Mafia Democracy: My Washington Times 'On Crime' Column On Former Cosa Nostra Crime Boss Michael Franzese

The Washington Times ran my On Crime column on Michael Franzese’s Mafia Democracy. 

You can read the column via the below link or the below text:

BOOK REVIEW: 'Mafia Democracy: How Our Republic Became a Mob Racket' - Washington Times 

In “Mafia Democracy: How Our Republic Became a Mob Racket,” author Michael Franzese claims that politicians are acting like organized crime members.

He should know, as Michael Franzese was a Cosa Nostra Colombo crime family caporegime. He spent more than 20 years in organized crime prior to walking away from the criminal life. Today, he is a popular Christian public speaker, podcaster and author.

In “Mafia Democracy,” Mr. Franzese points out how politicians profit from their public service and serve themselves more than the public they were elected to serve.

Rudy Giuliani, the federal prosecutor who once tried to put Mr. Franzese in prison, wrote the foreword to the book. 

“Michael’s view of politics comes from a perspective that few people get to have. He’s seen what the criminal life is like, and he knows how criminals victimize those around them. So when Michael sees this behavior in our elected officials, he feels compelled to point out what’s happening and attempt to stop it,” Mr. Giuliani wrote. “Let’s join him in that effort.” 

I reached out to Mr. Franzese and asked him why he wrote the book. 

“I wrote the book because I am disgusted with and careful of the way our government is operating the country in a very Machiavellian mob-like way,” Mr. Franzese replied. “I have children and grandchildren and it is obvious to me that this country is not going to be the same if we continue.

 

“So many times, people say to me the Mafia should be running the country. They would do a better job. I say no. You don’t want the Mafia running the country. You are supposed to have a democratic republic running this country.” 

I noted that although he describes himself as a conservative, he slams politicians from both political parties in the book. I asked him if he tried to be fair and balanced.

“Yes, I did. This is not a partisan attack on anyone. This is an attack on the system and the way they are behaving and how mob-like they are becoming. Many of these politicians come into office with blue-collar assets and they go off muti-millionaires. I describe how this takes place quite thoroughly in the book. It is all about power and control. They get into office, and they want to stay there forever. That’s the bottom line.”

 

I asked what takeaways he hopes readers will glean from his book. 

“I’m very encouraged, as people are saying they get it. What I want them to do is hold up public officials to be accountable. Our politicians make campaign promises and when they get into office, they break them, or they reverse them. We say that’s politics. It’s not politics. It’s lying. It’s deceit. Republican, Democrat or Independent, we can’t allow them to do that,” Mr. Franzese said.

The book shines a light on the greed, hypocrisy and deceit of a good number of politicians, many of whom are well known. 

Part of the book offers a concise history of Cosa Nostra. I asked if he could give a brief overview of Cosa Nostra and its impact on America.

“For more than a hundred years, Cosa Nostra had a tremendous impact on this country, from the days of prohibition right up until the mid-1980s. I say that because that’s when Giuliani made very effective use of the racketeering laws, which changed the whole tide of the Mafia’s involvement and control of this country. But up until that time, we controlled all the unions in this country. You control the unions; you control the country because you have voting blocks and money. And politicians want voting blocks and money. We survived and prospered under some very difficult conditions because we always had the Justice Department on us. We were always warring with one another, but we survived. It’s a part of history,” he said. 

I asked why he walked away from the life. 

“I didn’t want this kind of life for my family. I saw how destructive it was in my own personal life and to others involved, and I saw the tide changing dramatically in the 1980s. I was a major target and I had been indicted seven times. I knew it was just a matter of time before I go down, and when I do it will be forever,” Mr. Franzese said.

 

What solutions would he suggest to make the country less of a Mafia democracy?

“Number one, people have to be informed and hold these politicians accountable at the voting booths. We still have power in numbers. We have to make politicians understand that we are not going to stand for it. Be honest with us or we will throw you out,” he said.

“Mafia Democracy” is a well-written, interesting and informative book. 

Paul Davis’ “On Crime” column covers true crime, crime fiction and thrillers.