Michael Franzese Was a Capo from 1975 to 1995, Then Retired to Become a Christian Speaker
Michael Franzese, who lived the life of a made man in the Colombo Crime Family, one of Five Families of New York, from 1975 to 1995. Franzese recently gave a radio interview with Chris Schmidt and Mark Kraynak of the University of Nebraska’s Hail Varsity Radio. In the interview, Mr. Franzese was asked about his own experiences with illegal sports betting. He also elaborated on some of the top gambling stories of our time.
In the coming days, the Third District Court of Appeals is expected to hand down a decision on New Jersey’s attempt to legalize sports betting in the state. That case hinges on whether legalalized and regulated sports betting damages the integrity of major American sports, such as the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NBA, and the NHL.
Sports Leagues’ Lawsuit on New Jersey
Those sports leagues, along with the NCAA, sued New Jersey based on the premise legal sports betting would damage the integrity of their sports. The interview with Michael Franzese suggests the opposite is true. Unregulated sports gambling leaves the door wide open for organized crime to dominate the hobby. While the four US states would argue that they represent an alternative way to gamble on sporting events, statistics indicate that Las Vegas generates about 1% of the sports betting revenues in the country–illegal operators collect the rest.
Statistics present the facts, but sometimes cold, hard facts do not have the impact that a story does. With that in mind, Franzese’s interview paints a vivid picture of the harsh realities of illegal sports gambling. In particular, his words highlight the close and abiding relationship between America’s top athletes and the world of organized crime.
Michael Franzese’s Bookmaking Operation
Michael Franzese was asked to describe his own illegal gambling operation, which is estimated to have operated beyond the law for 17 years. He replied, “I had between 12 and 13 bookmakers that answered to me. I wasn’t a bookmaker myself, but every one of us guys were somehow involved with gambling. That’s just a big product of the street. Every bookmaker that could carry a bet was involved with us in some way in the New York/New Jersey area. You couldn’t be a bookmaker without being associated with us, so that was my experience there.”
When asked whether his operation ever took bets from college and pro athletes, Franzese replied, “We had a lot of athletes gambling with us. On the pro level…certainly on the college level…some of these guys we did put in compromising positions. We let them run up some big debts with us because, you know, when they start chasing…remember, a bookmaker takes credit.”
“You make a phone call and we give you credit, but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to pay. We’re good collectors. So a lot of these guys ran up big debts.”
His Experience with Pro and College Athletes
He added that some of these athletes could not pay off their debts. In those cases, they had to either shave points or throw games outright. The former caporegime said, “They either paid us or we caused them to compromise the outcome of the game.”
On the Pete Rose Case
Earlier in the conversation, Franzese had been asked about the perennial questions about Pete Rose’s gambling scandal. In particular, he was asked about recent disclosures that Rose had a $500,000 gambling debt which he was said to have owed the Mob. Stating in a matter-of-fact way that Pete Rose was a problem gambler, Michael Franzese said, “Any bookmaker at that time who could carry a decent bet was involved with us in some way, shape or form. So it was pretty common knowledge the problems that Pete had back then, and that’s why I don’t think it was any huge revelation right now that he was gambling on games that he played in.”
“Anybody knows a gambler with the kind of sickness or addiction that he had, they gamble on anything at any time, and especially when they’re in that much trouble. They would do whatever they need to do to get out of debt, especially with one of us. So I don’t think it’s any great revelation, but it certainly is a fact.”
Franzese went further when he stated Pete Rose was not the only player of that baseball era who bet on games. The ex-mobster said, “I want to make this clear: Pete [Rose] certainly wasn’t the only guy out there. Back in my day, there were athletes just like today that were gambling pretty heavy. He just happened to be the one that just went way out of bounds and became well-known. But again, it’s not too out of the ordinary, and he was just one of the bigger ones.”
He was emphatic that Pete Rose bet on games, while later stating the Pete Rose case did not end major better in sports by the athletes and coaches themselves.
Hypocritical Stand by the Leagues
Franzese said the Dowd Report was naive (or dishonest) when it stated that baseball was clear of gambling-on-games, then highlighted why: “Let me explain to you the mentality of a gambler. If I were a gambler and I was in debt, and I was coaching a team and my son came out to pitch, and I had bet against our team, which I might because I knew we weren’t gonna win that day, and I’m in debt for $100,000 and I gotta get out or my legs are gonna get broken, I would go out and tell my son ‘if you throw one more strike, I’m going to beat you over the head,” or something. That’s just the mentality of the gambler.”
The former mobster, who got out of the mob business in 1995 due to the influence of his now-wife, added his own thoughts on problem gambling, “I’ve seen it all my life. It’s an addition, it’s a sickness, and when you’re in debt big to guys that are gonna collect, you’re going to do what you have to do to get out of it.”
How It Impacts New Jersey Sportbook Case
If one believes Michael Franzese, then the sports leagues’ insistence they are protecting the integrity of their sports is a joke. One can argue Franzese scammed people of hundreds of millions of dollars and he’s inherently untrustworthy, and that would be a legitimate argument. But he paints a realistic picture of his mob career, without a great deal of melodrama and hyperbole. He also has a Christian ministry, in which he travels the country speaking about his own experiences and trying to divert children from a life of crime.
In that way, he seems as believable as an ex-mobster could be. If you believe the mobster’s premise, then his answers to the Nebraska radio station completely undermine the NFL’s arguments against legal sports betting.
While regulated gambling in New Jersey (and other states which might want the additional tax revenues) might not end the mob’s control of the sports gambling industry in the United States, it would curtail their influence.
In other words, legalizing, regulating, and taxing sports betting in New Jersey and other states would increase the integrity of U.S. sports–not the opposite. While the federal court system might not see it that way–or might rule on a strictly legalistic issues without discussing the topic–the idea that regulated sports betting would harm the leagues is simply disingenuous and hypocritical. It also leaves problem gamblers, including some of America’s top athletes, in the worst situation possible: without protection or resources to gain help.
