but all Franzese did was admit to being a member of the Colombo crime family.
Which is now commonplace for these guys. You almost can't even get a plea bargain today without an allocution stating that you're a member of a crime family.
Yeah, even Genovese guys do it all the time. It's taking the pragmatic approach. Admit to something everyone already knows exists as part of a plea deal and do a fraction of the time. Guys like Gene Gotti are still in prison because John Gotti's ego wouldn't let them make plea deals.