Former Mafia boss with close links to Andrew Tate has appearance at Scots nightclub cancelled

A former mobster has been forced to cancel plans to stage a talk at a Scottish venue after an SNP politician called for him to be banned.

But defiant ex-New York mafia boss Michael Franzese, 73, has said he will take to “the bloody streets” if necessary.

The former capo for the Colombo crime family in New York City had been due to take his Re Made Man UK tour to the Glasgow Garage on Sunday.

Tickets had been selling for up to £245. He found himself at the centre of a social media storm after he met with self proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan.

Franzese’s manager Ella Richards, 41, said: “Michael will take to the bloody streets if he has to.

“He's not laying his fans down. He's not doing it. We won't do it. We're standing strong. We've cancelled all our flights so we can travel safely in the car together. It's absolutely ridiculous.”

Alison Thewliss, the SNP MP for Glasgow Central had backed a campaign to stop Franzese in his tracks.

She said: “We should champion positive influences that enrich our communities, rather than those that foster negativity. These events do not reflect the spirit of Glasgow. The organisers must reconsider the implications of hosting such figures in our inclusive and welcoming city.”

She added: “It’s deeply concerning to learn about the upcoming events in Glasgow featuring Michael Franzese, especially given his close association with Andrew Tate.”

Owners of the Glasgow Garage took the late decision to pull the appearance due to safety concerns and a potential backlash.

A source said: “We cannot have a situation where due to hyperbole things could get out of hand. The organisers are now seeking an alternative venue.”

Franzese has also been booked as the special guest at a £399 private dining experience with Scottish crime figure Paul Ferris today on Saturday, at Glasgow’s Gin 71.

The Tates are facing charges of rape and human trafficking in Romania. Self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate rose to fame on Big Brother in 2016. He was removed from the reality TV show after the release of a video that appeared to show him attacking a woman.

He claimed the footage had been edited and was "a total lie trying to make me look bad". The four-times kickboxing champion and his brother Tristan were detained in December 2022 in Bucharest and charged with rape and human trafficking in June 2023.

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Franzese, a born-again Christian who starred as himself in the film Goodfellas, told The Record: “I met and interviewed the Tate brothers at the weekend for my YouTube channel podcast.

“My position is you’re innocent until proven guilty, whether they’re in the United States, Romania or anywhere else on the planet because I’ve experienced a lot. People were upset by that. I met with the two men at the weekend. They were very accommodating to me, very respectful.

“We sat down to do an interview. This is what I do on my YouTube channel. I’ve interviewed dozens of dozens of people, not just them. To have all these people get upset because I have a conversation with two men is very silly to me. There’s a lot of nonsense going on that’s saying my tour has to do with the Tates which is untrue.

“People were saying Andrew Tate was going to be on the video on the screens on my tour. They’re making things up. It’s ridiculous and I won’t back down. The tour Re-Made Man talks about my life in the mob and my life after the mob, how I’ve gotten out and been able to move on successfully with my life.”

Franzese, who features on this month’s cover of Glasgow crime magazine City Eyes, added: “My tour is about the history of the mob in the United States which people have a huge interest in.

“Then I talk about my own personal story and how I was able to walk away from what I consider to be a pretty bad life. I certainly don’t glorify that life. I walked away from it but I tell it like it is. I talk about how I’m a Christian, how I believe I was saved because God had a different plan and a purpose for me.

“It has nothing to do with the Tate or anybody else and to even suggest that is silly and it’s disingenuous that people would say I am going to have Andrew Tate on live video at the event. That’s just silly and it’s absolutely wrong. It makes no sense.”

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