Media and members of law enforcement alike referred to Michael Franzese as “The Prince of the Mafia.” The son of a kingpin in New York’s Colombo crime family, he was one of the biggest money earners the mob had seen since Al Capone, masterminding scams in sports, gambling and even a multi-billion dollar gasoline tax scheme.
It was assumed that Franzese would be heir to his family’s vast power. But then he fell in love. And the woman who would become his wife, Camille Garcia, led him to Jesus.
“My conversion completed the transition from a kingdom of darkness into a kingdom of light,” Franzese said. “One covenant bound me to the mob, the other—the covenant in Christ—set me free.”
This new faith led Franzese to make a previously unthinkable decision: to quit the mob. Although he had dozens of court appearances and served nearly 10 years in prison, he is the only high ranking Mafia official to quit, refuse government protection, and live to tell about it.