Up next in 10
He walked away from $250 million a week. In a world where the only exit is death, Michael Franzese did the impossible.
Most people who try to leave organized crime end up in witness protection or a cemetery. Michael Franzese chose neither. As a captain in the Colombo crime family, he built the most profitable operation in mob history—a gasoline tax scheme generating $8 billion annually. Fortune Magazine called him the biggest earner since Al Capone. Then, at the height of his power, he made a decision that should have been his last.
This is the story of how a college kid became a made man at 24, revolutionized organized crime with a scheme so sophisticated the FBI couldn't crack it for years, and then walked away on his own terms. No witness protection. No new identity. No hiding. He survived what killed everyone else who tried.
But how? What deal did he make? What price did he pay? And is he truly free, or is there more to the story than even he's telling?
We'll explore the gasoline empire that made him untouchable, the spiritual transformation that changed everything, and the mystery of how someone leaves that life and lives to tell about it. From Brooklyn streets to Hollywood, from federal prison to speaking stages worldwide, this is a story about power, redemption, and the ultimate escape.
What do you think—did he really get out clean, or is this the greatest long game ever played?
Drop your thoughts in the comments below. Subscribe for more untold stories that sound too wild to be true but are completely real. Hit the bell so you never miss the next investigation into the people who broke all the rules and somehow survived.
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0:00
Long Island, 1986.
0:03
A black Lincoln Town Car idols. Outside
0:05
a federal courthouse. Inside sits a man
0:08
who once controlled $8 billion in annual
0:11
revenue, more than most Fortune 500
0:13
companies. Michael Fronz as captain in
0:16
the Columbbo Crime Family has just been
0:18
offered a deal that would require him to
0:20
betray everyone he's ever known. But
0:22
what makes his story different isn't the
0:25
wealth or the power. It's what he did
0:28
next. In a world where leaving means
0:30
death, where the only exit is in a body
0:32
bag or witness protection, Michael
0:34
Fronzosti walked away on his own terms
0:36
and lived to tell about it. At his peak,
0:39
he was generating $250 million every
0:42
single week through an operation so
0:45
sophisticated that it would take federal
0:47
investigators 7 years just to understand
0:49
how it worked. To put that in
0:51
perspective, in today's money, we're
0:53
talking about $8 million every single
0:56
day. This is the story of the man
0:58
Fortune magazine once called the most
1:01
financially successful mobster since
1:03
Ala, the son of a legendary unboss who
1:05
built an empire, defied the rules, and
1:08
somehow survived. The truth is we don't
1:11
know everything about Michael's early
1:13
life, but we know enough to understand
1:15
where it started. Born May 27th, 1951 in
1:19
Brooklyn, New York, Michael grew up in
1:22
the shadow of organized crime royalty.
1:24
His father, John Sunny Frenzi, was
1:28
Unboss of the Columbbo family, a man
1:31
whose reputation for violence was
1:33
matched only by his earning power, while
1:35
other kids played stickball in the
1:37
streets. Young Michael watched black
1:39
Cadillacs pull up to his house at all
1:41
hours. Men in dark suits spoke in hushed
1:44
tones in the living room. Money appeared
1:47
without explanation. His mother tried to
1:49
shield him from the life. She wanted
1:51
something different for her son.
1:53
education,
1:55
legitimacy, a normal existence far from
1:58
the world that consumed his father.
2:00
Therefore, Michael attended Hofster
2:02
University, studying premed with plans
2:05
to become a doctor. For a brief moment,
2:07
it seemed possible that the Franza's
2:09
name might take a different path. But
2:11
there was a problem. In 1967, while
2:15
Michael was still in high school, his
2:17
father was sentenced to 50 years in
2:19
prison for a bank robbery conspiracy.
2:22
Sunonny Fronze maintained his innocence,
2:24
yet the conviction stood. Suddenly, the
2:27
family income vanished. The protection
2:29
disappeared. Michael watched his mother
2:32
struggle to hold things together. Watch
2:34
the respect his family once commanded
2:36
evaporate in whispers and sideways
2:37
glances. The life he'd been raised in
2:40
suddenly had no room for him unless he
2:42
claimed it himself. The streets of
2:44
Brooklyn in the late 1960s were
2:46
unforgiving. You were either a connected
2:49
or you were prey. Medical school
2:51
required money the family no longer had.
2:54
Nevertheless, something deeper pulled at
2:56
Michael. It wasn't just financial
2:58
desperation. It was identity,
3:01
legacy, the unspoken code that said a
3:05
son honors his father, especially when
3:07
that father is behind bars facing half a
3:10
century. Therefore, in the early 1970s,
3:13
Michael Franes made a choice that would
3:15
define the next 15 years of his life. He
3:18
walked away from college. He walked into
3:21
the life. But he did unc come in as just
3:23
another street soldier looking to make
3:25
his bones through muscle and
3:27
intimidation. Michael had something
3:29
different. He had his father's name. But
3:32
more importantly, he had a mind for
3:34
business that would revolutionize how
3:36
the mob made money. According to former
3:38
associates, Michael wasn't interested in
3:41
the traditional rackets, the lone
3:42
sharking, and numbers running that had
3:44
sustained the family's four generations.
3:46
He saw those operations as limited,
3:49
traceable, vulnerable. What he wanted
3:52
was something bigger, something the FBI
3:55
wouldn't even recognize as a crime until
3:57
it was too late. His first real move
3:59
came through a Russian mobster named
4:02
Michael Marowitz. In 1974, Marowitz
4:05
approached Michael with a scheme
4:06
involving gasoline taxes. On paper, it
4:10
sounded almost boring. Gasoline
4:12
distributors were required to pay state
4:14
and federal excise taxes, roughly a
4:17
dollar per gallon at the time. But what
4:19
if you set up a chain of paper
4:20
companies, sold the gas from one to
4:23
another, and had the last company in the
4:25
chain collect the tax from retailers,
4:27
but never actually pay it to the
4:29
government. By the time authorities
4:30
figured out which company owed the
4:32
money, that company would be dissolved,
4:34
and you'd already moved millions through
4:36
the system. It was elegant. It was
4:39
complex. It was nearly invisible. Yet
4:42
Michael saw the potential immediately.
4:44
However, the initial operation was
4:46
smallcale, disorganized.
4:50
Marowitz needed muscle and credibility
4:52
to expand. Michael needed capital and
4:55
connections. Therefore, they formed a
4:57
partnership that would eventually become
4:59
the most lucrative mob operation in
5:01
modern history. Michael brought in
5:03
Columbbo family backing which meant
5:05
protection from competitors and access
5:08
to distribution networks across the east
5:10
coast. Wheaten they weren't just
5:12
avoiding taxes on thousands of gallons.
5:15
They were moving tens of millions of
5:17
gallons monthly through a network of
5:19
phantom companies that stretched from
5:21
Florida to New York. The money came in
5:23
faster than Michael could count it.
5:25
According to court documents filed years
5:27
later at the operation's peak in the
5:29
mid1 1980s. The scheme was generating $8
5:32
billion annually in revenue. Michael's
5:34
cut as the architect and protector of
5:36
the enterprise was roughly $250 million
5:40
per week. To understand that scale,
5:42
consider TIS in 1985. That weekly income
5:45
was equivalent to the annual revenue of
5:47
a midsized American city. It was more
5:50
than entire legitimate corporations earn
5:52
in a year. Michael wasn't just rich. He
5:56
was operating at a level of wealth that
5:58
made traditional organized crime look
6:00
like street corner hustling.
6:02
Nevertheless, wealth brought visibility
6:04
and visibility brought problems. In
6:07
1975, at host, 24 years old, Michael
6:11
Franazi was formally inducted into the
6:13
Columbbo crime family as a made man. The
6:16
ceremony took place in a private home in
6:18
Brooklyn. Blood was drawn from his
6:20
trigger finger. An image of a saint was
6:22
burned in his hands while he recited the
6:25
oath of a he was now untouchable by
6:27
anyone outside the family protected by a
6:30
code that had survived centuries. But he
6:33
was also bound by that same code
6:35
obligated to share his wealth with the
6:37
bosses above him to take orders from men
6:40
who couldn't begin to understand the
6:42
complexity of what he'd built. His life
6:45
became a contradiction. By day, he
6:47
operated legitimate businesses, oil
6:49
companies with offices and secretaries
6:52
in tax filings. He wore tailored suits
6:54
and met with corporate executives who
6:56
had no idea they were dealing with a
6:58
mobster. By night, he attended sitdowns
7:01
with captains and soldiers, men who
7:03
settled disputes with violence and
7:05
respected only strength and earning
7:07
power. Michael straddled both worlds
7:09
with a discipline that impressed even
7:11
his harshest critics. He didn't drink
7:14
excessively, didn't use drugs,
7:16
maintained a level of control that
7:19
seemed almost incompatible with the
7:21
chaotic world he inhabited. Yet, this
7:23
control would become both his greatest
7:25
asset and his most dangerous liability.
7:29
Think you know what happens next? Keep
7:32
watching. By 1980, Michael had expanded
7:35
beyond gasoline. He had investments in
7:38
construction, entertainment, sports,
7:40
management. He produced movies in
7:42
Hollywood, managed world champion
7:45
fighters, owned restaurants and
7:47
nightclubs where celebrities and wise
7:49
guys mingled without knowing who was
7:51
who. According to FBI surveillance
7:53
reports from the period, Michael was
7:55
traveling between New York, Los Angeles,
7:58
and Miami, constantly, always moving,
8:01
always expanding. He bought his mother a
8:04
house far from Brooklyn. Gave her the
8:06
life of comfort she'd sacrificed when
8:08
his father went to prison. To her,
8:11
Michael was a successful businessman. He
8:13
never discussed the details. Never
8:15
brought the violence home, but the
8:17
violence was always there. Just beneath
8:20
the surface, the gas scheme had made
8:23
Michael wealthy beyond measure. Yet, it
8:25
had also made him a target. Rival
8:27
families wanted in on the operation.
8:29
Ambitious soldiers within his own
8:31
family, resented his rapid rise, an
8:34
enormous income. Therefore, Michael had
8:36
to navigate a minefield of jealousy and
8:38
greed while simultaneously staying ahead
8:41
of law. Enforcement agencies that were
8:43
slowly beginning to understand what he
8:45
decreated. In 1981, Karamina Periso, the
8:49
boss of the Columbbo family, was
8:51
particularly interested in Michael's
8:53
earnings. Periso, known as the snake,
8:56
was a cunning operator who recognized
8:58
talent when he saw it. He protected
9:00
Michael from rivals, gave him autonomy,
9:02
unusual for someone so young. However,
9:06
that protection came with a price.
9:08
Michael was expected to kick up massive
9:10
sums to the administration. Millions of
9:13
dollars monthly flowed up the chain.
9:15
Money that bought him space to operate,
9:17
but also made him indispensable. If the
9:20
income stopped, the protection would
9:22
evaporate. Michael understood this
9:24
dynamic perfectly. Therefore, he worked
9:27
harder, expanded faster, always ensuring
9:30
the bosses were happy while quietly
9:32
building his own fortress of wealth.
9:34
Nevertheless, the FBI was closing in.
9:37
The gasoline scheme was too big to hide
9:40
forever. In 1984, federal investigators
9:43
began connecting the dots between dozens
9:45
of shell companies and tracing the
9:47
unpaid tax revenue that had cost states
9:50
hundreds of millions of dollars. What
9:52
happened next shocked even seasoned
9:54
investigators who thought they'd seen
9:56
every trick in the mob playbook. The
9:58
paper trail Michael had created was so
10:01
complex, so layered with legitimatel
10:03
looking transactions that prosecutors
10:06
struggled to build a case that would
10:07
hold up in court. Every company that
10:10
owed taxes had been dissolved. Every
10:12
witness who might testify had either
10:14
disappeared or suddenly couldn't
10:16
remember details. Michael had built a
10:18
legal maze that protected him as
10:20
effectively as any army of soldiers.
10:22
Still, pressure mounted from multiple
10:24
directions. The IRS wanted their money.
10:28
The FBI wanted to break the Columbbo
10:30
family's most valuable earner. Rival
10:32
mobsters wanted to either partner with
10:34
Michael or eliminate him. In 1985, the
10:37
US government filed rakateeering charges
10:40
against Michael Fronzaz, alleging
10:42
conspiracy, tax evasion, and fraud on a
10:45
scale never before seen in organized
10:47
crime. The indictment detailed a
10:49
criminal enterprise that had defrauded
10:51
the government of over $1 billion in
10:53
unpaid taxes. If convicted on all
10:55
counts, Michael faced potentially 100
10:58
years in federal prison. But he didn't
11:00
realize this single decision would open
11:02
the door for his most dangerous enemy
11:05
yet. During the preparation for his
11:07
trial, Michael met Camille Garcia, a
11:09
dancer who knew nothing about his
11:11
background when they first spoke. She
11:13
was young, religious, completely removed
11:16
from the world Michael inhabited for
11:18
reasons he still struggles to
11:19
articulate. Michael fell in love. Not
11:22
the transactional relationships common
11:24
in mob life, but something genuine that
11:26
made him question everything he'd built.
11:29
Camille represented a different future,
11:31
a possibility of redemption that seemed
11:33
impossible given how deep he was in the
11:35
life. Therefore, in 1985, Michael Fronze
11:40
married Camille in a ceremony that mixed
11:42
his two worlds in uncomfortable ways.
11:45
Maidmen attended alongside Camille's
11:47
family, who slowly began to understand
11:49
who their new son-in-law really was.
11:52
According to people close to Michael, at
11:54
the time, the marriage created a crisis
11:56
of identity. He wanted to be a good
11:58
husband, perhaps even a father someday.
12:01
Yet, he was simultaneously running an $8
12:03
billion criminal empire and facing
12:06
federal charges that could end his life
12:08
behind bars.
12:10
Something had to give. However, the mob
12:13
doesn't grant retirement. There is no
12:15
resignation letter, no twoe notice.
12:18
You're in until you're dead or in
12:21
prison. Those are the only exits. the
12:24
life recognizes. Michael knew this
12:26
better than anyone. His father had been
12:28
in prison for nearly 20 years by this
12:30
point, and Sunny still commanded
12:32
respect, still gave orders from behind
12:35
bars. The life didn't end just because
12:38
you wanted it to. Nevertheless, Michael
12:40
began to quietly plan something that
12:43
would have seemed suicidal to anyone
12:45
else in his position. He started
12:47
thinking about walking away. In 1986,
12:50
Michael negotiated a plea deal on the
12:52
federal racketeering charges. Instead of
12:55
going to trial and risking a life
12:56
sentence, he agreed to plead guilty to
12:58
racketeering, conspiracy, and tax
13:00
evasion. The sentence, 10 years in
13:04
federal prison, but structured in a way
13:06
that allowed him to serve time and
13:08
installments while settling his
13:10
financial obligations to the government.
13:11
It was an unusual arrangement, one that
13:14
gave Michael freedom to liquidate assets
13:16
and pay restitution. But the truth is
13:19
even stranger. What prosecutors did
13:21
unfully understand was that this deal
13:23
gave Michael something more valuable
13:25
than reduced prison time. It gave him
13:27
space to plan his exit. Between 1986 and
13:31
1989, Michael moved in and out of prison
13:34
on the installment plan while
13:35
simultaneously trying to extract himself
13:38
from the mob. He started distancing
13:40
himself from active operations,
13:42
stopped attending meetings, made excuses
13:45
about legal obligations and government
13:47
surveillance. To the outside world, it
13:49
looked like a man complying with his
13:51
sentence. But to those inside the life,
13:54
Michael's behavior raised questions.
13:57
Suspicion. In a world built on paranoia,
14:00
distance is interpreted as betrayal.
14:03
Absence suggests cooperation with
14:05
authorities. Michael was walking a
14:07
tightroppe trying to fade away without
14:09
triggering the violent response that
14:11
awaited anyone who tried to leave. His
14:13
father, still in prison, sent word
14:16
through intermediaries. Sunonny Fronzace
14:19
understood what his son was attempting.
14:21
But even he couldn't protect Michael
14:22
from the consequences of abandoning the
14:24
family. According to later interviews,
14:27
Michael gave his father's message was
14:29
simple. If you leave, you're on your
14:32
own. no protection, no mercy if they
14:34
decide to come for you. It was both a
14:36
warning and a farewell. The legacy Sunny
14:39
had built, the name Michael had carried
14:41
into the life, would offer no shield if
14:44
he walked away. Yet, Michael had already
14:46
made his choice. In 1989, while between
14:49
prison stints, Michael moved his wife
14:52
Camille to California. He officially
14:54
told the Columbbo family he was retiring
14:56
due to legal pressure and health issues.
14:58
The announcement was met with cold
15:00
silence. Captains who'd made millions
15:02
off his schemes suddenly had to find new
15:04
revenue. Soldiers who'd enjoyed his
15:06
protection had to navigate a more
15:08
dangerous landscape. But more troubling
15:10
than the financial loss was the
15:12
precedent. If Michael Frenzi could walk
15:14
away, what stopped others from doing the
15:17
same? The family couldn't allow that
15:19
question to take root. Therefore, a
15:21
contract was reportedly issued.
15:23
Different sources suggest different
15:25
amounts, but the consensus among former
15:27
mob associates is that Michael Fronze
15:30
had a price on his head somewhere
15:32
between $300,000 and $1 million in mob
15:35
terms. That's not just a hit. That's a
15:39
priority. That's a message being sent
15:41
that no amount of past earning, no
15:44
family connection, no history grants
15:46
immunity from the ultimate punishment
15:48
for breaking a But Michael didn't enter
15:50
witness protection. This is crucial to
15:53
understanding what makes his story
15:55
unique. Most mobsters who leave either
15:57
die or flip, trading testimony for
16:00
government protection and new
16:01
identities. Michael refused both paths.
16:04
He didn't cooperate with authorities
16:06
beyond what his plea agreement required.
16:08
Didn't testify against his former
16:10
associates. Didn't hide behind a new
16:12
name in a distant city. Instead, he
16:15
simply left, moved to California with
16:17
his wife, and eventually started
16:19
speaking publicly about his past,
16:21
writing books, giving interviews,
16:23
building a new life in plain sight. The
16:26
question remains, how did he survive?
16:30
Multiple attempts were reportedly made
16:31
on his life in the years following his
16:33
departure. A former associate later
16:35
claimed that shooters were sent to
16:37
California, but couldn't locate Michael
16:39
or lost their nerve or were called off
16:41
at the last moment. The full truth of
16:43
what negotiations, what arrangements,
16:46
what understandings allowed Michael to
16:48
live remains murky. Some suggest he paid
16:51
a substantial exit fee to the family by
16:54
his way out with a fortune accumulated
16:56
during his peak earning years. Others
16:58
believe his father, despite being
17:00
incarcerated, still wielded enough
17:02
influence to protect his son from the
17:04
worst consequences. Michael himself has
17:07
offered various explanations over the
17:09
years. In interuse, he credits his
17:12
religious conversion, his commitment to
17:14
his wife and family, and ultimately
17:16
divine protection. He's spoken at
17:18
churches, written books about his
17:21
transformation, built a second career as
17:23
a motivational speaker and consultant.
17:25
He reviews mafia movies for accuracy,
17:28
discusses his past with a cander that
17:30
would have been unthinkable during his
17:31
active years. He's become in many ways
17:35
the face of mob redemption. Proof that
17:37
the life doesn't have to be a death
17:39
sentence. Nevertheless, questions
17:42
linger. Federal prosecutors never
17:44
recovered the full amount Michael
17:45
allegedly earned from the gasoline
17:47
scheme. Hundreds of millions of dollars
17:49
remain unaccounted for. Hidden in
17:52
offshore accounts or legitimate
17:53
investments that continue generating
17:56
income decades later. Michael has paid
17:58
restitution, served his time, but the
18:01
gap between what he made and what was
18:03
recovered suggests a financial cushion
18:05
that might explain his successful exit.
18:07
Money in the mob world solves most
18:10
problems. Enough money solves even the
18:13
problem of leaving alive. His father,
18:15
Sunonny Franzas, remained in prison
18:18
until 2017 when he was released at age
18:21
100 after serving more time than almost
18:23
any mobster in American history. The
18:26
relationship between father and son
18:28
remains complicated. Sunonny never
18:30
publicly condemned Michael's decision to
18:32
leave. Yet, he also never fully embraced
18:35
his son's new path. They represented two
18:37
different eras of organized crime.
18:39
Sunny, the old school enforcer who
18:41
believed in the code above all else, and
18:43
Michael, the new generation who saw the
18:45
life as business and treated it with the
18:48
cold calculation of a corporate raider.
18:51
Today, Michael Franazi is in his 70s. He
18:54
lives openly, maintains a social media
18:57
presence, produces content about his
18:59
past for YouTube and other platforms.
19:02
He's consulted on films, spoken at
19:05
universities, shared stages with law
19:07
enforcement officials who once hunted
19:09
him. His transformation seems complete.
19:11
Yet, those who know the life well
19:13
understand that some connections never
19:15
truly sever. The mob has a long memory.
19:19
Grudges that seem settled can reignite
19:21
over perceived slights or financial
19:24
disputes that resurface decades later.
19:26
The central mystery of Michael Franz
19:29
isn't how he made his fortune. The
19:31
gasoline scheme, while sophisticated,
19:33
has been thoroughly documented in court
19:35
records and investigative reports. The
19:38
mystery is how he survived the one thing
19:40
the mob never forgives.
19:42
Leaving in a culture where loyalty is
19:45
everything, where Omarta is enforced
19:47
with death, Michael broke the most
19:49
fundamental rule and lived. He didn't
19:51
hide, didn't testify, didn't disappear
19:55
into witness protection, obscurity. He
19:57
walked away and then walked back into
19:59
public view, telling his story to anyone
20:01
who would listen. Perhaps the answer
20:04
lies in timing. Michael left just as the
20:07
old mob structures were collapsing under
20:09
federal RICO prosecutions. The
20:11
commission trial in 1985 had decimated
20:14
leadership across all five families. The
20:16
Columbbo family itself was fragmenting
20:18
into violent factions. In the chaos, one
20:22
captain retiring to California, might
20:24
have seemed less important than the
20:26
internal wars and federal cases
20:28
threatening everyone. Or perhaps
20:29
Michael's earning power had been so
20:31
substantial that his exit feep, whatever
20:34
it was, satisfied enough people to
20:36
prevent unified action against him. Or
20:39
maybe, just maybe, the life had evolved
20:43
enough by the late 1980s that pure
20:45
enforcement of the old codes had become
20:48
impractical.
20:49
Too much surveillance, too much risk,
20:51
too many people willing to flip if
20:53
arrested. The mob that Michael left was
20:56
not the mob his father had joined. It
20:58
was corporate, transactional, less bound
21:01
by honor than by profit. In that
21:03
environment, a captain who'd earned
21:05
billions and wanted out might be allowed
21:08
to go, provided he paid the right price
21:10
and kept his mouth shut about anything
21:12
that mattered. What we know for certain
21:14
is this. Michael Fronzaz generated more
21:18
wealth than almost any mobster in
21:20
history. He reached the highest levels
21:22
of a crime family before age 30. He
21:24
walked away from that life and survived.
21:27
He built a second career, explaining the
21:29
first. He maintains to this day that his
21:32
transformation was spiritual, that faith
21:34
gave him the strength to leave when
21:36
leaving seemed impossible. Whether
21:38
that's complete truth or partial
21:40
mythology, it's become his story, the
21:43
narrative he's chosen to define his
21:45
legacy. So, what do you think? Did
21:47
Michael Fronze truly escape the life, or
21:50
is the real story still hidden in
21:52
offshore accounts and unspoken
21:55
agreements that allowed him to live? Is
21:57
he a redeemed man who found salvation or
22:00
a brilliant operator who negotiated the
22:02
one deal that mattered most? His own
22:05
survival, the gas scheme made him rich.
22:08
The decision to leave should have made
22:10
him dead. Instead, it made him something
22:12
unprecedented in mob history. A man who
22:15
walked between both worlds and somehow
22:18
kept walking when everyone else who
22:19
tried ended up carried. Drop your theory
22:22
in the comments. I read every single
22:25
one. And if you want to hear more
22:27
stories about the people who broke the
22:28
rules and lived to tell about it,
22:31
subscribe because this world has more
22:33
secrets than you'd ever imagine.