All language subtitles for Inside. the. American. Mob. S01E02. 720p. AMZN. WEBRip. x264-GalaxyTV

Salvatore Polsi: In the
70s we were all wannabes,

we did the grunt work
for the mob bosses or

the upper
echelon mob guys.

And those mobsters
had power in those days.

If they gave you an
assignment you couldn't

refuse and
you had to do it.

Francis Lewis Boulevard.

Walk into the
bank, real quiet.

Bank Robber:
Everybody down!

Bank Robber 2:
Everybody down!

Hit the floor!

[screams].

Salvatore Polsi:
I run into the bank and

vault right over
the top of the counter.

And yell, "Back up!"

And all the
tellers back up.

And I go into
each drawer and

start scooping
the money out.

My favorite trademark
was to carry a bag with me,

I'd have two bags in my
pockets and they would be

little plastic bags and
it said, "I Love New York."

I noticed every
head teller would have

a key chain with keys.

And I said to
the head teller,

"Into the vault!"

"Let's go,
into the vault.

Right now, go!"

And she hesitated
and she began to urinate

on the floor
right in front of me.

Now I kind of felt bad
that I made her do that,

but I, I don't have time
for this, "To the vault!"

She went to the vault,
she opened up the door,

she opened up a
couple of drawers,

grabbed a whole
bunch of stacks of money.

We got into the car, we
got back to the safe house

and we dumped all
the money on the bed.

That was like one
of the fun moments,

dumping the
money on the bed.

So I always robbed the
banks with the same bag,

"I Love New York," bag.

Eventually when I got
busted they had reports

and they said, "We know
how many banks you did,

you always carried
that little white bag,"

you know.

It was a
trademark of a criminal!

I just couldn't get
away from it, you know!

NARRATOR: IT'S 1978
AND THE UNITED STATES

GOVERNMENT IS AT WAR
WITH A HIDDEN EMPIRE.

Newswoman: Mob warfare is
on the rise all across the

streets of
New York City.

In Brooklyn, a
low-level mobster is

shot dead in
broad daylight.

NARRATOR: A NETWORK
OF GANGSTERS WHO LiVE BY

A CODE OF CRIME,
VIOLENCE AND POWER.

IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS
STRUGGLE ARE TWO MEN,

MICHAEL FRANZESE,
A MADE MAN IN THE COLOMBO

CRIME FAMILY;
THE OTHER JOE PISTONE,

AN UNDERCOVER FBI AGENT,
BOTH TRYING TO CLIMB THE

LADDER AND SURVIVE
IN THE AMERICAN MOB.

THEY, ALONG WITH THEIR
COMPATRIOTS ON BOTH SIDES

OF THE LAW, ARE WITNESSES
TO THIS SECRET HISTORY,

STEPPING FORWARD
NOW TO TELL THEIR

STORIES FIRST HAND.

A FEW STAY IN THE SHADOWS
FOR REASONS OF PERSONAL

SAFETY, FEARING A CRIMINAL
ORGANIZATION THAT REIGNED

UNCHALLENGED IN THE UNITED
STATES UNTIL RECENT TIMES.

AND IN THE 1970S
THEY WERE UNTOUCHABLE.

John Marks: What was
the view on organized

crime when you
joined the Bureau?

Steve Salmieri:
Back then it was a

very closed society.

Organized crime
knew what police could

or couldn't do.

Jim Walden: There were
crews within families

that were
literally untouched, uh,

by law
enforcement for decades.

NARRATOR: IN 1978,
FIVE CRIME FAMILIES RULE

NEW YORK CITY
AND THROUGH IT,

MOST OF THE COUNTRY.

THE FAMILIES GO BY THE
NAMES OF THEIR BEST KNOWN

LEADERS: GAMBINO,
COLOMBO, BONANNO,

GENOVESE AND LUCCHESE.

RIGHT IN THEIR MIDST
HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT IS

AN UNDERCOVER
AGENT NAMED JOE PISTONE.

HE'S BEEN LIVING AMONG
THE COLOMBO FAMILY FOR THE

LAST YEAR UNDER
THE ALIAS DONNIE BRASCO.

Joe Pistone:
When I first started,

the FBI didn't think
there was a mafia.

[laughs].

NARRATOR: PISTONE LEAVES
THE COLOMBO FAMILY LOOKING

FOR A DEEPER WAY INTO THE
AMERICAN MOB AND NOW HE'S

GOT A SHOT AT
INFILTRATING ANOTHER OF

THE FIVE FAMILIES,
THE BONANNOS.

Edward McDonald: The
Bonanno family controlled

gambling and loansharking
back in the day but those

days were over and
they had to find other

ways of making money.

Jim Walden: The Bonanno
family can be fairly

characterized as
ground breakers when it came

to drug trafficking.

Fat Sal Colombo:
They would smoke drugs,

rob drug dealers
and they were wild guys.

Jim Walden: The
Bonanno's were really,

at this period
of time, the worst.

NARRATOR: NOW FOR THE
FIRST TIME IN HISTORY,

THANKS TO A SINGLE
UNDERCOVER AGENT,

THE FBI HAS A
SHOT AT TAKING DOWN

AN ENTIRE FAMILY.

Joseph Coffey:
Joe Pistone was an FBI agent

who was pretty
effective as an undercover.

And he was recruited
by the FBI to get into the

Bonanno family, which
he did by going to a going

to a guy named
Lefty Guns Ruggiero.

Joe Pistone: Lefty
was a, a 24/7 gangster.

He grew up in the life.

He had relatives
that were in the life.

He was a tough
guy to be around.

Selwyn Raab: If you were
in Joe Pistone's shoes,

you had to know that
every second that you were

dealing with these
mafia guys might be

your last
moment on earth.

One mistake,
the slightest error,

you're through.

They never
hesitate to kill.

Joe Pistone: When
you're with these guys

you have to blend in.

They have to, you
have to be believable.

James Kossler: He had
convinced them that he

was a very adequate
and very good jewel thief.

Joe Pistone: I would
bring around some diamonds,

I'd bring around
watches you know,

all stuff that
was confiscated

by the
federal government.

After a while,
Lefty really becomes

comfortable with me.

And he'd be telling
me about who's the boss

of this family,
the boss of that family.

I'm gathering great
intelligence information.

He's like an
encyclopedia of the mob.

Rudolph Giuliani:
Law enforcement work

requires infiltration.

You cannot do all of
it through wiretaps.

You can't do all
of it through, uh,

through
telephone intercepts.

You can't do all
of it through bugs.

Because you don't
know what to wiretap.

Lefty Ruggiero: What
happened last night?

Donnie Brasco: What?

I called, you
weren't out there.

I talked to Sonny.

I called the house,
nobody answered.

Lefty Ruggiero: Let
me tell you something,

Donnie, the man
never told me nothing.

He's playing
games with me.

He knows that I'm.

Selwyn Raab: It's a
real goldmine for the FBI.

Now they have an
agent who is really in

the middle of
a mafia family.

NARRATOR:
SOON PISTONE,

UNDER THE ALIAS
DONNIE BRASCO

AND RUGGIERO HATCH
A SCHEME TOGETHER.

Joe Pistone: Lefty always
said he was interested in

expanding out of New York.

NARRATOR:
FORTUNATELY, THE FBI'S

ALREADY GOT
A GREAT FRONT.

AN UNDERCOVER
OPERATION IN A FLORIDA

NIGHTCLUB CALLED
THE KING'S COURT.

Joe Pistone: So we had
a night club going in

Florida and because
he knew that I was

the kind of guy
that could be trusted,

he put me
in charge there.

NARRATOR: ANOTHER FBI
AGENT, STEVE SALMIERI,

IS ALREADY WORKING
UNDERCOVER IN THE CLUB.

Steve Salmieri:
The club was set up

because this was a
venue they could have and

they could see that
the money could be made.

So Joe came down
and, uh, you know,

it really solidified him
with the Bonanno family.

NARRATOR: THAT NIGHT
CLUB BECOMES THE BAIT THAT

LURES LEFTY AND
THE BONANNOS INTO A TRAP.

Joe Pistone: Our
operation was confined

to a very limited
number of individuals.

So agents would be
taking photographs,

they're taking
pictures you know,

on surveillance and I'm
on a lot of the surveillance

and the agents didn't
know Donnie Brasco

was really
an FBI agent.

NARRATOR: OPERATION
DONNIE BRASCO IS GARNERING

RESULTS IN FLORIDA.

BUT BACK IN NEW YORK A
MAFIA POWER STRUGGLE IS

ABOUT TO CHANGE
THE GAME DRAMATICALLY

FOR JOE PISTONE.

THE PROBLEM: AN
AMBITIOUS BONANNO BOSS

NAMED CARMINE GALANTE.

News Reporter:
Galante looked more like

a grandfather than a
godfather as he walked

his dog each morning
in Greenwich Village.

But his real
interests embrace gambling,

prostitution,
loansharking and most of all,

heroin and other drugs.

Edward McDonald:
Carmine Galante,

who got out of
prison after a long prison

sentence for narcotics
trafficking tried to

muscle in and
take control over the

Bonanno crime family.

Joe Pistone: He
controlled all the

importation of
drugs into the US.

And Galante wouldn't
share any of this with

any of the
other families.

NARRATOR: SHARING IS
A GOLDEN RULE AMONG THE

MAFIA'S FIVE FAMILIES
AND BOSSES WHO DON'T

SHARE GET IN TROUBLE
WITH THE COMMISSION,

THE GOVERNING BOARD OF
THE MAFIA WHICH HOLDS THE

POWER OF LIFE AND DEATH
OVER ALL OTHER MOBSTERS,

INCLUDING UPSTART BOSSES.

Joe Pistone: So the
other families got together

and they
decided he's got to go.

He's gotta go.

Michael Chertoff:
Carmine Galante,

he's a regular
patron at a restaurant in

Brooklyn called Joe
and Mary's Restaurant.

And he goes sit out
in the in the patio in

the back with
his bodyguards.

Joseph Coffey: It was
August, hot summer day.

Just sitting there,
he's having pasta with

his friends, they're
holding a conversation.

Michael Chertoff: Car
pulls up in front of the

restaurant and there
are four people in the car.

One is the driver
who stays with the car.

The other three go
through the restaurant,

they know exactly
where Galante's gonna be.

Joseph Coffey:
He sits there,

puts a cigar
in his mouth.

Michael Chertoff:
They walk into the patio.

[gunshots]

Joseph Coffey: They
blow him over the chair

into the tomato patch.

News Reporter: Galante
was having lunch in the

courtyard of an Italian
restaurant in Brooklyn

when 5 men entered with
automatic rifles and

shotguns
and opened fire.

Reporter: Did your
uncle say who he was

gonna eat
lunch with today?

Man: No, no, he stopped
every day for coffee.

Reporter: He stopped
in here every day?

Man: He don't
know nothing.

Joseph Coffey: When I get
there they body's still

there because I get there
pretty quick and there's

one laying in the
tomato patch with a cigar

in his mouth and a
Zippo lighter in his hand.

I look at it,
it's Carmine Galante.

It was an iconic
picture because

it went all
over the world.

My friends in Washington
said Joe Coffey put that

cigar in his mouth
'cause they, you know,

I had a sense of humor,
so did he and of course

I didn't do it but I
let everybody think I did.

NARRATOR: DOWN IN
FLORIDA JOE PISTONE GETS

A CALL FROM NEW YORK.

Joe Pistone: I was in
Florida looking out after

the club down there
and I called Lefty because

I had to call
him every day.

He says, "Have you
seen the New York papers?"

And I said I
haven't seen 'em yet.

He said, "Well go
buy the New York papers

then call me back."

I buy the New York paper
and there's the picture.

I knew from Lefty that
Galante didn't have a lot

of admirers, but I never
had any indication that

they were
gonna kill him.

So I call him back and
I said I got the paper,

he said,
"You read it?"

I said, "Yeah."

He said, "Well
things are gonna change."

"They killed Galante,

they want you to
come back to New York."

NARRATOR:
GALANTE'S EXECUTION

SHAKES UP THE
BONANNO FAMILY.

IN THE UNSTABLE NEW ORDER,
IMPRISONED MOBSTER NAMED

RUSTY RASTELLI BECOMES
THE BOSS AND A HARD

CASE NAMED SONNY
BLACK BECOMES A CAPTAIN.

LEFTY GETS REASSIGNED
TO WORK UNDER SONNY BLACK

AND ALONG FOR THE
RIDE IS DONNIE BRASCO.

Selwyn Raab:
Pistone is a godsend.

He's more
than just a wannabe.

He's got Lefty Ruggiero
on his side who's bringing

him in to meet Capos
like Sonny Black Napolitano.

Joe Pistone: Sonny
Black was a tough guy,

but you can
joke with him.

Plus he wanted to
keep earning money and

the undercover
operation we had in Florida,

he made
a lot of money.

NARRATOR: PISTONE NOW
GETS CLOSE TO SONNY BLACK,

WHO'S FORTUNES IN THE
BONANNO FAMILY ARE RISING,

THANKS IN PART
TO THE FLORIDA CLUB.

Selwyn Raab: He's
inside a capo's counsel!

A capo is talking to
him, dealing with him,

telling him secrets.

He's at third base.

Joe Pistone:
I like Sonny Black.

I mean, how could
you have comfortable

conversation with him, uh,
if you really don't like him?

You know, I used to
spend a lot of time with him

and I used to
sleep at his apartment.

I can remember telling
this story my FBI superiors

and they
couldn't believe it.

I mean, you know,
he slept in the bedroom,

I slept on his couch,
we'd get up in the morning

and we'd sit
around in our underwear.

And here's me,
an undercover FBI agent

and one of the most
powerful captains of the

Bonanno family sitting
there drinking coffee,

having a hard roll
with butter and watching

cartoons on television.

You never see
that in the movies.

NARRATOR: BUT
THAT FRIENDSHIP WITH

SONNY BLACK IS
ABOUT TO LEAD PISTONE

STRAIGHT TO
COLD BLOODED MURDER.

Both: [laughing].

NARRATOR: BY 1979,
FBI UNDERCOVER AGENT

JOE PISTONE HAS
ACHIEVED SOMETHING NO FED

HAD EVER DONE,
PENETRATING ONE OF THE

MOB'S MOST
NOTORIOUS FAMILIES,

THE BONANNO FAMILY.

THE KEY TO HIS SUCCESS,
A POWERFUL BONANNO CAPTAIN

NAMED SONNY BLACK.

Joe Pistone: The
relationship with Sonny

really
propelled the operation.

Because Sonny
really becomes

comfortable with me.

Sonny and Lefty would
have conversations and

not cut me out.

They'd tell me
about what's going on.

Edward McDonald:
After the execution

of Carmine Galante,

three capos of
the Bonanno crime family

tried to muscle
in and take control

over the family.

Selwyn Raab:
And it's open warfare.

They're looking
to kill each other.

Joe Pistone: Three
captains wanted to

take over the family.

Sonny "Red" Indelicato,
Phil "Lucky" Giaccone

and Dominick Trinchera.

Sonny Black and uh,
Joey Massino call a

sit down to iron out
their differences.

NARRATOR: BUT THERE
IS NO IRONING OUT

THESE DIFFERENCES.

IT'S ALL ABOUT POWER.

Edward McDonald: What was
supposed to be a sit down,

was a trap, an ambush.

Joe Massino was there.

He tackles, uh,
Sonny "Red" Indelicato.

Shoots him in the head.

The other two
capos are also killed.

NARRATOR: THE THREE
RENEGADE CAPOS ARE DEAD,

BUT THERE'S
A LOOSE END.

Steve Salmieri: Sonny's
crew killed Sonny Red

and that
pissed people.

So they were
looking to kill each other

and Joe's
in the middle.

NARRATOR: WHAT FOLLOWS
IS A CONVERSATION

THAT NO FBI AGENT
HAS EVER HAD BEFORE,

PROOF POSITIVE
THAT JOE PISTONE

HAS PULLED
OFF ONE OF THE GREATEST

DECEPTIONS IN
LAW ENFORCEMENT HISTORY,

SONNY BLACK INVITES
HIM TO JOIN THE CLUB.

Joe Pistone: Sonny
tells me, you know,

"I already proposed
you for membership

in the family."

"You're gonna
get made in December."

He tells me, you know,
"We took care of those guys."

He said,
"One got away."

And I said "Who?"

He says,
"Bruno Indelicato."

He said, "I'm giving
you the contract to

get Bruno Indelicato."

Now, as an FBI agent,
you can't get involved

in acts of violence,
unless you're protecting

yourself or
protecting a citizen.

And one of the rules in
mafia is that when you get

a contract, if you
turn it down you're

gonna get killed.

So, when I was told,
"You got the contract to

kill Bruno Indelicato,"
I said, "Okay, Sonny,

where do
you think he is?"

Sonny Black:
Come on, take a walk.

NARRATOR: THE HUNT IS
ON FOR BRUNO INDELICATO.

IF PISTONE
FINDS AND KILLS HIM,

HE'S GOING TO
BECOME A MADE MAN,

EARNING HIS PLACE IN THE
BONANNO FAMILY WITH BLOOD.

BUT OVER IN
THE COLOMBO FAMILY,

MICHAEL FRANZESE
IS EARNING HIS PLACE

WITH COLD HARD CASH.

John Marks: Did you
ever have a nickname?

Michael Franzese:
You know, not till

later on when the
media tagged me as being

the Yuppie Don,
which I hated.

But, uh, nobody would
call me that to my face.

I tell 'em,
"Don't ever say that to me,

I don't like
it," you know?

It reminded me of
California and all these

kind of weird
guys out there in suits.

Selwyn Raab:
Michael Franzese was an

immense earner for
the Colombo family.

And a guy who
knew how to really deal

with modern
day capitalism.

He was a new breed.

Michael Franzese: All
right, fellas, let's go.

Reporter: This handsome,
young mafia prince from

New York is
Michael Franzese,

son of legendary
mafia godfather.

Edward McDonald:
Michael Franzese's father

was Sonny Franzese.

He was a legendary
figure in the world of

organized crime,
very powerful figure

in the
Colombo crime family.

Michael Franzese:
You know, my dad he

just had that
presence about him

that people just
really treated him well.

And that's, you know,
for a young guy looking

up to your father
that's who I want to emulate.

That's how I
want to be in my life.

NARRATOR: AND ONE WAY
FRANZESE HOPES TO MAKE

MONEY IS CLASSIC MOB:
THROUGH THE LABOR UNIONS.

Michael Franzese:
I had some very

lucrative
situations with unions.

One of them, in a, a major
contracting construction

job with a major
developer in, um, in Queens.

And this is a major job,
it was the biggest co-op

conversion in the
country at that time.

And one of the
guys in there, uh,

happened to be the
brother of a girl that

I was dating
at one time.

And he got in touch
with me and he said,

"Mike, I've got this
job," and he said,

"The union is really
harping on us," he said,

"You think
you can help out?"

I said yeah.

So um, I go and
meet the labor union guy.

And I said, "You realized
what we got here, right?"

"Biggest job
in the country."

I said,
"Let's work this thing."

And he said, "Great."

So we made a deal to
keep the union out of there

and we charged
the developer so much

for every
apartment that he converted.

We hired all the trades,
we did everything and we

made a ton of
money both legitimately

and through the unions.

And we whacked
it up among everybody.

John Marks: Can
I ask you, the term

"whack it up," is that
the same as "kick it up?"

Michael Franzese:
Whack it up, divide it up,

cut it up, share it,
yeah, that's a street term.

You never
said share it.

It's whack.

Whack has different
forms of uh, different uses,

I would say.

NARRATOR: FRANZESE
IS PART OF A NEW GENERATION

OF GANGSTERS RISING UP
THROUGH THE RANKS OF THE

AMERICAN MOB
IN THE LATE 1970S.

ANOTHER ONE IS A
GUY NAMED JOHN GOTTI,

A SMALL TIME HOOD FROM
QUEENS LOOKING TO MAKE A

NAME FOR HIMSELF
AND LATCH ON TO ONE

OF THE FIVE FAMILIES.

Joseph Coffey: I
was involved in various

investigations of
John Gotti through the years,

from the time
when he was a nothing guy.

Salvatore Polsi:
In the '70s, we were

all wannabes,
even John Gotti was a

wannabe in the '70s.

NARRATOR:
BETWEEN SCORES GOTTI KILLS

TIME WITH
OTHER MOB WANNABES,

SMOKING,
DRINKING, PLAYING CARDS.

Salvatore Polsi: We
would be playing poker,

his cigar would be down,
he would just hold his

cards and he
wanted to play.

And every once in a while
when he got a good hand,

this long De Nobili
cigar would go up in the air

and I
would notice!

And no
one spotted it!

And the minute we
saw that cigar go up,

we were
out the door!

We threw
our hand in!

And he could never
figure out what he did.

He was,
he had a tell.

And he was
a wild gambler.

And he would
just lose every night!

NARRATOR: RUMORS
START TO SPREAD OF AN

OUTSIZED
PERSONALITY IN QUEENS.

Fat Sal Colombo: And
all of a sudden you started

hearing this
John Gotti, John Gotti.

John Gotti this,
John Gotti that.

We used to
say who the (bleep) is

this John Gotti?

I ain't
never heard of him.

Salvatore Polsi:
He was a wild and crazy

flamboyant personality,
high energy, charismatic.

Joseph Coffey: He
had a two-prong attack

to become a made guy.

In the mafia you're
made either one of two ways,

you're an earner or
you do hits for them.

If you do both,
you're a huge made guy.

He was.

NARRATOR: IT'S THE
BEGINNING OF A LEGENDARY

CAREER IN
THE AMERICAN MOB.

NARRATOR: IN
THE LATE 1970S,

A NEW GENERATION OF
GANGSTERS IS RISING UP

THROUGH THE RANKS
OF THE AMERICAN MOB.

AMONG THEM IS A
GUY NAMED JOHN GOTTI.

Joseph Coffey: John Gotti
was a low level gangster

who was like banned
from the racetracks because

he was a mafia figure.

He was involved in
hijacking trailer trucks

coming out
of the airport,

plus he wouldn't
hesitate to kill somebody.

Michael Franzese:
I had my first business

encounter with John Gotti.

It wasn't a very
pleasant experience.

Two brothers came
to me and they had a

guy that had a
flea market in Brooklyn.

This guy's partner
was dealing drugs and

it was
disruptive to the market.

So I intercede, I go
meet with him and we make a,

an arrangement and
I chase his partner out.

Two weeks later, uh John
calls me up, John Gotti.

Yeah, hello?

He says, "Mike,
I need to see you."

I said, "Okay."

I go meet
him and he says,

"That flea
market in Brooklyn."

"Yeah?"

He says, "The
guy you chased out."

"Yeah," I said.

"He's with me."

I say, "John, come on
you know he just ran to you."

"No, no, I know
the guy a long time."

John wasn't
pulling out and

I wasn't
gonna give up.

There's no way John
Gotti would walk away

from an
argument with anybody,

including himself
thinking that he lost.

So I said "John
there's no way I wanna;

this guy's a drug
addict, I don't want

to be around him."

I said "I'm
gonna buy you guys out,

name your price."

And it's
like I knew it.

He said, "You don't
buy me out, I buy you out."

And that's
what happened.

He bought me out,
gave me the money and

I gave my guy
money, we kept some and

he took the market and
within 3 months they closed.

It was over.

So that was
my first business

encounter with Gotti.

Joseph Coffey:
John Gotti was a thug.

IQ of maybe a
mothball, but a thug.

NARRATOR: BUT
COLOMBO FAMILY MEMBER

MICHAEL FRANZESE IS
ALSO MAKING A NAME FOR

HIMSELF AS AN
EARNER AMONG EARNERS.

HE BRINGS IN BIG SCORES
THAT ATTRACT ATTENTION

THROUGHOUT THE
FIVE FAMILIES OF

THE AMERICAN MOB.

BUT NOTHING SO
FAR COMPARES TO THE SCAM

HE'S ABOUT
TO PULL OFF.

Michael Franzese:
This guy came to me and

he tells me, he says,
"Look, we can make some money,

I've got
kind of a scheme."

"I have gas stations."

So I said, "Alright,
let's start a new company,"

I says and "Show me
how this thing works

and I'll see if
I want to pursue it."

I'll never forget,
a week or two later,

this guy came to me
and he's holding a box.

And he used to bring
me meat, he was a butcher.

He walks in, I says,
"What are we having a party?

What we're gonna
do with all this meat?"

And he says,
"Hey chief, it ain't meat."

And he goes in
and he puts it on the

kitchen table
and he opens it up.

He said, "First week's
take in the gas business."

$380,000 in cash.

Got my
attention, right?

Selwyn Raab: Michael
Franzese was an immense

earner for the
Colombo family and

his biggest coup was
something known as the

"Daisy Chain
Gasoline Scam."

What happened was,

New York State,
in the 1970s,

decided to use a
different way of collecting

gasoline excise
taxes every year.

Michael Franzese:
At that time,

whoever owned the gas
station was responsible

to pay the tax on every
gallon of gasoline that

they bought and pumped.

Selwyn Raab: And
somebody hit upon the

idea that this was stupid.

R. Lindley Devecchio: So
the legislature in New York

said, "Well let's make
distributors responsible

for paying the
taxes or whatever they

want to levy."

NARRATOR: BUT THE GAS
COMPANIES ARE REQUIRED TO

PAY THE TAX
ON THE HONOR SYSTEM.

SO FRANZESE FIGURES
OUT ALL HE HAS TO DO IS

SET UP DUMMY
COMPANIES THAT DON'T PAY.

IT TAKES MONTHS FOR THE
GOVERNMENT TO FIGURE OUT

THE SCAM AND COLLECT
AND BY THAT TIME THE

DUMMY COMPANIES
ARE LONG GONE.

R. Lindley Devecchio: It
was a fairly complicated

scheme that involved a
lot of dummy corporations,

which made it
difficult to trace back

the original source,
that being Franzese.

Edward McDonald: And
somewhere along the line,

a stamp would come out
and would say "Tax Paid."

And it was very
difficult to establish just,

you know, which
company was saying that

they paid the tax.

NARRATOR: THAT'S
BECAUSE NO COMPANY IS

PAYING THE TAX.

ALL OF THE
MONEY IS GOING INTO

MICHAEL FRANZESE'S POCKETS.

Michael Franzese: I
had 18 licensed companies.

All of them were
operating um out of Panama,

so there was no
trail back to any of us.

Selwyn Raab: The gasoline
tax scam has to go down in

history as one of the
most successful coups

ever pulled
by the mafia.

Michael Franzese:
I was making a lot of

money in
the gas business.

Millions of
dollars a week.

I had a jet plane,
I had a helicopter,

I had all the
money I wanted,

I did whatever
I wanted to do.

And word was
getting out on the street

that even though I
was handing in millions,

that I was
making billions.

News Reporter: The
so-called "Franzese Group,"

a new mafia
organization that federal

prosecutors say could
be behind the mob's theft.

Michael Franzese:
A story came out,

I believe in
News Day again,

that I was becoming
powerful enough to break

away from the Colombos
and start my own family.

News Reporter: Said to
be behind the mobs theft of

hundreds of
millions of dollars in

gasoline taxes in New York.

Michael Franzese: My
dad then got out on parole.

NARRATOR:
FRANZESE'S FATHER, SONNY,

IS RELEASED FROM
PRISON AFTER SERVING TIME

FOR MASTERMINDING A
SERIES OF BANK ROBBERIES.

BUT HE'S ALSO RUMORED TO
BE A COLD BLOODED KILLER,

AN ACCUSATION
FAMILIAR TO HIS SON.

Michael Franzese: Law
enforcement said he killed

at least 30 people, back
then, now I think it's 60,

but as far as a
dad, he was dad for me.

I loved him.

I idolized my dad.

He was everything
that I thought a man's

man should be.

Every child wants a
reason to love their parents.

You have to give them
strong reasons not to love

their parents and
I don't have any reason

not to love mine,
regardless of anything.

The word gets out on
the street I'm becoming a

target of law enforcement
and all of the sudden the

two Franzeses together,
the son is making tons

of money, guys
start to think about it.

You know,
a double-edged sword.

Even my own father.

I was told he
put a contract on me.

NARRATOR: BY
THE EARLY 1980S,

COLOMBO CAPTAIN
MICHAEL FRANZESE'S SUCCESS

IN GAS TAX SCAMS
HAS EARNED HIM AND THE

COLOMBO FAMILY MILLIONS.

BUT IN THE AMERICAN
MOB, SUCCESS CAN BE AS

DANGEROUS AS FAILURE,
ESPECIALLY IF THE MOB

THINKS YOU'RE
SKIMMING THE TAKE.

SO WHEN MICHAEL'S FATHER,
THE LEGENDARY GANGSTER

SONNY FRANZESE, CALLS
HIM, HE STARTS TO SWEAT.

Michael Franzese:
One night I get uh,

a call from my dad and
he said, "I gotta see ya."

I said, "Okay."

He was on parole
so I go to his house.

How ya doin, Pop?

We're in the driveway
of his house and he said,

"Uh Junior wants
to see us tonight."

I said, "Okay, what
time do you want me

to pick you up?"

He said, "Well, they
want to do this differently,

they want me to
come in first and they

want you to
come in second."

I said,
"Why would we do that?"

He says, "Well
this is what they want."

I said, "We're
not gonna do that, dad."

You're crazy
if you're gonna do it.

I'm not doing it.

Finally, I remember,
I threw my hands up,

we're in the drive way.

I said, "Alright Dad,
I've been listening to you

all my life," and I
said, "I don't like it but

if this is what
you want we'll do it."

So I leave and then Jimmy
Angelina calls me and he

tells me to meet
him on uh, on 18th Avenue.

Jimmy was a
captain too at the time,

I knew
Jimmy all my life.

I get in the car and
there's a guy sitting in

the back that
I didn't know and

uh he don't
introduce me.

And um, you know
at that point I was just

really thinking
something's really bad here.

It was a house in
Brooklyn that we were going to.

I get out of the
car and I start walking.

And Jimmy
gets behind me.

And the other
guy is behind him.

Now this
is bad set up.

And I'll be
honest with you,

I was getting
really nervous.

I wasn't a religious
guy anyway but I started

to pray because I
really thought that I'm dead.

Look, I been in
the life quite a while.

I know that you get
walked into a room by your

best friend, you
don't walk out again.

So um, door
opens, I get in there.

A couple of the
guys are there and um,

they start grilling me
about the gas business and

the money and
all of this and that

and everything else.

And they're trying
to make an impression

on me that you know
I'm still the boss,

don't think you can
get away with anything.

Without saying
it, they said it.

I got it.

NARRATOR:
THE MEETING ENDS AND

TO FRANZESE'S
SURPRISE, HE'S STILL ALIVE.

Michael Franzese:
So now Jimmy's gonna

drive me back.

I said
goodbye to everybody.

We get in the car.

I'm ready to
really open up on him.

I was really
upset with him.

He didn't
tell me anything.

So I get in
the car and I say,

"I know
you all my life.

You don't
prepare me?

You don't tell me
anything that's going on?"

And uh, he said,
"I'm gonna tell you

something Michael."

He says, "You're
father was in there

before you tonight.

He didn't
help you one bit.

You were on
your own in there."

And it really
affected me in a bad way.

And I said, "Man, I can't
trust my own father here."

I kind of felt
the walls closing in on

me at that point.

He threw me
under the bus in that

he didn't defend me.

And that's almost as bad
as indicting me, you know?

As saying,
"He did it."

And I said,
"This money that I'm making,

what do I do?"

"Do I stop?"

This is like a
double-edged sword for me.

And um, I, I
didn't have an answer.

I didn't
have a solution.

And I said, "I'm
just going to keep

doing what I'm doing."

NARRATOR: WHILE COLOMBO
CAPTAIN MICHAEL FRANZESE

STRUGGLES WITH
THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS

GAS SCAM,
ACROSS TOWN IN BROOKLYN,

UNDERCOVER AGENT JOE
PISTONE IS ABOUT TO BECOME

AN OFFICIAL MEMBER
OF THE BONANNO FAMILY,

AN ORGANIZATION WHO
MAKE THEIR MONEY NOT

JUST FROM EXTORTION AND
LOANSHARKING, BUT DRUGS.

UNDER THE
ALIAS "DONNIE BRASCO,"

HE'S PENETRATED THE
ORGANIZATION DEEPER THAN

ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICER IN HISTORY.

HE'S ABOUT TO BECOME
A MADE MAN, BUT FIRST,

TO PROVE HIMSELF,
HE MUST KILL.

Joe Pistone:
When I was told,

you got the contract
to kill Bruno Indelicato,

I accepted it
because what am I gonna say?

No, I don't
want to do it?

I can't do it?

But we had a plan
in place, you know.

Sonny sent me
looking for him.

Sonny Black:
Come on, take a walk.

Joe Pistone: If I
spotted him I called the FBI

and they come and snatch
him and we'd stage a hit.

Or if they found
him, they'd snatch him

and we'd
stage a hit.

Selwyn Raab:
The FBI is faced with

an incredible dilemma.

What are
they gonna do if

Joe Pistone,
AKA Donnie Brasco,

is asked to
go along on a hit?

That's a no-no.

They can't do it.

But will
it blow his cover?

And the slightest
suspicion could lead to

Donnie Brasco's death.

NARRATOR: SO THE
FBI MAKES A DECISION.

James Kossler: Joe was
not allowed to become a

member of
La Cosa Nostra.

The bureau decided
that would not be in

the best interest
of him or the bureau,

um and so we
pulled him out of there.

NARRATOR: AFTER SIX
LONG YEARS UNDER COVER,

THE FEDS PULL PISTONE
FROM THE STREETS

AND SHUTTER
OPERATION DONNIE BRASCO.

NOW IT'S TIME TO LET
THE MOB KNOW THE TRUTH.

Joe Pistone: When the
operation was gonna be

closed down we had a
meeting with three agents

and uh, one of
them knew Sonny Black.

So what I did was
I took a picture with

these guys with
my credentials and uh,

the agents went
to Sonny Black

[knocking sound]

and they showed him a
photograph of myself and

the guys, uh,
and they said,

"You know Sonny,

we just want you to
know that uh this guy

you know as
Donnie Brasco is really

Special Agent
Joseph D. Pistone

of the FBI.

He's been working
undercover for six years."

And what Sonny said was,
"Well, I don't know.

If I see
him I'll know."

And that was it.

Then they
told him that,

"Sonny, once this comes
out you're better off coming

with us 'cause you know
you're gonna get killed."

And he just told them,

"Look, I don't believe it,"

and he just
shrugged it off.

And that was it.

And they left.

And he calls Lefty,
calls the other guys in

the crew, they all
go to the Motion Lounge.

Sonny Black:
The Feds were just here.

They say Donnie's FBI.

Joe Pistone: And he
tells 'em what happened.

In the beginning Lefty
couldn't believe it either.

Lefty couldn't
believe that I was

an undercover agent.

When he found out
I can't say here on

camera what
his response was.

It wasn't good,
it wasn't good.

NARRATOR: WORD SPREADS
IN THE STREETS BONANNO

ASSOCIATE DONNIE BRASCO
IS ACTUALLY A FEDERAL AGENT,

AN INFILTRATION
THAT WILL SOON SHATTER

THE AMERICAN MOB.

INFILTRATING THE
BONANNO FAMILY TO ITS CORE.

BUT AFTER SIX
YEARS UNDERCOVER,

THE FEDS PULLS HIM
OUT BEFORE HE MUST KILL

SOMEONE OR
GET KILLED HIMSELF.

AND THE NEWS QUICKLY
SPREADS IN THE STREETS

THAT THE WISE GUY
KNOWN AS DONNIE BRASCO.

Sonny Black:
They say Donnie's FBI.

NARRATOR: ISN'T
WHAT HE APPEARS TO BE.

Michael Franzese: I
remember meeting Donnie Brasco,

Joe Pistone, with Lefty.

We didn't
have any business,

it was hello and
goodbye, he was there,

there was
nothing more discussed.

But when we found out what
happened and it was common

knowledge on the street
that he was an informant

FBI agent, it was
pretty shocking because they,

he was almost
straightened out.

He had
gotten that far.

Joe Pistone: And then
what happened once they found

out it was me, uh,
the Commission got together

and the
Commission put together a

$500,000
contract out on me.

NARRATOR: PISTONE
GETS OUT OF NEW YORK FAST,

HIDING OUT IN
FBI HEADQUARTERS IN

WASHINGTON, DC.

BUT WITHIN THE MOB THOSE
WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR

DONNIE BRASCO'S
RISE MUST PAY THE PRICE.

Joe Pistone: Sonny
had to fess up to all

the bosses
what had happened.

So he gets a
call to go to a sit down.

He walks into
the Motion Lounge.

Bartender:
Hey, Sonny.

Joe Pistone: And
tells the bartender,

I just got called
to a sit down and

he gives him his ring,

gives him his money,
gives him his keys except

his car keys and he calls
his girlfriend and says,

"They tell me Donnie
was an undercover agent,

I didn't believe it,
now I believe it."

If you ever see
Donnie tell him I'm

glad it was him.

So he goes
to the sit down.

And the next
thing they know is

Sonny Black is gone.

Lefty was on his
way to get killed and

surveillance team
snatched him up because

they heard that you
know when he gets here

we're gonna
kill him, whack him.

NARRATOR:
A YEAR LATER,

LAW ENFORCEMENT
MAKES A GRUESOME DISCOVERY.

Joe Pistone: They
found Sonny's body in '82

in a body bag with
his hands cut off.

And the reason that they
did that was he introduced

me to bosses
that I shook hands with.

Did I want
to see him die?

No, I mean look,
you know, that's not my job.

My job is to
gather evidence to

put you in jail.

Lefty, he spends
his 15, 18 years in the

can doesn't say a word.

'Cause they
took that oath and

they believed
in that oath.

They took
that oath and

they believed
in that oath.

NARRATOR: BUT
PISTONE'S NOT THE ONLY

ONE CHOOSING A NEW PATH.

ACROSS TOWN,
MICHAEL FRANZESE,

A CAPTAIN AND TOP EARNER
IN THE COLOMBO FAMILY,

IS BECOMING DISILLUSIONED
WITH HIS WAY OF LIFE.

BUT THAT'S THE
LEAST OF HIS TROUBLES,

LAW ENFORCEMENT'S
CLOSING IN.

Michael Franzese:
I started to feel the

pressure in the early
80s and the government uh

opened my eyes to
it and that they had

a major undercover
operation on me,

on this gasoline
case and everything else.

Rudolph Giuliani: It would
seem that Michael Franzese

is unfortunately
following in the footsteps

of his father.

Michael Franzese:
The FBI can allege and

say whatever they like.

They've been doing
it for many, many years.

Edward McDonald: Well,
the FBI identified him

as a
significant target.

Informants were
providing information to

the FBI about this
up and coming, um, you know,

sophisticated gangster.

So the FBI came to us
and said that they wanted

to bring a
case against him.

Michael Franzese:
I got a visit uh in my uh

offices out in Long
Island from two FBI agents.

And they came in
to see me and they said,

"We need
to talk to you."

I said,
"What do you want?"

They said, "Listen,
tell us what you're doing

and we'll
give you a pass."

Yeah, right.

And I said, "Well,
I don't know what

you're talking
about with gas."

You know?

So I knew, and said,
"This is not good."

I mean I really got
their attention now.

Edward McDonald:
We gathered evidence,

primarily from
cooperating witnesses and

when he was faced
with a lengthy trial and

the prospect of getting
a very lengthy sentence.

Michael Franzese:
People were being convicted,

100 years, 150 years,

I said, they're gonna
give me 1,000 years

if I go down on this.

Edward McDonald: He
decided to plead guilty

and to make restitution
payments of ten million

dollars, which he
pretty much defaulted on.

News Reporter:
Michael Franzese indicted on

28 counts of racketeering,
fraud and extortion.

Michael Franzese:
I had made two very bad

decisions in my life.

I trusted my father,
look where it got me.

I surrendered my
life to La Cosa Nostra

and look
where it got me.

I got death threats,
hits all over me,

the FBI hates me,
everybody on the street

hates me,
my father disowned me.

I don't have a
friend in the world.

I'm gonna spend the
rest of my life in a

6 x 8 cell.

And it was the first
and only time in my life

that I, I
really felt hopeless.

Edward McDonald: Then
he kind of shocked us,

because he came forward
and agreed to cooperate.

And based on the
cooperation he provided,

he did get his
sentenced reduced.

Michael Franzese:
I got 4 years on a parole

violation and I spent
35 months and 13 more

days in prison, 29 months
and 7 days in the hole.

And during that
time is when I, um,

strengthened
my faith and um,

started to
read the Bible.

NARRATOR: BUT
FRANZESE GETS OUT AND

LIVES TO TELL THE TALE.

Michael Franzese:
Do I find it surprising

that I'm alive?

I feel I'm the
most blessed guy

walking the streets.

What should
my fate have been?

I should either be
dead or in prison

for the
rest of my life.

NARRATOR: THE SON WHO
ONCE FOLLOWED HIS GANGSTER

FATHER BLINDLY INTO
THE LIFE NOW WALKS AWAY

FROM THE MOB
FOREVER, UNSCATHED.

Edward McDonald:
I cannot explain how

Michael Franzese was
able to do what he did.

The only
speculation we have

is that he
paid his way out.

Somehow he was able to
persuade people in the

Colombo crime family
not to do anything to him.

Michael Franzese: Really,
the only way that ends is

when you end and
you're in a coffin, it's over.

NARRATOR: HOW
MICHAEL FRANZESE

GOT OUT OF THE
AMERICAN MOB WITH

HIS LIFE REMAINS A
MYSTERY TO THIS DAY.

BUT THE WORST
DEEDS OF FRANZESE'S

PAST STILL HAUNT HIM.

ESPECIALLY THE
MURDER OF A CLOSE FRIEND,

"CHAMPAGNE"
LARRY CARROZZA.

Michael Franzese:
Larry Carrozza was someone

very close to me.

I mean the kid
loved me and I loved him.

I baptized his kids.

He baptized
my daughter.

Unbeknownst to
me, he was having

an affair
with my sister.

I was brought in
and it was told to me

that this is
what was going on.

Man: The word
is on the street.

NARRATOR: NO ONE
MESSES WITH MOB WOMEN.

THOSE WHO DO
PAY A HEAVY PENALTY.

Michael Franzese: I was
told he disrespect you

and he disrespected
your father and that's

something that uh,
we don't stand for in

this life and I said,

"But you know,
he's not a made guy."

Stupid.

And how do we know
what really happened and

let me talk to
my sister," and "Nope.

You want to take care of
it, you take care of it.

If not, we'll
take care of it."

And I said,
"I don't wanna do it."

I says, "The guy's
too close to me."

NARRATOR: LARRY
CARROZZA'S BODY IS

FOUND NEAR HIS CAR.

HE IS SHOT A SINGLE
TIME BEHIND THE EAR.

Michael Franzese:
His murder, that's probably

something that
uh has been the

heaviest on my heart.

NARRATOR: THESE DAYS
IT'S FAITH THAT HELPS

FRANZESE COPE WITH
THE DARKNESS OF HIS PAST.

Michael Franzese:
Guys, be honest.

You don't come to
church but you figure,

"Hey, Sopranos is
off the air, let me go

see what the real mob
guy is all about, right?"

[laughter].

Michael Franzese:
That's your only interest.

What I did, I
did and that's it.

As Christians, we happen
to believe that we can be

forgiven for what
we've done in the past.

So I believe with
all my heart that

I've been forgiven.

NARRATOR: A LINE
THAT'S HARD FOR A LOT

OF PEOPLE TO SWALLOW.

Michael Franzese:
People can say it's a

phoney thing and
it's a scam and you know

fortunately, in the end,

they're not gonna be
the ones that judge me.

But I can't fool
God, [laughs] you know?

God bless you all.

Host: Thank Michael
Franzese, thank you.

NARRATOR: MICHAEL FRANZESE
IS OUT OF THE LIFE TODAY,

BUT HIS FATHER
SONNY NEVER WALKED AWAY.

Michael Franzese: You
know, my dad's 96 years old.

He's the oldest
living mob guy in America.

I think he's part
of this life 66 or 67

years ago
he took the oath.

Edward McDonald: He
just recently was convicted

at the age of 96,
I think he was convicted

on racketeering
charges and was incarcerated

again, uh, was
active until the age of 96

and it's
absolutely amazing.

Michael Franzese: He is
a treasure trove of mob

stories, if you can get
him to talk about them.

NARRATOR: SONNY
FRANZESE IS A LAST HOLD-OVER

FROM THE GOLDEN AGE
OF THE AMERICAN MOB,

AN ERA THAT ENDS WITH
THE SUCCESS OF OPERATION

DONNIE BRASCO, THE
HISTORIC INFILTRATION OF

THE BONANNO FAMILY
BY UNDERCOVER AGENT

JOE PISTONE.

Michael Chertoff:
Up until 1970,

all you could do
with the mafia is,

like you know men with
their eyes closed trying

to feel an elephant.

You would get a
little piece of it,

but all you could prove
was someone who actually

committed a
particular crime.

Joe Pistone
did something unique,

which is he
infiltrated the Bonanno Family,

the organized
crime family,

with such success
that he was on the verge

of being
made as a member.

In doing that not
only did he collect direct

evidence of crimes
against the Bonanno Family,

but he was able
to talk knowledgeably

about the structure
of the whole mafia.

Joe Pistone: This
undercover case was

the beginning of the
unravelling of the mafia

in America as we
knew it, as it once was.

NARRATOR: ALL IN ALL,
THE INFORMATION PISTONE

PROVIDES LAW
ENFORCEMENT LEADS TO OVER 200

INDICTMENTS AND MORE
THAN 100 CONVICTIONS

OF MAJOR MOB FIGURES.

BUT IT IS ONLY
THE BEGINNING OF THE

GOVERNMENT'S
ALL OUT ASSAULT ON

THE AMERICAN MOB.

James Kossler:
Joe Pistone's role as

Donnie Brasco
was historic in the FBI.

Historic in
law enforcement.

Rudolph Giuliani:
Pistone broke the

confidence of the mafia.

He broke the
mystique that you

couldn't
infiltrate the mafia.

That mystique was very,
very important in getting

people to cooperate,
'cause now all of a sudden

it isn't this
impregnable organization

that nobody's
ever penetrated.

Steve Salmieri:
Joe Pistone and his case,

was the perfect
storm for organized crime.

Joe Pistone: We, we
kicked the (bleep) out of them.

We really did.

NARRATOR: BUT THE
AMERICAN MOB STILL HAS

ENORMOUS POWER
IN NEW YORK CITY AND

AROUND THE
COUNTRY IN THE 1980'S.

Leonetti: You always
have to use your brain

and you always
have to use the gun.

NARRATOR: IN CITIES
LIKE PHILADELPHIA,

HOME TO THE MOST
VIOLENT MOB FAMILIES IN

THE UNITED STATES.

Leonetti: We live by
our own set of rules.

NARRATOR: AND A
MAJOR BATTLEGROUND IN

LAW ENFORCEMENT'S WAR TO
END THE RULE OF COSA NOSTRA.

Pichini: His reign
becomes a reign of terror.

Nick Scarfo: I invoke
my right and decline to

answer the question.

Leonetti: We got
away with murder.

[gunshots].