Oct. 25, 2007

(October 25, 2007)--Intercollegiate Athletics is presenting an educational program for the Mason community featuring Michael Franzese, a former member of the Colombo crime family and author of Quitting the Mob and Blood Covenant, on Wednesday, October 31st at 10 a.m. in the Johnson Center Cinema.

Franzese tours the country sharing his life story of being the former "Prince of the Mafia," as dubbed by the media, and discusses turning his life around and turning his back on the Mafia family, and the epidemic problem of gambling on college campuses around the country.

The former mob boss was the Mafia's youngest and most financially powerful superstar, and was the primary target of a 14-agency government task force. His operations in gambling, loan sharking and corporate crime made him the target of former New York federal prosecutor and mayor, Rudy Giuliani. At the peak of his Mob career, Franzese was making upwards of six to eight million dollars a week.

While in prison on racketeering charges, FBI agents approached Franzese to participate in a program designed to educate professional athletes about the dangers of gambling. Michael had first hand knowledge of gambling and sports, especially from the side of the Mafia. He recorded a video taped message that would be presented to professional and collegiate athletes, warning them about the danger of gambling, and the impact it can ultimately have on their career.

Since that time, Michael has been a featured guest at the NBA and MLB rookie camps, featured on ESPN, Fox Sports, and HBO Real Sports. He was recently a guest on the Jim Rome show (radio and TV), as well as NPR's "All Things Considered," Armed forces Radio, CNN and Fox News.