by B. » Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:22 pm
Franzese believes he was 24-years-old when he was made, but circumstantial evidence and a CW made in the same ceremony shows he was 27. I don't think three years is a major discrepancy when we're talking about a guy recalling a secret event that happened sometime around his mid-20s. His life was a whirlwind at the time and other guys from his ceremony weren't coming up to him over the years saying, "Hey Mike! Remember when we got made on Halloween 1978? Isn't it awesome being from the class of '78, bro?"
Even though part of his schtick now is to rattle off the "Ten Commandments of the Mafia", Franzese strikes me as someone on the street who was less interested in the ceremonial aspects of mafia membership and more focused on the benefits/privileges of membership, i.e. earning money, so he may not have reflected on his induction date until later when he had to recall it in testimony and books/speeches. He knew he was made on Halloween and that he was around his mid-20s. That much is true.
JD took great care in determining when the books officially opened and this started with old discussions on the board that evolved into his blog posts. He found that the families officially opened the books in late 1975, made preparations to induct ten new members each, and that these inductions were underway in January 1976. The first Gambino and Bonanno ceremonies were in late January / early February 1976 and the first Colombo ceremony by February 1976. He didn't make similar posts for the Lucchese and Genovese families, but there are FBI reports from the period that suggest inductions began around the same time. Funzie Tieri's driver was inducted in early 1976, for example.
Bottom line, I don't think it hurts Franzese's credibility that he's sticking to the 1975 date. Maybe he's just stubborn and doesn't want to give in to outsiders telling him when his own induction ceremony was, but it's also a business decision. If he admits he was wrong about his date of induction, a bunch of idiots can use that to attack his credibility. As it is right now, it's only a few researchers quietly pointing it out, but if he admits the mistake he is going to have every mob fanboy on YouTube calling him out for not knowing his own year of induction.
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Speaking of Franzese, I like that both Franzese and Pennisi have shot down Gene Borello's inane remark about nobody using the term caporegime on the street.
That's why the hierarchy of sources is crucial.
If that was an FBI report, we'd have an anonymous CI with extensive knowledge on the Asaro crew saying "The term caporegime is no longer used on the street" and someone might think it's true. But then two member CIs come out and say the opposite, that caporegime is still used within the organization. It's not that Borello is lying -- he's an associate and isn't supposed to hear about formal ranks, so he's saying what he knows -- but he's lower on the totem pole of sources when it comes to organizational matters, so we can't take his word over two made members.
Franzese believes he was 24-years-old when he was made, but circumstantial evidence and a CW made in the same ceremony shows he was 27. I don't think three years is a major discrepancy when we're talking about a guy recalling a secret event that happened sometime around his mid-20s. His life was a whirlwind at the time and other guys from his ceremony weren't coming up to him over the years saying, "Hey Mike! Remember when we got made on Halloween [i]1978[/i]? Isn't it awesome being from the class of '78, bro?"
Even though part of his schtick now is to rattle off the "Ten Commandments of the Mafia", Franzese strikes me as someone on the street who was less interested in the ceremonial aspects of mafia membership and more focused on the benefits/privileges of membership, i.e. earning money, so he may not have reflected on his induction date until later when he had to recall it in testimony and books/speeches. He knew he was made on Halloween and that he was around his mid-20s. That much is true.
JD took great care in determining when the books officially opened and this started with old discussions on the board that evolved into his blog posts. He found that the families officially opened the books in late 1975, made preparations to induct ten new members each, and that these inductions were underway in January 1976. The first Gambino and Bonanno ceremonies were in late January / early February 1976 and the first Colombo ceremony by February 1976. He didn't make similar posts for the Lucchese and Genovese families, but there are FBI reports from the period that suggest inductions began around the same time. Funzie Tieri's driver was inducted in early 1976, for example.
Bottom line, I don't think it hurts Franzese's credibility that he's sticking to the 1975 date. Maybe he's just stubborn and doesn't want to give in to outsiders telling him when his own induction ceremony was, but it's also a business decision. If he admits he was wrong about his date of induction, a bunch of idiots can use that to attack his credibility. As it is right now, it's only a few researchers quietly pointing it out, but if he admits the mistake he is going to have every mob fanboy on YouTube calling him out for not knowing his own year of induction.
--
Speaking of Franzese, I like that both Franzese and Pennisi have shot down Gene Borello's inane remark about nobody using the term caporegime on the street.
That's why the hierarchy of sources is crucial.
If that was an FBI report, we'd have an anonymous CI with extensive knowledge on the Asaro crew saying "The term caporegime is no longer used on the street" and someone might think it's true. But then two member CIs come out and say the opposite, that caporegime is still used within the organization. It's not that Borello is lying -- he's an associate and isn't supposed to hear about formal ranks, so he's saying what he knows -- but he's lower on the totem pole of sources when it comes to organizational matters, so we can't take his word over two made members.