Creating Hustles: From Dealerships to Flea-Market Loan Sharking

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Michael Franzese was pulling in $10 million a week from a gas tax scheme that made him one of America's most powerful mobsters. Then he did something almost nobody survives: he walked away alive.

In this conversation, Franzese strips away the Hollywood mythology and breaks down what real power looks like when your life depends on reading people correctly. We unpack the brutal stress of criminal operations, why most "tough guys" don't last, and how the negotiation tactics that kept him alive now close business deals.

00:00 Introduction to Michael Franzese
03:49 First arrests and early surveillance from law enforcement
06:08 Building businesses and the multimillion-dollar gas tax scam
08:00 Knowing it wouldn’t last and how the scheme eventually collapsed
11:04 What he misses about mob life and the lifestyle
12:40 Cleaning millions in cash and dealing with foreign banks
15:30 Whether the mob still operates in New York and Italy today
18:10 Reputation, respect, and fearing the people above you
19:33 Reflections on Frank Costello and doing business without violence
22:02 Applying mob skills to legitimate business and negotiation
23:31 Taking a plea deal and liquidating assets before prison
26:30 Solitary, diesel therapy, and finding faith behind bars
29:06 Rumours, witness lists, and suspicion after leaving the life
32:14 The few mobsters who actually walked away successfully
34:49 Becoming a global speaker and finding purpose in storytelling
39:20 Pizza, vending machines, and building a new empire
51:05 How the Armenian wine business unexpectedly took off
57:16 Delegation, treating people well, and earning respect
01:02:51 Missed opportunities, like skipping Starbucks stock early on
01:05:46 Wanting peace, purpose, and more freedom in his 70s
01:11:36 The weight of regret, purpose, and giving advice to youth
01:16:44 Faith, fear of hell, and the path to redemption
01:29:47 Beating the odds while nearly everyone else ends up dead or jailed

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