In 1931, Franzese was “straightened out,” or inducted into the mob , when he was just 14, his son John said. But it wasn’t announced until two years later.

Early on, Franzese had an aptitude for crime. By 1935, when he was 18, he said, he was running the largest craps game in New York. A “wise guy” hosted the game, he explained, but “I was the one running it.”