Talk:Michael Franzese

Confusion over names

Michael Franzese (the man this article is about) has a brother: John Franzese Jr; John testified against their father (John "Sonny" Franzese). Michael is not a 'rat'. Please do not add quotes to this article that Michael is testifying against his father. This is from NY Post 6/10/2010: "The son's (John Franzese Jr) testimony horrified his brother, Michael Franzese, a former made member of the Colombo crime family who became a born-again Christian. He said the family is crushed by his brother's betrayal. 'I don't agree with anything he's doing,' said Michael. 'The family is taking it very hard.'" [NY Post] — Preceding unsigned comment added by Meishern (talk • contribs)

File:Michael Franzese PTG Astrup 2009 crop.jpg Nominated for Deletion

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Stepson?

I think there is some confusion as to whether Michael Franzese is the biological son of John Franzese. [1] states stepson, [2] states Michael once thought he was stepson to John, but learned he is his biological father. There are probably several others for both sides. Interestingly, this recent interview of Michael's life does not mention he is his stepson, only mentions him as his father. @Hell in a Bucket: I think the sources claiming he is his stepson are misinformed. In the interview Michael mentions his father had 3 children from a different wife, while the other 4 are from another wife, however all are from John, with no mention of stepson. Vaselineeeeeeee^★★★ 02:38, 12 July 2019 (UTC)

Fair enough, reverted myself. Hell in a Bucket (talk) 03:12, 12 July 2019 (UTC)

Another. Vaselineeeeeeee^★★★ 22:53, 6 April 2020 (UTC)

You think the sources are "misinformed" based on what exactly? As recently as 2019, Michael has stated that he is uncertain that Sonny was his biological father. Sellpink (talk) 22:25, 24 September 2023 (UTC)

Franzese is listed as a stepson in early sources on him such as this 1991 Baltimore sun article. The actual story is quite confusing and he addressed this in a recent video on his channel which I can't find. So here is a Vlad TV interview on the topic. His mother told his co-author during an interview for his 1992 book that Sonny is his biological father and had an affair with her before they were married when she was 16. After he was told this he and other sources seems to have switched to calling Sonny his father. He has not done a DNA test to confirm this and isn't interested in getting one. This story is sourced to Michael and ultimately his mother. Harizotoh9 (talk) 06:38, 20 March 2021 (UTC)

Error - Sal Miciotta did not die

Article says:

He took the oath alongside friend Jimmy Angelino, Joseph Peraino Jr., Salvatore Miciotta, Vito Guzzo Sr., and John Minerva — all of whom died violently over the next 20 years.

Big Sal Miciotta flipped in 1993, and testified against his Colombo compatriots. In 2011 Miciotta was interviewed for the television program Nothing Personal. I think he'd be around 74 now so it's not implausible he'd still be alive. In any case, he did not die violently between 1975 and 1995. This sentence may also be WP:SYNTH as it's combining several newspaper articles and then coming to a conclusion. Harizotoh9 (talk) 04:59, 7 February 2022 (UTC)

Just edited it. Global Cerebral Ischemia (talk) 13:40, 7 February 2022 (UTC)

I think the sentence is verging on SYNTH territory, since the sources only talk about those people who died violently, rather than anything about them being Made at the same time as Franzese. And, Franzese himself has bluntly stated that all those who were made with him have since died in his motivational speeches, so it was likely added by someone who followed Franzese and didn't look any deeper than that. There's several such Franzese-isms in the article that should be re-written or removed. Harizotoh9 (talk) 19:52, 9 February 2022 (UTC)

False claim not backed up by source

I just removed a false quote about Franzese not testifying, that was not in the source claimed. Someone had changed him not paying restitution and being seen by the prosecutor as a con-man, into him not giving anyone in the mafia up. Someone is apparently trying to manipulate public perception about this person through pretty bald-faced lies. I recommend checking any sources for the actual quotes. TzunSu (talk) 23:56, 12 November 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for catching that, @TzunSu, you're right that the quote was not in the source. It was added in 2022 by an IP editor, and nobody noticed.[3] Schazjmd (talk) 00:03, 13 November 2024 (UTC)

No problem at all! TzunSu (talk) 11:41, 13 November 2024 (UTC)