A SCOTTISH nightclub and a restaurant are facing a call to cancel events featuring a former New York City mafia capo who is close friends with Andrew Tate.
Michael Franzese, who is namechecked in the film Goodfellas, is set to bring his “Re-made Man Tour” to The Garage nightclub in Glasgow this weekend. Tickets are selling for up to £245.
Punters can also buy tickets to attend a private dinner with Franzese, a former captain in the Colombo crime family, and former Glasgow gangster Paul Ferris at Glasgow’s Gin71 bar and restaurant this Saturday. Tickets are going for £399.
But Franzese’s close links with misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate (above) – currently facing charges of rape, human trafficking and organised sexual exploitation in Romania – have sparked calls to have his Glasgow events cancelled.
Tate is also subject to an extradition order by UK authorities after Bedfordshire Police issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with an investigation into allegations of rape and human trafficking.
He even used his links with Tate, who denies all charges against him, to promote the tour, tweeting before it kicked off in Birmingham earlier this week: “Andrew Tate can’t be there tonight, but you can!”
The MP for Glasgow Central has urged organisers to reconsider and have the events cancelled.
'Deeply concerning'
Alison Thewliss, the SNP MP for Glasgow’s city centre, said: “It’s deeply concerning to learn about the upcoming events in Glasgow featuring Michael Franzese, especially given his close association with Andrew Tate.
“The Home Office recently made it clear that individuals spreading dangerous hate speech could be barred from entering the UK. Applying this same principle, one could argue that endorsing a misogynist accused of human trafficking and rape warrants similar action.”
She said Glasgow was known for “its warmth and inclusivity, not for providing a platform to those associated with divisive ideologies”.
Thewliss (above) added: “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.”
The original Goodfella?
Franzese served a 10-year sentence on federal racketeering charges for his role in a lucrative scheme to swindle millions of dollars in gasoline taxes from the US government in the 1980s.
A New York Times story about Franzese from 1991 said prosecutors in criminal proceedings against him for violating his probation, had debunked his image as “a modern yuppie mobster who made millions of dollars in complex frauds and lived a lavish life that included producing movies and hobnobbing with celebrities”.
Instead, the piece said he was described as “a petty con man who bounced checks, obtained bank loans with false documents and failed to pay the rent for his luxurious home in a posh Los Angeles suburb”.
He turned state’s evidence after his first prosecution and claimed there had been threats against his life because of his co-operation with the police, the New York Times reported.
After leaving prison, Franzese became a born-again Christian and sold his life story for a movie and a book deal.
In Martin Scorsese’s 1990 film Goodfellas, actor Joseph Bono makes a five-second cameo playing “Mikey Franzese” in a scene set in a nightclub. The real Franzese would have been a child during the time portrayed in the film.
Franzese’s appearance at The Globe, in Cardiff earlier this week was called off and moved to another venue.
The venue confirmed host and former ecstasy trafficker Shaun Attwood’s claim that the venue had called it off because of an anti-Zionist protest outside the Birmingham venue. Franzese has previously spoken of his support for Israel.
The National has approached the event organisers and representatives for Tate for comment.
