked me to review The Westies, the new MGM+ show about the Irish crew out of Hell’s Kitchen. So I watched the first episode — and before I tell you what I think of the show, let me tell you something straight. I knew the Westies. I did business with some of them. Jimmy Coonan did time with my father and I met him many times in the visiting room. He was a stand-up guy. Wild — but stand-up. The show gets the atmosphere right. The violence is brutal, and it should be, because that’s how it was. The acting is the strongest part. But there’s a myth I want to kill: the Gambinos weren’t scared of the Westies. We could have wiped them out. The Westies worked for us. And I’ll tell you what I believe really happened to Mickey Spillane, how the Javits Center put real money on the table, and why there was never an Irish Commission — the same reason I gave you last week. And one more thing. About ten years ago, a man who did time with Jimmy Coonan came to me before he died, with a message from Jimmy about a major case that’s never been solved. I put him on tape. I’ve sat on it for a decade. I might finally tell that story. If you watched The Westies — did they get the Irish-Italian relationship right? What did they miss? Text me. And if there’s a show you want me to review next, tell me. #TheWesties #IrishMob #Mafia #MichaelFranzese #Review00:00 The Westies Weren't Big. They Were Violent. 00:43 Welcome — You Asked Me to Review This One 01:25 I Knew the Westies. I Did Business With Them. 01:45 The Tape I've Sat On for 10 Years 04:52 The Show Is Great — Here's Why 10:39 The Man Who Ran Hell's Kitchen 11:36 Nobody Called Themselves "The Westies" 12:08 Mickey Spillane, Roy DeMeo & the Favor 12:58 They Did Contract Work for Us 13:32 The Javits Center — Where the Real Money Was 13:51 Why Every Developer Had to Deal With Us 21:31 Why There Was Never an Irish Commission 21:45 The Balancing Act — Keep the Italians Happy 22:40 Featherstone Flipped. Coonan Got 75 Years. 22:54 I Walked Away. Most of Them Didn't. 23:36 The Acting Is the Strongest Part 24:04 My Verdict — Worth Your Time 24:22 Want the Real Story? Read the Book. 25:24 If I Reveal What I Know — You'll Be Shocked 26:08 Look Where This Life Ends Up 27:14 "You Betrayed Your Oath" — My Answer 31:29 Text Me — What Did the Show Get Wrong? 32:44 God Bless — See You Next Time Backbone Media Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
📲 Text me your thoughts about this Interview: https://my.community.com/michaelfranzese (424) 325 0921 People, I asked David Goldberg one question before we sat down: can you beat a lie detector? He’s run over 20,000 of them. He said no. And then he offered to prove it on me. I’m thinking about it. I took a polygraph years ago, about my father’s case. I passed — because I was telling the truth. So I’ve never understood why the courts call it “pseudoscience” and won’t let a jury see it. In this one, David tells me exactly who benefits from keeping it out, and it’s not the innocent. We get into how a passed test forces prosecutors to deal, the story of me walking into Giuliani’s prosecutors before I was even indicted and answering every question — and what the jury said about it after they acquitted me — the “you did five, tell me about the sixth” interrogation method, why infidelity is now the #1 reason people take the test, what applicants confess when they’re strapped in for a police or fire department job, the innocent people David’s gotten out of prison, and the question we both asked: what would happen if every member of Congress had to take one before they were sworn in? His answer: maybe five seats would be filled. #LieDetector #Polygraph #MichaelFranzese #Congress #TrueCrime00:00:00 Why Won't the Courts Allow a Lie Detector? 00:01:13 Greetings From Palm Beach 00:02:08 I Took a Polygraph About My Father's Case — And Passed 00:05:10 "Pseudoscience" — Why the Courts Keep It Out 00:08:11 Court-Certified — When a Judge Will Let It In 00:12:57 The Day Giuliani Had Me Arrested 00:14:09 I Answered Every Question Before I Was Indicted — The Jury Noticed 00:18:27 A 30-Page Report Nobody Can Ignore 00:19:24 How a Passed Test Forces the Prosecutor's Hand 00:22:43 Christa Pike — Why I'm Against the Death Penalty 00:25:20 20,000 Tests. Never Failed Someone Who Didn't Deserve It. 00:27:46 Strapped In With a Stranger — What's at Stake 00:33:43 "You Did Five. Tell Me About the Sixth." 00:36:00 What You Say in That Room Stays in That Room 00:38:24 Cops Rush to Judgment — Why He Reads the Indictment First 00:41:40 The Innocent People He's Gotten Out of Prison 00:43:09 Death Row Without Justice — For Anyone 00:49:14 The #1 Reason People Take the Test: Infidelity 00:50:41 "I Think My Spouse Is Cheating" — What He Finds 00:52:14 The Dream Job — What Cops and Firefighters Confess 01:00:16 Put Every Member of Congress on the Box 01:03:43 They're in Every Party — I Could Pick Them Out 01:05:10 9/11 — His Proudest Moment in Law Enforcement 01:08:09 I Applaud What You Do 01:11:05 God Bless — See You Next Time Backbone Media Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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? [email protected] Backbone Media Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
🔬 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? [email protected] Backbone Media Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
🥘 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? [email protected] Backbone Media Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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