I Made $10,000,000 A Week As A Mafia Boss | Minutes With | @LADbible

In 1975, in fact, I took an oath with five other gentlemen, I became a sworn member of the family and just to show you how lucky I am, the five guys I took the oath with, they were all later murdered, each one of them, none of them. they survived, I grew up in Brooklyn, New York and my father, John Francis, they called him son, that was his nickname, he was a very high profile figure in the Columbus crime family, he was like the John Gotti of his day, I'm sure . Many people have heard of John. My father was a very high profile major target for law enforcement.

You know, throughout the 1960s, he was accused of several crimes. They went to court several times, so I dealt with all that. during my uh, my youth, sometimes I would get criticism from kids at school because my dad was, you know all over the newspaper, you know your dad is a gangster dad, so I would fight in the school yard, stuff like that. , but you know, inside the house, uh, you. I know my dad tried to support us as a family as best he could and, you know, but that's how it was. Do you feel that with your father he worked in a certain way, preconditioned for crime?

You know, my dad originally wanted me to do it. uh, go to school and be a doctor, that was his wish for me and I had no desire to be in that life, um, but when he got a conviction for a very serious crime, he got a sentence of 50 years in prison and he went away. He went away to serve his sentence when he was 50 years old in 1970. I was a pre-med student at Hofstra University in New York and my dad said he was innocent and said, "You know I'm innocent of this crime." ". bank robber, he supposedly planned a series of bank robberies nationwide, but he told me he was innocent and you know that with a 50 year sentence he would die in prison if he didn't get help, so I told him, dad, I have to help you.

I lost interest in school joe colombo was the head of my family at the time he took me under his wing you know mike what are you doing going to school if you don't help your dad? He's going to die in prison so it really shocked me and I went to see my dad in the visiting room, he was in the penitentiary and I told him dad, I have to help you and that's when he wanted to uh or proposed to me to be a member of the family, can you tell me? How did the initiation occur?

Is it true that there was actually a special Italian ceremony for that? Yes, when you arrive, first of all, someone has to sponsor you or propose that lifestyle to you, you just can't approach someone who is part of that life. and you say hey I would like to join you can't do that someone has to answer for you you propose you say you have what it takes in my case it was my father and I was 21 years old and then you go through as a promise period in which you have to prove that you are worthy of becoming a member for me which lasted about two and a half years and you know I had to do everything I was told to do to prove myself worthy, it could have been very menial, you know there's a lot of discipline in that life a lot of authority a lot of respect and it could have been something very serious you know, I will never shy away from this that life is sometimes very violent you are part of the life you are a part of violence there is no escape, I always say this, the cousin of the Austrian

mafia

in the United States survived and thrived for over 100 years under very difficult conditions, you know, law enforcement and other things that happen, and the reason they did it was because of the organization, because of the structure because there were consequences if you violated the policies and the rules, there was a chief who was head of the family and he had a deputy chief who was second in command under him and then there was a position called consolieri which was like an advisor to the chief and then there were copper regiments or captains and they were sort of of street

boss

es and they were in charge of the soldiers and the soldiers were when you just took the oath and you just came into that life, the rank is a soldier and you can move up or stay a soldier all the time, you know, it depends on your individual circumstances , so after about two and a half years I proved myself worthy and in 1975 I took an oath with five other gentlemen and became a sworn member of the family and just to show you how lucky I am, the five guys I took the oath with oath, they were all killed later, every one of them, none of them survived.

I'm the only one in that group you mentioned. several times the term

made

men, can you explain what that means? Yeah, you know that's the term, you're a

made

guy after taking the oath after going through your draft period and you've earned it, so to speak. then you take an oath in a very solemn ceremony but once you take that oath you're a made guy, that's what they say, you straightened up now you're a made guy and it's a privilege you know on the street You must take that oath and become a done guy. You know there are certain advantages that come with it, but there are also consequences if you make a mistake.

The ideology behind that is that you are part of a brotherhood when you enter life. They told me listen wherever you go in the world people will have your back, never worry about your wife, your daughter, your sister, your mother, no one will touch them or hurt them, so it's a kind of brotherhood and for a guy that you know what it is. something powerful for me there was nothing more powerful than this bond this relationship this I support you you support me among men there are many boys born in you know on the streets of brooklyn chicago cities like that they admire the boys of that life and it continues austrian

mafia

it is attractive to them the organization as a whole can become very attractive to people and you know, I understand it because I was one of them, I was fortunate and I knew how to use that life to benefit myself in business and I was very aggressive on the street, it was somewhat entrepreneurial, so you know, in the United States we had tremendous control up to the White House, I mean, we had politicians who worked with us, we controlled all the unions in the United States, all the major ones. unions and when you have union control and political connections, you control a lot in that country, we had about 750 trained guys who actually took the oath, we had a lot of associates, but 750 guys and we controlled, you know quite a bit about uh, business and other things that happened in the New York, New Jersey area, you know, up and down the east coast and across the country, there were actually nine families in various cities, so, again, it was a pretty large organization, what would you say which was the high point of your criminal career, you know that, with the help of others, I developed a scheme to defraud the government of taxes on every gallon of gasoline and you know that it was probably one of the highest profit deals we found since those days. of prohibition, it was a huge amount of money at the height of my operation.

I ran it for almost eight years. We were bringing in eight to ten million dollars a

week

into our operation, and as a result, it was very lucrative. a copper or captain regime, which was a very powerful position, I had several men under my command, I was working with the Russian mafia, they were my partners in that plan and we were all over the east coast, you know, from New York to florida selling gasoline we're selling half a billion gallons of gasoline a month so it was a big operation and that propelled me to, you know, another level in that life, is it true that you were the highest paid member of the mafia since Al Capone?

Well, you know, the media vanity fair, I think I wrote an article and said I was the highest earner in that life since the days of Al Capone. I mean, that's what they said. That's not what I said. I'm not measuring people's wealth. that life, but I will tell you that you know the money I was making was extremely substantial and unless people were involved in drugs, which I was never involved in, I hate anything to do with drugs, in fact , our family was not involved in drugs to a large extent um, I don't think anyone was generating that kind of income, not really, I've never heard of it and I've never seen it, the kids are doing well, but that was What you know, we're making 10 million dollars a

week

, I mean, it's a lot of money and, you know, for a while it was pretty good, but it also made me a big target for the authorities because my father had a big name. , so from the moment I entered that life, I had the police on me, so it started from day one when I was 21, but I got arrested several times.

You know, the police were always fighting, so that wasn't something strange to me. I mean it was part of my life, you know it almost every day as I rose through the ranks and did my thing, but you know one of the dangers or the horrors of that life is that you know you make a mistake, you don't. I really don't know, your best friend takes you to a room that you never come back out of and obviously you know I spent over 20 years in that life at a high level so you know I knew situations like that and it was a night when I was called into a room that I didn't know if I was going to come out of again and it was probably the lowest point of my time in that life and obviously I'm here so it worked out but it was uh it's hard.

Situation where you know you think you're facing death, it's pretty difficult and you know people have asked me, you know why I didn't cut and run or why I didn't escape, you know it wasn't heroic of me, it was. more or less robotic, it was a product of that life that I felt, hey, if this is my time, it's my time, have you ever been afraid? I was scared when I walked into that room that night, I mean, look like I said, you know. It was a very scary situation when you think you're going to go, it's difficult, but what it taught me, you know, is that I can face death, you know, I tell people that all the time if you're a member of that life, it's to say, You took an oath like I did and you die of old age and you die free.

You've really accomplished something because it's a hard life to navigate. Can you tell me more about what happened in that room or not very well? Yeah, I mean, that's how it was. It was about money and you know an article came out that said I was becoming powerful enough to break away from the family and start my own family that was bringing in, you know, over a billion dollars that wasn't there. There is no truth in the article. A journalist just made it up, but you know he had a great team. He had the Russians working with me.

I mean, you knew there was a lot going on. I had a jet plane, a helicopter ride. all over the country, so we were doing very well, my whole team was doing well, so people had that impression, but there was no truth to it, huh, but it gets into people's heads , you know, the head of my family, people are watching my father. He came out of prison on parole, so he was a powerful guy, so people have ideas in that life, it's about maintaining power and control, and when people think there's a threat to that, you know there's a concern so you kind of know they led me to that. room making me believe that maybe they wanted me to understand that they were still in control and um it was a scary situation because you know people thought I was making more money than I was giving in and stuff like that, but once I walked into the room and that It was fine and I was, you know, I turned around, I actually got a little angry because I said, "Hey, I'm bringing in more money than you guys have ever seen before and I'm being held accountable like this." and I started to get a little mad and then I realized I was talking to the

boss

, don't be mad at the boss, you know, I said I'm getting out of here, I better keep my composure, but I was mad, you know?

After the scare, when I entered the room, I got angry but I stayed calm as always and left the room, but it was an impression that it made on me and I didn't like it. I know I said this isn't what it should be about because I was loyal to the family, I mean I was doing the right thing and you know you don't want to have to be held accountable when you're doing the right thing. The point that landed you in prison, well, like I said, I became a major target of the authorities. I was charged five times in the state and went to trial five times and was acquitted or dismissed in all cases.

I beat them all and then I was formally charged in the state of Florida for an extortion case. I was involved in two federal racketeering cases in New York, one brought by Rudy Giuliani. I'm sure you know that name and I went to court for that one for several months. I was acquitted in that case too, so I had a pretty good record of beating them at trial, but I finally pleaded guilty to this whole other extortion case involving tax fraud, mainly the gasoline case, so I pleaded guilty because I knew that eventually I was going to go down, I mean, I was too big a name, I was too big a target and unfortunately in New York, when these racketeering laws came in, if you were convicted of racketeering, there were guys who got 50 and 100 years and I was one of them.

Of the younger guys, I probably would have gotten 200 years if I was convicted, so I realized I was in trouble and tried to cut my losses. I met a young woman who I felt very strongly about.in love. She is now my wife of 37 years. and she was really the catalyst that made me doubt about staying in that life and trying to get out, so when I pleaded guilty they gave me a 10 year prison sentence, I had 15 million dollar restitution, I had a plane reaction and a Helicopter I had to hand everything over as part of my forfeiture and I thought that was the best way to reduce my losses.

You know, spend some time in prison, give some money to the government, marry this new young woman, move to California and try to escape. of life so it was kind of a plan that I personally lost between legal fees, you know, money that I turned over to the government, you know, about 100 million dollars, I mean, listen, I tell everyone all the time , you know you get involved with the government, believe me even. If you win the case, it will cost you a lot of money in lost income and money in legal fees to defend yourself. If you go to prison, the losses that you will suffer, you know, during that time, I mean, it cost me a lot. money, there's no doubt about it, so the FBI and the federal government tried to make me a cooperating witness, they really wanted me to cooperate when I walked away from life.

You know, there was a contract on my life from my boss because you're not allowed to do that and people are upset with me on the street, my father was even angry with me so the government used that they went into the prison and said : "You know you're a dead man anyway," Francis cooperates with us. I'll put you in the witness protection program, but I want to do that. I wasn't looking to hurt anyone. I wasn't angry. I just wanted to get out of his life. They wouldn't take no for an answer, so they moved. I went to different prisons, you know, you never let me get too comfortable and I spent two and a half years, actually 29 months and seven days, in solitary.

I was in the hole and that is a six by eight cell, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. and they kept me in isolation. I've been in lockdown for quite a while so they gave me a hard time, how did it feel to be in solitary confinement for so long? Loneliness is hard, you know, I learned through that experience that we weren't meant to be lonely creatures, we were destined. to be sociable and a lot of guys when the lights went out at night you heard a lot of moaning and moaning, a lot of guys didn't do well and I understood it, it was difficult for sure but I got over it.

You know, I became a person of faith. You know, through that experience and that helped me tremendously. I had a very strong determination to return home to my wife and little babies who were at home and I fought my way out of there. You know? It was uh, it was difficult, although I don't want anyone to think anything different. Loneliness is a very difficult situation to navigate, so talking about your life after prison, how did you adapt to it? You know it was a difficult adjustment because I had to do it. Leaving New York I moved to California because I would never have made it in New York You walk away from that life and stay in New York I wouldn't ruin it, no doubt, but I had to rebuild myself under some difficult conditions, I still had people on the street angry with me.

I knew people were trying to come after me so I had to be aware of that and then I was like a fish out of water for a while, you know, I mean, last time I never had a job. The job I had was when I was 16, you know, I worked at the high school during the summer, so I always work for myself. I always had to do things on my own, so I have to come to Los Angeles and now start a completely new life. so it was tough, you know, but again I'm a pretty determined guy, I'm pretty resourceful and I've got a head for business, so we started, although it took me a couple of years before I really got on my way. feet and again, you know I was lucky and the whole speaking career that started for me was nothing I ever imagined, but it worked out, you know, from the moment I got out of prison I was sought out to speak to certain organizations, so I work a lot with juvenile delinquents, gang members, I spent a lot of time in prison with a lot of kids who were entering the system at a young age.

Damn, everyone sees the Cozanostra mafia as the biggest gang in the world and to some extent, you know it. We were like that when I talk to them, I speak from experience, I have credibility and a lot of them listen, they really listen and I think we were able to save a lot of lives or redirect a lot of lives, you know, as a result of that. I know I tell you that it's important who you're accountable to in life when I was on the street, I was accountable to my oath, I was accountable to my boss, as a result, I spent every day in criminal activities, you know, and I ended up in prison. .

We as adults create the environment that these young people are growing up in today and it's difficult, it's difficult to navigate and we have to help them, so I try to do my part when you look back at everything you've been through, do you? how do you do it? I feel about your life, well, you know, look, people ask me if I regret it and obviously there are things that I did in my previous life that I regret now, you know, there are times that I think I can deal with That, my wife tells me, you know there's a lot of times I'm fighting in my sleep, you know, and things come back to you because you know you see a lot of things during that time, it's like you know the way soldiers experience things in War, when things are horrible, you know you remember them. and you can't make up for what you've done in the past, it's already done, you know, I don't do what I do to make up for that, I do what I do because as a person of faith, I think you know God knows our hearts, he knows our intentions. , we can't scam him, we can't let God down, so if we're doing the right things, you know it's going to work out in the end, you know, that's the horrible thing.

Do I talk to that many men when I go to prison? I have a prison ministry. They're in their 50s and 60s and they look back and say, Mike, look what I've done with my life. I spent 15 years, 20 years here. I lost my wife, my children don't talk to me and I tell them directly that life on the street is a dead end, you can end up in prison or maybe dead at some point, I tell them directly also in this life we ​​are who we are. Hang out Choose the wrong people You'll hang out with the wrong people They'll take you in the wrong direction You'll get in trouble tomorrow I'll sit down at seven in the morning Go find Kennedy that was my approval shotgun, take the name of President Kennedy.

I said I want a chamber, one with shot filled with rock salt and the other with regular shot and okay, yeah, I'm not messing with these people. you are dangerous I'm going to shoot