Ex-mob boss tells I Catch Killers podcast How the Mafia kept people safe

A former mob boss from a feared US crime family has revealed he was told he would be killed if he set foot in Australia. Listen to the new podcast.

Australia’s spate of shootings and gang warfare would not be happening if the mafia had its way, a former mob boss claims.

Michael Franzese, who grew up in a feared Colombo crime family, told former New South Wales homicide Detective Gary Jubelin on the I Catch Killers podcast that when he was in the mafia in New York crime was low – because the mob kept it that way.

“Our communities were policed, I would say by us. We didn’t tolerate crime in our communities,” Mr Franzese said.

“We never closed our doors, we didn’t lock our doors, the community was safe. And in our neighbourhood, you know, Greenpoint, where I grew up in Long Island, there was no crime there. Because number one, they knew we had a presence; number two, they knew we wouldn’t tolerate anything. So why mess with us?”

Former Mafia boss Michael Franzese will be talking in Melbourne next year (2023) about how he turned his back on the mob and survived. Picture: Supplied

Mr Franzese said “absolutely” the mafia would have stepped in when he was in control in New York, if there was an outbreak of violence like what Australian cities are experiencing.

“No – it would not,” he said.

Mr Franzese said such an outbreak of open warfare was rare when he was involved in the mafia.

“We didn’t try to make a spectacle of it, because you don’t want the heat. Because what happens, law enforcement then comes down on everybody. So you don’t want that? You know, I’m not saying it’s never happened, but it’s not the desired way.”

He said that made for a safer environment.

Franzese believes the mob helped keep communities safer. Picture: Supplied

“We didn’t go out and start shooting innocent people, that’s unheard of, [we’d] never do that. You didn’t see us going into restaurants. You didn’t see us getting on the street in any kind of street violence like that … I can tell you, without a doubt, that your neighbourhoods would be safer, and you wouldn’t see that kind of street violence. No way.”

Mr Franzese told the podcast of his struggles to get a visa to enter Australia, saying authorities “gave me a hard time, they didn’t want to give me it”.

He also revealed someone in Australia threatened to kill him if he set foot in the country.

“Somebody from Australia threatened, when I come over there, this is going to happen and all of that.”

Gary Jubelin is a former top Detective-turned award-winning author and host of the top-rating podcast I Catch Killers.

Mr Franzese said he always took threats seriously, even if he didn’t think they were credible.

“I never ever take anything for granted … so when somebody makes a [threat] – you can tell when it’s silly and whatever. But if somebody makes a statement like that, I’ll be careful and cautious about it. And I’ll do what I need to do. And we’ll see. but I don’t I don’t want to alert anybody or alarm anybody or anything like that. I’m just telling you it happened.”

Listen to the new episode on the I Catch Killers podcast here.

Originally published as Ex-mob boss tells I Catch Killers podcast How the Mafia kept people safe