Notice of Online Archive
This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
Author and corporate fraud expert Michael Franzese will speak about his days as a former mob captain 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 10 in Colton Chapel.
Franzese’s lecture is sponsored by the Senior Class Council, through funding by the Class of 1963 Lecture Series.
Blood Covenant – The Michael Franzese Story shares the speaker’s entertaining and insightful look at “life” in La Cosa Nostra. From the intrigue and mystique of the initiation ceremony to his success – making more money for the mob than anyone since Al Capone – and being the youngest on Fortune‘s “50 Most Wealthy and Powerful Mob Bosses” list, Franzese presents what he calls “Mob 101.” He describes how the love of a young woman, now his wife of more than 20 years, did what five law enforcement agencies could not – end his life of organized crime.
The son of a kingpin in New York’s Colombo crime family, Franzese was long considered an heir to the family’s vast power. Becoming a sworn member at 24, he avoided the traditional Mafia domains in favor of the lucrative edges of the legitimate business world.
Since giving up his life of organized crime, Franzese has written two books, Quitting the Mob and Blood Covenant. He also has been featured in Vanity Fair, Life magazine, and GQ, and on television programs 48 Hours and the Today Show.