Sonny

Viac o knihe

“Couldn’t put it down.” —Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy (Goodfellas) and Casino The extraordinary life of a legendary crime boss who refused to squeal unfolds through the eyes of an award-winning New York Newsday reporter, who interviewed him shortly before his death at age 103. John “Sonny” Franzese reportedly committed his first murder at fourteen and became a “made man” in the Colombo crime family, specializing in racketeering, fraud, and loansharking. His criminal career spanned over eight decades, during which he was sentenced to fifty years in prison for robbery but continued to conduct business from behind bars. This true story reveals shocking secrets, including the personal interest FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had in him, how he managed numerous affairs, and how he earned millions for the mob despite spending a third of his life in prison. Franzese inadvertently disclosed some of his worst crimes to a “friend” wearing a wire, yet he maintained the Mafia’s code of silence. Authorities believe he may have murdered or ordered the murders of forty to fifty people, earning respect from law enforcement and reverence from fellow gangsters. He outlived many of his contemporaries, passing away in 2020 of natural causes—a rarity in the Mafia. Through exclusive interviews, this account presents the bold, brutal, and blood-spattered life of John “Sonny” Franzese, a must-read for those intrigued by Mafia history.