John Franzese Jr. (born 1960/61), now living as Mat Pazzarelli, is an American former mobster and associate of the

Colombo crime family The Colombo crime family (, ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City within the criminal organization known as the American Mafia. It was during ...

, and son of former

underboss Underboss () is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian Mafia, Sicilian and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the Crime boss, boss. The un ...

John "Sonny" Franzese. He is the first son of a New York mobster to turn state's evidence and testify against his father.

Organized crime

Franzese Jr. was born into the family of Colombo underboss John Franzese. His father was charged with a series of bank robberies in the late 1960s for a total term of 50 years. His brother Michael Franzese, who eventually rose to the rank of capo, was the first person that explained the

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

life to him two years prior to his father's first release on parole in 1978. Franzese Jr. was never a

made man In the Sicilian and American Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. In order to become eligible to be "made", an associate must fulfill several requirements, such as being Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by ...

but he did perform shakedowns which were made possible by his father's reputation and direct encouragement. The 1980s was the period that Franzese Jr. was most active in organized crime and he was sinking into

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

, describing moving from alcohol, to cocaine to crack. In the 1990s he described himself as a junkie. It was from his drug use he acquired

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

and eventually

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

Informant

Franzese Jr. wanted a way out of his life and was approached by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

with a proposition that he become an informant and he accepted. One part of the agreement he made with the FBI prior to testifying was that he would not profit from his story as a mafia figure. He was allegedly also responsible for his father's fourth parole violation, but was accepted back into his confidence after denying the allegations in tears, saying, "I would never do that, no matter what kind of trouble I had." In 2005, he wore a

wire file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg, Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample d ...

around his father. Franzese Jr. testified twice against his father, the last time his father attempted to have him killed; he later lived under witness protection. In 2010, he admitted that he received $50,000 from the FBI as a cooperating witness. With the help of Franzese Jr.'s testimony, his father was sentenced on January 14, 2011, to eight years in prison for extorting two Manhattan strip clubs, running a loanshark operation and extorting a pizzeria on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. He is the first son of a New York mobster to turn state's evidence and testify against his father. In 2017, he was recognized by someone attending a recovery meeting and was exposed via a post on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

. The FBI urged him to immediately relocate but he declined and exited the

Witness Protection Program Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after trials, usually by police. While witnesses may only require p ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. In 2019, Franzese met with his father at the nursing home where he resided and reconciled with him. His father died of natural causes in New York, on February 24, 2020, aged 103.

Personal life

His wife Denyce was featured on '' I Married a Mobster'' TV show episode "Rat Trap". He is a recovering addict living in Indianapolis encouraging others with the affliction of addiction, offering an example of what rehabilitation can look like at a special housing unit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franzese, John Jr. Living people American gangsters of Italian descent Colombo crime family Federal Bureau of Investigation informants People who entered the United States Federal Witness Protection Program People with HIV/AIDS 1960 births