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Personality: The Fixer
Once a renowned Mob boss who helped fix sporting events, Michael Franzese makes the case that he's a good fella now
Bruce Schoenfeld
From the Print Edition:
Edgar Bronfman Jr., Mar/Apr 03
(continued from page 4)
Yet even when he was in the life, he followed the Yankees passionately. He was riveted to the television on the night of October 18, 1977, when Reggie Jackson hit three World Series home runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was at the height of his involvement in sports gambling, but it didn't matter. "Huge thrill," he says.
Franzese knew there was a chance, however small, that those games he watched weren't on the level. Yet such is the power of sports to entertain and enthrall that it didn't dampen his enthusiasm a bit. Even as he was undermining the process, he was exulting in it. Call it naivete or innocence, a willful bit of denial or a latent purity of the heart, but it helps you understand why he's making such an effort now. Even a mobster needs his heroes.
Bruce Schoenfeld is a frequent contributor to Cigar Aficionado.
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