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I Married A Mobster: Denyce and John Franzese Jr.

Tonight's episode on Investigation Discovery's I Married A Mobster series takes a look at the relationship between Denyce and John Franzese Jr. who met at a rehab facility:

When John transforms from clean & sober charmer to a manic nightmare, Denyce worries he's relapsing. However, the truth is far more sinister. John would soon vanish, in one of the mafia's greatest betrayals.

Franzese is the son of reputed Colombo underboss John "Sonny" Franzese, and last year became the first mob scion to testify against his father.  The 93-year-old senior was convicted on racketeering charges involving the shake down of two NYC strip clubs and a loan shark operation, and sentenced to eight years in prison.

The Sonny Franzese Racketeering Trial

Jerry Capeci from The Huffington Post pulls together last week's testimony and evidence from the ongoing racketeering trial against reputed Colombo underboss John "Sonny" Franzese who allegedly shook down NYC strip clubs and a Long Island pizzeria.  Although Sonny's defense attorney attempted to dismiss the credibility of the government's star witness -- none other than the reputed mobster's own son -- the wire which John Franzese Jr. wore during conversations with pops cannot be as readily dismissed:  "the jury . . . heard Sonny acknowledge, from his own lips, his Mafia ties," and "also heard the legendary 93-year-old Mafioso implicate himself in a few crimes as well."

Yesterday at the trial the owner of East Village bar Rue B testified "that a Mafia goon tried to jam a screwdriver through his hand in a violent mob shakedown" as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News:

Peter Dupre said he fended off the attack in his office by thug Christopher Curanovic, who was demanding $1,500 a week in protection money to be paid to alleged Colombo gangster John (Sonny) Franzese. * * * Franzese, 93, is not charged with the Rue B extortion, but Curanovic and alleged crony Danny Celaj put the squeeze on the night spot after Franzese became a fixture there on Tuesday nights in 2007. * * * Franzese was introduced to Rue B by actor Vinny Vella, who had small roles in "The Sopranos" and Martin Scorsese's "Casino."

Further coverage:  "Casting-call mobster wanted wrong kind of 'break'" by Janon Fisher for the New York Post

The Sonny Franzese Racketeering Trial

Yesterday John Franzese Jr. testified against his reputed Colombo underboss father, and today Sonny's defense lawyer Richard Lind attempted to impugn his credibility on cross-examination by suggesting he exposed women to HIV through unprotected sex as reported by John Marzulli and Corky Siemaszko for the Daily News.  John Jr. previously has struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction, and in 1990 contracted HIV.  Lind asked the mob scion:  "You told Michael Franzese you had unprotected sex with women?"  The judge directed John Jr. not to answer the question, and his brother Michael -- a former Colombo capo turned Christian evangelist -- told a Daily News reporter that John Jr. "didn't confide that in me."  Lind further attempted to malign John Jr. by suggesting that he was testifying against his father "because authorities agreed to help pay for his treatment" as reported by Janon Fisher for the New York Post; however, the only financial assistance John Jr. is receiving is $100 a week for expenses from the LA County Sheriff's Office.

After the conclusion of trial for the day, Sonny's wife Cristina followed him into the courthouse men's room where the two got into a heated argument as reported by John Marzulli and Corky Siemaszko for the Daily News:

The humiliating confrontation - which ended with his spurned spouse's arrest - started when she hijacked the 93-year-old John (Sonny) Franzese's wheelchair and rolled the Nod Father into the men's room at Brooklyn Federal Court. "Son of a bitch!" a furious Franzese could be heard yelling at 75-year-old Cristina Capobianco-Franzese. "Let me go to the bathroom!" Seconds later, she emerged from the rest room and began yelling at Lorraine Scorsone, her husband's daughter by a mistress. "He should plead guilty and let my son live his life," she screamed as startled jurors were walking to a nearby elevator. "Give his kid a break and plead guilty. I want my son to have a break. It's the last child I have."

Son Testifies Against Sonny

John Franzese Jr. today testified against his reputed Colombo underboss father John "Sonny" Franzese who is on trial for racketeering involving alleged shakedowns against Manhattan strip clubs and a Long Island pizzeria as reported by John Marzulli and Corky Siemaszko for the Daily News:

In doing so, 50-year-old John Franzese Jr. became the first New York mob scion to ever testify against his dad. * * * Before the turncoat began testifying in Brooklyn Federal Court, a deputy U.S. marshal cleared out Franzese Jr.'s family from the front row, including his brother Michael - a capo turned minister - to prevent them from staring him down. * * * He said he got his start in the family business running errands for his father before graduating to petty crimes and stickups. * * * Among other things, Franzese Jr. agreed to make secret recordings that the feds are now using to nail his father.

What kind of father would introduce his son to this life?

Further coverage: 

Underboss takes a courtroom snooze after son testifies against him by Janon Fisher for the New York Post

Sonny Goes To Trial Next Week

John "Sonny" Franzese, the reputed underboss of the Colombo crime family, goes to trial next week pursuant to a June 2008 indictment "on racketeering, loansharking, and extortion charges involving a Long Island pizzeria," and among those slated to testify against the 93-year-old smut king -- he allegedly had a piece of the 1972 porno flick Deep Throat -- is his son John Franzese Jr. as reported by Jerry Capeci for The Huffington Post:  "He'll be on the witness stand, pointing a damning finger at his old man. No matter what he says about that, Sonny is devastated by that betrayal, and surely distraught at being the only New York mobster in Gang Land's memory to have his son take the witness stand against him."  Earlier this month Franzese was hit with new charges alleging he shook down the Hustler and Penthouse strip clubs.  Capeci reports that "scheduled for trial with Sonny on various racketeering charges are local mob associates, John (Johnny Cop) Capolino, 41, and Joseph DiGorga, 69, who is also charged in the strip club extortions, as well as Los Angeles-based cohorts, Christopher Curanovic, 28, and Orlando (Ori) Spado, 65."

The Colombo crime family has been involved in the smut rackets -- massage parlors, porn distribution, sex clubs -- and Sonny Franzese allegedly did business with reputed Genovese capo Matthew Ianniello who was a dominant player in the gay bar industry from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s.  An October 8, 1967 article ("Mafia Increasing Investments in Business on L.I.") by Charles Grutzner from the New York Times states: '"Franzese is reported to have a concealed stake in several bars, motels and cocktail lounges, including places patronized by homosexuals. A sideline in the operation of such spots is the blackmailing of wealthy or prominent patrons."  Steve Ostrow, the owner of the infamous Continental Baths at 230 West 74th Street in the Hotel Ansonia, alleges in his 2007 memoir Live at the Continental:  The Inside Story of the World-Famous Continental Baths that the Colombo family provided his gay bathhouse with protection from rival mob families after he agreed to install its vending machines on the premises.