In any event, if Franzese, who developed pneumonia after falling down and bruising his arm and undergoing treatment for that, overcomes his latest illness, he would make good on a pledge he made to the late Jacob Mishler, that he would complete the staggering 50 year prison term that the judge gave him in 1967 for his conviction for overseeing a bank robbery conspiracy in the 1950s.

In 2013, several days before his 96th birthday, Sonny told Michael that he still intended to keep his promise to Judge Mishler and "do the whole 50" years that he gave him. "He told me," said Michael, "that he's not dying until 2017, when his sentence is complete. He's vowing to keep his word to the judge."