Mobster Podcasts

Broad + Liberty published my piece on mob-related podcasts last year.

You can read the piece via the below link or the below text.

Paul Davis: Mobsters with podcasts (broadandliberty.com)

I recall an old joke about mobsters caught on an FBI wiretap talking about a contract. The FBI agents leaned in with anticipation to better hear what they hoped would be incriminating evidence on the tape recorder. But sadly, they realized that the mobsters were talking about book contracts, not murder contracts.

That 25-year-old joke came from an era in which a good number of former organized crime figures were publishing their memoirs. So much for Cosa Nostra (“Our thing” in Italian) being a secret criminal society.

As I noted in my old Philadelphia Weekly Crime Beat column, organized crime stories have long interested the general public, from Jimmy Cagney mob movies from the 1930s to “The Godfather,” Goodfellas,” and the more recent “The Irishman,” which featured stories about real-life South Philly gangsters.

Bad guys are not as admirable as good guys, but in many cases, bad guys are more interesting. Mob stories offer larger than life characters, drama, black humor, violence, greed and betrayal. 

Now one can more readily hear tales of Cosa Nostra, mob wars, murder, corruption and spells in prison on numerous podcasts featured on the Internet. 

I’ve interviewed several of the popular podcasters, some of them before they became podcasters. I’m not sure who was the first mob podcaster, but former New York Colombo Cosa Nostra crime family Captain-turned Christian public speaker and author Michael Franzese has become one to the more popular ones.

Franzese walked away from the mob life after a term in prison where he became a Christian, and on his podcast, Franzese talks about his time in “the life” and how he came to Jesus as his savior. He tells his viewers how Cosa Nostra is an evil and destructive life.

I interviewed Michael Franzese in 2022 for the Washington Times. I asked him why he walked away from Cosa Nostra life. 

“I didn’t want this kind of life for my family,” Franzese replied. “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.”

Son of the notorious former underboss of the Colombo crime family, John “Sonny” Franzese, a feared and respected mobster, Michael Franzese grew up in the criminal life. He later became a made member and a successful criminal, earning millions of dollars with various criminal scams, such as cheating the government out of gasoline taxes. In addition to traditional Cosa Nostra criminal activity, Franzese was also active in legitimate businesses, such as auto dealerships, construction and the entertainment industry. 

After fighting the federal government’s many indictments against him, he pleaded guilty to racketeering charges and was sentenced to ten years in federal prison. 

While in prison, Franzese became a devout Christian and announced that he was walking away from Cosa Nostra. He credits his wife Camille and his mother-in-law, as well as a prison guard who gave him a Bible when he was in solitary, with his religious conversion. 

Michael Franzese is the only high-ranking member of a major crime family to walk away from the mob without being in the witness protection program. Although the Colombo family initially put out a contract on his life, he lives openly for the most part, giving speeches about mob life and Christianity. 

On his podcast, he also offers his insight and experiences with the mob and street life, and he advises others to avoid it. 

Another popular former mobster with a podcast is Salvator “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, the former Gambino Cosa Nostra crime family underboss. Indicted with Gambino boss John Gotti, 

Gravano became a cooperating government witness against Gotti and others. Gravano admitted to committing nineteen murders and other crimes and after testifying, he entered the witness protection program. He was later sent to prison for a drug conspiracy in Arizona.

On his podcast, Gravano is unrepentant and speaks proudly of his criminal past. With a gravelly voice straight out of Hollywood central casting, he entertains his viewers with inside stories of mob life, crimes and other criminal personalities.

Actors, journalists and former law enforcement officers also have podcasts. 

One popular podcast on the web is offered by actor and writer Chazz Palminteri. 

Palminteri had his one-man stage show A Bronx Tale made into a popular film that was directed by Robert De Niro in 1993. De Niro portrayed Palminteri’s father, a bus driver, and Palminteri portrayed Sonny, a neighborhood mob boss.

I interviewed Chazz Palminteri for the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2016 when his one-man show was appearing in Atlantic City. I mentioned to Palminteri that A Bronx Tale was considered one of the three most realistic mob movies, along with Donnie Brasco and Goodfellas. 

Palminteri replied that A Bronx Tale was more of a family movie than a crime movie.

“It’s really about a father and son, the workingman,” Palminteri said. “My father would say, ‘He thinks he’s a tough guy; I’m the tough guy. Let him get up in the morning and work for a living.’”

On his podcast, Chazz Palminteri talks about the stage show, movie and Broadway musical A Bronx Tale. He also talks about growing up with mobsters and offers inside stories about the world of entertainment. He also talks about what he calls “neighborhood logic.”

Legendary FBI undercover agent Joseph Pistone, aka “Donnie Brasco,” infiltrated the New York Bonanno crime family for six years and was responsible for putting numerous mob guys in prison. 

He too has a podcast called Deep Cover – The Real Donnie Brasco. Pistone discusses his past and tells mob stories along with his friend, Philadelphia native and actor/writer/producer Leo Rossi.

I’ve spoken to Joe Pistone several times over the years, beginning with my interview with him in 2004 for the Philadelphia Inquirer. I later interviewed him about his podcast for my Philadelphia Weekly column in 2021. 

Pistone said he mentioned to Leo Rossi that everybody had a podcast and suggested they do something together.

“The podcast is about criminal activity, organized crime in the U.S. and foreign countries, and every so often we’ll have on a guest that is associated with law enforcement or a former gangster,” Pistone said. “We also offer a lot of insight into the TV, movie and literary industries.”

I did a follow-up column with Leo Rossi. Rossi, who hails from Northeast Philly, is exuberant and fast-talking and he contrasts with the more reticent Pistone. 

“Joe made a living out of keeping his mouth shut, and he doesn’t give it up too easy, so a trust factor came in as we started,” Rossi said. “Joe got looser, and we have laughs, and I think we hit on some pretty big topics.” 

Another popular crime podcast is Mob Talk Sitdown. Former Philadelphia Inquirer crime reporter and author George Anastasia and former Fox 29 reporter Dave Schratwieser use their extensive reporting and their historical knowledge about organized crime to tell inside stories about mobsters in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and around the country.   

More recently, another local podcast debuted on the Internet. Reputed Philadelphia Cosa Nostra crime family boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino is offering a podcast called The Skinny with Joey Merlino and Lil Snuff.

Although not used often these days, “the skinny” is a phrase that means to be informed of true inside information, so the title of the podcast is a clever play on Merlino’s nickname.

On the podcast, Merlino handicaps sport betting and tells stories about his life on the streets of South Philly, his time in prison and his criminal trials. He also talks about his disdain for cooperating government witnesses, whom he called “rats.” 

So, if after watching The Godfather, Goodfellas, A Bronx Tale, Donnie Brasco and other mob movies, you haven’t got enough of mob stories, you can always surf the Internet and listen to the popular mob-related podcasts.

Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the “On Crime” column for the Washington Times. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com

Mobster Podcasts

 Broad + Liberty published my piece on mob-related podcasts today.

You can read the piece via the below link or the below text.

Paul Davis: Mobsters with podcasts (broadandliberty.com)

I recall an old joke about mobsters caught on an FBI wiretap talking about a contract. The FBI agents leaned in with anticipation to better hear what they hoped would be incriminating evidence on the tape recorder. But sadly, they realized that the mobsters were talking about book contracts, not murder contracts.

That 25-year-old joke came from an era in which a good number of former organized crime figures were publishing their memoirs. So much for Cosa Nostra (“Our thing” in Italian) being a secret criminal society.

As I noted in my old Philadelphia Weekly Crime Beat column, organized crime stories have long interested the general public, from Jimmy Cagney mob movies from the 1930s to “The Godfather,” Goodfellas,” and the more recent “The Irishman,” which featured stories about real-life South Philly gangsters.

Bad guys are not as admirable as good guys, but in many cases, bad guys are more interesting. Mob stories offer larger than life characters, drama, black humor, violence, greed and betrayal. 

Now one can more readily hear tales of Cosa Nostra, mob wars, murder, corruption and spells in prison on numerous podcasts featured on the Internet. 

I’ve interviewed several of the popular podcasters, some of them before they became podcasters. I’m not sure who was the first mob podcaster, but former New York Colombo Cosa Nostra crime family Captain-turned Christian public speaker and author Michael Franzese has become one to the more popular ones.

Franzese walked away from the mob life after a term in prison where he became a Christian, and on his podcast, Franzese talks about his time in “the life” and how he came to Jesus as his savior. He tells his viewers how Cosa Nostra is an evil and destructive life.

I interviewed Michael Franzese in 2022 for the Washington Times. I asked him why he walked away from Cosa Nostra life. 

“I didn’t want this kind of life for my family,” Franzese replied. “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.”

Son of the notorious former underboss of the Colombo crime family, John “Sonny” Franzese, a feared and respected mobster, Michael Franzese grew up in the criminal life. He later became a made member and a successful criminal, earning millions of dollars with various criminal scams, such as cheating the government out of gasoline taxes. In addition to traditional Cosa Nostra criminal activity, Franzese was also active in legitimate businesses, such as auto dealerships, construction and the entertainment industry. 

After fighting the federal government’s many indictments against him, he pleaded guilty to racketeering charges and was sentenced to ten years in federal prison. 

While in prison, Franzese became a devout Christian and announced that he was walking away from Cosa Nostra. He credits his wife Camille and his mother-in-law, as well as a prison guard who gave him a Bible when he was in solitary, with his religious conversion. 

Michael Franzese is the only high-ranking member of a major crime family to walk away from the mob without being in the witness protection program. Although the Colombo family initially put out a contract on his life, he lives openly for the most part, giving speeches about mob life and Christianity. 

On his podcast, he also offers his insight and experiences with the mob and street life, and he advises others to avoid it. 

Another popular former mobster with a podcast is Salvator “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, the former Gambino Cosa Nostra crime family underboss. Indicted with Gambino boss John Gotti, 

Gravano became a cooperating government witness against Gotti and others. Gravano admitted to committing nineteen murders and other crimes and after testifying, he entered the witness protection program. He was later sent to prison for a drug conspiracy in Arizona.

On his podcast, Gravano is unrepentant and speaks proudly of his criminal past. With a gravelly voice straight out of Hollywood central casting, he entertains his viewers with inside stories of mob life, crimes and other criminal personalities.

Actors, journalists and former law enforcement officers also have podcasts. 

One popular podcast on the web is offered by actor and writer Chazz Palminteri. 

Palminteri had his one-man stage show A Bronx Tale made into a popular film that was directed by Robert De Niro in 1993. De Niro portrayed Palminteri’s father, a bus driver, and Palminteri portrayed Sonny, a neighborhood mob boss.

I interviewed Chazz Palminteri for the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2016 when his one-man show was appearing in Atlantic City. I mentioned to Palminteri that A Bronx Tale was considered one of the three most realistic mob movies, along with Donnie Brasco and Goodfellas. 

Palminteri replied that A Bronx Tale was more of a family movie than a crime movie.

“It’s really about a father and son, the workingman,” Palminteri said. “My father would say, ‘He thinks he’s a tough guy; I’m the tough guy. Let him get up in the morning and work for a living.’”

On his podcast, Chazz Palminteri talks about the stage show, movie and Broadway musical A Bronx Tale. He also talks about growing up with mobsters and offers inside stories about the world of entertainment. He also talks about what he calls “neighborhood logic.”

Legendary FBI undercover agent Joseph Pistone, aka “Donnie Brasco,” infiltrated the New York Bonanno crime family for six years and was responsible for putting numerous mob guys in prison. 

He too has a podcast called Deep Cover – The Real Donnie Brasco. Pistone discusses his past and tells mob stories along with his friend, Philadelphia native and actor/writer/producer Leo Rossi.

I’ve spoken to Joe Pistone several times over the years, beginning with my interview with him in 2004 for the Philadelphia Inquirer. I later interviewed him about his podcast for my Philadelphia Weekly column in 2021. 

Pistone said he mentioned to Leo Rossi that everybody had a podcast and suggested they do something together.

“The podcast is about criminal activity, organized crime in the U.S. and foreign countries, and every so often we’ll have on a guest that is associated with law enforcement or a former gangster,” Pistone said. “We also offer a lot of insight into the TV, movie and literary industries.”

I did a follow-up column with Leo Rossi. Rossi, who hails from Northeast Philly, is exuberant and fast-talking and he contrasts with the more reticent Pistone. 

“Joe made a living out of keeping his mouth shut, and he doesn’t give it up too easy, so a trust factor came in as we started,” Rossi said. “Joe got looser, and we have laughs, and I think we hit on some pretty big topics.” 

Another popular crime podcast is Mob Talk Sitdown. Former Philadelphia Inquirer crime reporter and author George Anastasia and former Fox 29 reporter Dave Schratwieser use their extensive reporting and their historical knowledge about organized crime to tell inside stories about mobsters in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and around the country.   

More recently, another local podcast debuted on the Internet. Reputed Philadelphia Cosa Nostra crime family boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino is offering a podcast called The Skinny with Joey Merlino and Lil Snuff.

Although not used often these days, “the skinny” is a phrase that means to be informed of true inside information, so the title of the podcast is a clever play on Merlino’s nickname.

On the podcast, Merlino handicaps sport betting and tells stories about his life on the streets of South Philly, his time in prison and his criminal trials. He also talks about his disdain for cooperating government witnesses, whom he called “rats.” 

So, if after watching The Godfather, Goodfellas, A Bronx Tale, Donnie Brasco and other mob movies, you haven’t got enough of mob stories, you can always surf the Internet and listen to the popular mob-related podcasts.

Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the “On Crime” column for the Washington Times. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com

All That Chazz: My Q&A With Chazz Palminteri

I’ve been watching the very talented and interesting actor, writer and filmmaker Chazz Palminteri on his youtube.com podcasts.  

I interviewed Chazz Palminteri for the Philadelphia Inquirer back in 2016. My Q&A with him also appeared in the Inquirer’s sister newspaper, the Philadelphia Daily News.

After interviewing Chazz Palminteri, I took in his one man show A Bronx Tale, where he portrays 18 roles, at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City. 

After the amazing show, I was invited backstage to speak with him and pose for photographs, along with my wife and my friends Mark and Donna Tartaglia. 

Even after his grueling performance, Chazz Palminteri was engaging and gracious. 

You can read the Q&A via the below link or below:

Q&A: Chazz Palminteri and 'A Bronx Tale' come to Golden Nugget (inquirer.com)

Note: You can click on the above and below to enlarge.

You can also watch Chazz Palminteri's podcasts via the below link: 

Chazz Palminteri Show - YouTube 

Hey Fredo - Bring Out The Peppers And Sausage: Ralph Cipriano Looks At The New Philadelphia Media Network Newsroom

These days I’m a regular contributor to the Washington Times, and even though I didn’t always agree with the Philadelphia Inquirer’s liberal viewpoint, I’m proud to have been a contributor to the newspaper for nearly 20 years.

My last piece for the Philadelphia Inquirer was a full page Q&A with producer and actor Chazz Palminteri. The piece also ran in the Philadelphia Daily News.

So I was interested in reading veteran reporter and former Inquirer staffer Ralph Ciprano’s take on today’s Philadelphia Media Network newsroom, which is comprised of the two daily newspapers and Philly.com.

Last week, I took a virtual tour of the new merged Inquirer-Daily News-philly.com newsroom, thanks to a brand new feature on their website that's accessible to even hardcore non-subscribers like myself.

It's been 20 years since my last day at the Inquirer, when I was escorted out of the building by an editor. So, I figured I was due for a return visit. But I emerged from my virtual tour feeling like Frank Pentangeli.

Remember the scene in Godfather II where crusty old Frank [AKA "Frankie Five Angels" and "Frankie Pants"] attends the first communion of the late Don Corleone's grandson. It's a big fancy party on the shores of Lake Tahoe, Nevada back in 1958; quite a contrast with the old-fashioned Sicilian wedding scene set on Long Island  back in 1945 that opened the original Godfather.

"Hey Fredo," Frank says, "What's with the food around here?"

"A kid comes up to me in a white jacket, gives me a Ritz cracker, and uh, chopped liver, he says canapés  I say uh, uh, can o' peas my ass, that's a Ritz cracker and chopped liver! . . . Bring out the peppers and sausage."

Then, Frank jumps on stage to take issue with the slow music that the boys in the orchestra are playing.

"I can't believe, out of 30 professional musicians, there isn't one Italian in, in the group here," Frank says. "Come on, let's have a tarantella."

That's how I felt after I toured the new merged Inky newsroom.

On "The Newsroom" page at the bottom of the philly.com website, they show the same old reporter's notebook that I used to carry in my back pocket when I was an Inky reporter for more than a decade. Then, they introduce more than 100 reporters who explain their new beats at the new merged Inky.

There's some old familiar faces in the crowd, people I used to work with, but the new Inky newsroom seems more devoted to remaking society rather than reporting the news.

"We've recently reorganized our beats and coverage teams to ensure that we focused on the issues, ideas and institutions that matter most to people of our region," it says. "Here's what we're covering and how to reach us."

On the Inquirer's new "justice and injustice" team, they've got a reporter who covers "unjust systems." He'll never run out of material in this town. They've got a reporter who writes about "violent crimes," and another reporter who writes about "victims."

So, theoretically in any crime story, say, one that involves a purse-snatching, it may take two reporters to write it. One to report on the violent nature of the crime, and another to write about the story from the victim's point of view.

But let's say the assailant comes from a disadvantaged background, and may have been discriminated against in the past. Or he or she is possibly an immigrant, or somebody who may be a minority person living in a neighborhood simmering with ethnic, racial and cultural tensions. Or the purse-snatcher is someone who perceives that they live in an unjust society.

Fortunately, in the new Inky newsroom, there's a vast array of specialists to draw on who can flesh out the cultural, racial and societal aspects of that purse-snatching.

… Hey Fredo, does anybody still cover the freaking City Council? Is anybody down at the Roundhouse, seeing what the cops are up to? Does anybody still cover the courts?

From the online description, the new Inky newsroom is a relentless parade of PC warriors who meet every day to march around the Rizzo statue, and plot Big Frank's demise. But we're not done yet.

In the new Inky newsroom, they have a "class" reporter who writes about "aspects of poverty, wealth, and the middle class relating to both economic and social issues." There's a reporter who covers immigration, and another reporter who covers "neighborhoods and gentrification," specifically "characters, tensions and issues."  On the "policy and solutions" team, there's a  reporter who writes about "fairness," particularly "economic equity issues, including school funding, and affordable housing." They also have a full-time reporter who covers "the commerce of cannabis."

In the Inky's new world order, they've got four metro columnists. It's a perfectly diverse team, featuring a couple of white guys and a couple women of color. Of course, all the columnists, local, suburban and national, are liberals who hate Trump. Of the more than 100 reporters working in the new Inky newsroom, if there's a conservative in the bunch, or a Libertarian, or a contrarian, you'd never know it by reading the paper.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link to bigtrial.net:

www.bigtrial.net/2018/01/hey-fredo-bring-out-peppers-and-sausage.html#more

You can also read my Philadelphia Inquirer Q&A with Chazz Palminteri via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2016/10/my-philadelphia-inquirer-q-with-chazz_4.html 

Chazz Palminteri Rips New York City Mayor For Columbus Statute Commission

Carl Campanile at the New York Post offers a piece on Chazz Palminteri’s dispute with the New York City mayor over Columbus statues in the city.

Italian-American actor Chazz Palminteri on Monday urged Mayor de Blasio “strap on a set of balls” to defend Columbus and said he should never have appointed a commission to examine if statues of the explorer should be removed from city property.

“I am really pissed,” Palminteri said on WABC radio.

“How can you appoint 18 people who are going to judge what Columbus means to us. You’re going to pick up 18 people and tell us what our New York values are?”

“You’re the mayor. You should have the balls to say, `Hey, enough of that,’” said Palminteri, who was accompanied by his pal, Phil Foglia of the Italian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Palminteri said he declined an invitation to be honored last week with a “Chazz Palminteri Day” proclamation at the mayor’s annual Italian-heritage reception at Gracie Mansion.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://nypost.com/2017/10/09/chazz-palminteri-rips-de-blasio-for-columbus-statue-commission/ 

You can also read my Philadelphia Inquirer Q&A with Chazz Palminteri via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2016/10/my-philadelphia-inquirer-q-with-chazz_4.html 

Chazz Palminteri 'Was Blessed' With Growing Up With Wise Guys

Christine Burroni at the New York Post offers a piece on why A Bronx Tale is so important to producer/writer/actor Chazz Palminteri.

When it comes to the Bronx Chazz Palminteri sheds his tough-guy persona.

“I have such a strong feeling and passion for ‘A Bronx Tale’ because it’s my life and it’s my parents,” he said of the musical during BroadwayCon at the Jacob Javits Center on Sunday. “And I was blessed with growing up with all these wise guys that taught me the streets.”

The 64-year-old actor has seen the story of his life evolve over 27 years from a book to a one-man show to a movie directed by Robert De Niro, and now a Broadway musical (for which De Niro is also a co-director).

While “A Bronx Tale” focuses on his relationship with his mobster mentor, Sonny, Palminteri credits his fame to his parents — specifically, his late father.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://pagesix.com/2017/01/30/chazz-palminteri-was-blessed-with-growing-up-with-wise-guys/

You can also read my Philadelphia Inquirer Q&A with Chazz Palminteri via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2016/10/my-philadelphia-inquirer-q-with-chazz_4.html

My Philadelphia Inquirer Q&A With Chazz Palminteri

My Q&A with Chazz Palminteri appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer today.

The interview appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News as well.

You can read the Q&A online and watch a brief video from the film version of A Bronx Tale via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20161004_Q_A__Chazz_Palminteri_and__A_Bronx_Tale__come_to_Golden_Nugget.html

Or you can read the below:

Note: You can click on the above to enlarge.