Sonny Franzese was born on February 6, 1917 in Naples, Campania, Italy. He was a producer, known for This Thing of Ours (2002) and American Gangster: Sonny Speaks (2021). He was married to Cristina Capobianco and Ann Schiller. He died on February 24, 2020 in New York City, New York, USA.
Father of eight children: Carmine, Maryanne, and Lorraine (from his first marriage); and Michael Franzese, John Franzese Jr., Christine, and Gia (from his second marriage).
A made member of the Colombo family until his retirement in his 90s. He twice served as an underboss in the family: from 1963-67 (to Joseph Colombo) and from 2005-07 (to street boss Tommy Gioeli).
At the time of his release from prison at the age of 100, he was the oldest federal inmate in the United States and the only centenarian in federal custody.