Michael Franzese
Michael Franzese | |
|---|---|
Franzese in 2009 | |
| Born | Michael Grillo May 27, 1951 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Other names | "Yuppie Don" "Prince of the Mafia" |
| Occupations |
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| Spouses |
Camille Garcia (m. 1985) |
| Children | 7 |
| Parent(s) | Sonny Franzese Cristina Capobianco-Franzese |
| Relatives | John Franzese Jr. (brother) |
| Allegiance | Colombo crime family (former) |
| Convictions | Racketeering conspiracy, tax conspiracy (1986) Racketeering (1986) |
| Criminal penalty | 10 years' imprisonment and ordered to pay $14.7 million in restitution Nine years' imprisonment (concurrently) and ordered to pay $3 million in restitution |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2020–present |
| Genres | Motivational speaking, storytelling, interviews, movie reviews, political commentary |
| Subscribers | 1.89 million |
| Views | 305 million |
| Last updated: January 31, 2026 | |
| Website | michaelfranzese |
Michael Franzese Sr. (/frænˈziːs/) (né Grillo; born May 27, 1951) is an American former mobster who was a caporegime in the Colombo crime family in New York City, and son of former underboss Sonny Franzese. Franzese was enrolled in a pre-med program at Hofstra University, but dropped out to make money for his family after his father was sentenced to 50 years in prison for bank robbery in 1967. He eventually helped implement a scheme to defraud the federal government out of gasoline taxes in the early 1980s.
By the age of 35, in 1986, Fortune Magazine listed Franzese as number 18 on its list of the "Fifty Most Wealthy and Powerful Mafia Bosses". Franzese claimed that at the height of his career, he generated up to $8 million per week. In 1986, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on conspiracy charges, released in 1989, rearrested in 1991 for a parole violation, and ultimately released in 1994. Soon after being released, he walked away from the mob and retired to California, and became a motivational speaker, commentator, and writer.