Breaking Good | Michael Franzese | EP 302

Dr Jordan B Peterson and Michael Franzese discuss being raised in a mafia environment, having a high-ranking father within the crime family, the schemes and successes of his career, and the ultimate reasons for why he walked away.

Michael Franzese is an American former mobster once affiliated with the Colombo crime family. Most notable for his gas-tax scheme from the mid 80’s, it is estimated that Franzese at one point was personally making eight million dollars a week. At his height Franzese had achieved the rank of Caporegime, or the equivalent of a captain or general within the mob ranks, and was nicknamed the “Yuppie Don” as well as the “Prince of the Mob,” by his contemporaries. In 1986, Franzese was sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiracy charges, and despite being released early, spent the next decade in and out of jail. In 1994 he was finally released, chose to retire from crime, and bought an estate in Florida. Since then he has traveled the world as a public speaker, and has written many books about his life and crimes, such as 1992’s Quitting the Mob, or his most recent 2022 publication, Mafia Democracy.

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— Chapters —

(0:00) Coming Up
(1:23) Intro
(3:28) Raised in the Mafia
(11:25) Early exposure to violence
(13:00) A father behind bars
(14:00) The five families, Lucky Luciano
(16:00) Racketeers and gangsters
(18:00) The infamous gas-tax scheme
(21:58) Keeping cool under intense pressure
(25:15) When your father is the mob, Sonny Franzese
(33:00) A dangerous meeting
(43:45) Why we romanticize criminality
(45:45) Responsibility and change
(49:00) When Family Breaks
(58:22) Turning points, Miami Gold Films
(1:04:40) Love, the mafia, and God
(1:11:30) 29 months of solitary confinement
(1:14:00) Divine intervention
(1:22:56) Christ and loyalty
(1:30:24) The need for a new mindset
(1:32:13) Showing change through action
(1:36:27) Illegal versus immoral
(1:39:00) White lies, living in truth

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[ivareskesner]

This is certainly an interview I didn't expect from Jordan but am glad he did. Franzese is a fascinating guy. The fact that he's not only still alive but rich and free is nothing short of amazing.

[piperpilot]

I love the fact that he humbled himself enough to ask for Jordan's honest advice on situations like lying and stealing

[bilalsaleem]

I respect Jordan massively more after this. Every single one of michaels interviews follows the same structure with (obvious) rehearsed answers on michaels end, yet JP’s analysis and deconstruction of everything he said and his background provided a different insight into Michael that we haven’t seen and forced different answers out of him for once. Love it

[pumpkinface]

Wow... never in a million years did I think these two would have ever had a semi-psychoanalytical interview together. Brilliant!

[fractualitymusic]

Jordan I must say this is an excellent display of how great of a psychoanalyst you are. And a great listener as well!

[EXISTENTIALization]

I'm so glad Jordan is looking healthier. I remember seeing him a year ago and was seriously concerned for his health.

[strahinjapantelic]

This guy is 71 years old and in better shape than me at 23 😳

[ChrisKsan]

This is not an interview, it's a therapy session that is also helpful to people listening. So thank you both very much for this!

[giuseppesarto]

42:30 really got me, I went numb and cold for a minute there, thinking we just learned his Dad was a sociopath. I can’t imagine how he felt, if I myself died a little in my chair hearing it. Also the part where he tries to tell his little brother that it was his fault their Dad was back in prison… I hope he is one day able to understand that his brother was actually right and saw things more clearly than he did. This is a more common dynamic among oldest and younger siblings than you might think. I also think it was amazing how his loyalty ethos played out on all facets of his life- the ability to recognize that fear-based loyalty is superficial because you just follow whoever scares you the most and that can always change, versus love-based loyalty which endures all things. Simply fascinating. I also enjoyed learning that Giuliani, who mostly gets hate, really cleaned up NY in his own way. Wow. And lastly, I Lol’d hard when he said Catholics don’t read the Bible, just the Catechism. The Catechism is a book explaining everything the Catholic Church believes, it’s just helpful for studying the Faith for anyone curious. It could never ever replace the Bible, which gets read FOUR times, not once, on Sundays, and not only on Sundays but everyday because Catholics have Mass everyday, not just Sundays. Lol. Anyway, I’m glad for him that he found the faith even though he didn’t fully make it back home.

[littlejerrythecagefighter]

This is a talk that could bring some people out of darkness. Great to see it happening.

[brians]

This was amazing! I've followed Michael for a long time and that was the best interview he's ever done. JP asked real questions about HIM instead of the mob

[sazopro]

this is one of the best episodes I've seen on Peterson's podcast, Michael really went deeper on more of his personal story

[DanielGold]

I wasn't expecting this collaboration, but I am so happy that this collab has happen. Thank you, Jordan and Michael and the team, for making this happen.

[giuseppecareri]

What a great interview between two of my favorite people on this earth. So happy that Michaels life turned out like this ., .God Bless them both...

[JustAdude]

This is the interview of a lifetime. Two extraordinary men, two of my favorite guys on YouTube do an interview/podcast. Thank you both for this, 10/10

[davidsfuntimes]

Enjoyed the conversation. " Jordan; Did you ever get into fights as a youngster", Michael, " I got into a few fights, scuffles, my ribs were broken once with a baseball bat, nothing major". Priceless. Michael, it is hard to believe you exited that lifestyle as you did. I commend you.

[Ale-rubr]

Peterson - one of the most brilliant psychologists of our time - analyzing Franzese - an individual that experienced the most fascinating metamorphosis. What a treat! More interviews like this, please!

[viralata]

What a beautiful, heartfelt testimony of love and redemption. Thank you to you both, Dr. Peterson and Mr. Franzese.

[moritzkopp]

What a conversation. Thank you so much for making this happen!

[simonleduc]

Quite unexpected! Michael is always in control in his interviews. It is the first time I see Michael outside his comfort zone and _almost_ get emotionnal. It is like The Sopranoes concept of having a cosa nostra capo talking to a shrink 🙂