As far as Michael Franzese and murder, there was a discussion about this a few yrs back in regards to Larry "Champagne" Carrozza particularly after the Nothing Personal episode about Carrozza came out, heres a brief synopsis and a video:
"Franzese admits to his part in that scheme and many other crimes. He says he regrets having committed them. He steadfastly denies one thing, however: the suggestion that he ever killed people or ordered others to do it.
"I'm not saying to you that I didn't have knowledge of that type of thing," he said. "But I never killed anybody."
Franzese knows that flies in the face of mob history. As he says, joining the organization has long required a recruit to commit a murder.
But Franzese says the requirement was "waived" in his case. There was a burst of Mafia recruiting in the early 1970s, he says, and the rules were suspended while the families restored their criminal organizations to full strength. In addition, Franzese says, his father may have pulled strings to keep his son from having to kill anyone.
Federal agents and other law enforcement experts are unconvinced. They can offer no proof that Franzese committed murder, but there is at least one case in which some experts believe that Franzese may have pulled the trigger.
Larry (Champagne) Carrozza--a Brooklyn embalmer with a taste for the good life, including his trademark champagne--once was Franzese's best friend. They drank together and gambled in Las Vegas together. Carrozza was the godfather of three of Franzese's children, and he was the godfather of one of Carrozza's.
But in 1983, Franzese learned that Carrozza, a married man, was having an affair with Franzese's sister and had become involved with drugs. Franzese said the mob had discovered both and had ordered Carrozza's assassination. In his book, Franzese says he tried to warn his friend, but that Carrozza ignored him.
Carrozza's body was found on May 20, 1983. He had been shot with a single bullet behind the right ear. There was no sign of a struggle. Police believe he was killed by someone he knew and trusted.
Franzese says he did not do it. Some agents and prosecutors wonder about that.
"There's definitely a violent side to Franzese, and he definitely had the motive and the opportunity to do that killing," Jermyn said.
Franzese's autobiography acknowledges that many people blamed him for Carrozza's death. In a section of the book written by his co-author, Matera says "it was widely believed among law enforcement officials and Mafia insiders that Michael killed his friend upon his father's order."
Franzese has never been charged in that or any other killing."
