Nationally syndicated radio host Joe Pags aired a special four-part interview last week with former prosecutor Rudy Giuliani and former high-profile mobster Michael Franzese. Giuliani prosecuted Franzese back in the 1980’s for various federal crimes.
The two men had not seen or spoken to each other in nearly 40 years, but they have reportedly mended fences and put their differences aside. Pags said that he conducts interviews with both men on a regular basis and got the idea to bring the two together after Giuliani asked how Franzese was doing.
“First of all, the cases that I prosecuted were never personal,” said Giuliani. “All of the cases I prosecuted my professional. Some of the cases were worse than others and some of the individuals were actually nice people who just got caught up in bad stuff.”
In 1985, Franzese was indicted on 14 counts of racketeering, counterfeiting, and extortion. A year later he pleaded guilty to two counts and was sentenced to a decade in federal prison. He was arrested for defrauding the government out of gasoline taxes.
Franzese was a well-respected captain in the Colombo crime family. Since his release from prison, he has written six books and become a motivational speaker.
“I grew up hating law enforcement because all I could remember from the point I was young is them trying to put away my father,” said Franzese. “My dad, who was my hero, put a lot of things in my head about law enforcement. A lot of guys I grew up with did not like law enforcement because they were street guys.”
The Joe Pags Show is a daily news/talk show heard from 5-8pm Central from Flagship WOAI in San Antonio and broadcast on dozens affiliate stations nationwide.
Joe Pags is ranked #12 in the 2020 Talkers Magazine “Heavy Hundred” and his show was recently named to the NewsMax list of the most influential local talk shows in the country.
