Former mobster Michael Franzese is widely regarded as Joe Rogan’s ‘most requested guest’ but has yet to appear on his podcast – but he has already given his reasons why it hasn't happened.
Rogan, 57, hosts the world’s most-listened-to podcast, the ‘Joe Rogan Experience’. In over 2,000 official episodes, the UFC commentator and comedian has shared countless hours of conversation with some of the most famous people on the planet.
From U.S President Donald Trump to billionaire Elon Musk, Rogan has welcomed guests from all industries, professions and walks of life onto his show, but not Franzese despite being inundated with requests.
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During a 2020 episode, Rogan delved into the life of crime boss Franzese, who was born into the Italian-American Colombo family in New York City and introduced to the mob through his father, Sonny - also a crime boss.
Rogan said: “He's a motivational speaker now? He sounds like a f***** hustle. I saw him being interviewed recently. Wait a minute, they contacted me! Really recently, I got a request to have him on."
He added: “I don't know if I want him to know where we are.”
Michael, now 74, has been in and out of prison for much of his life. In 1986, he “pleaded guilty... to Federal racketeering and tax conspiracy charges”, as reported by The New York Times. The 74-year-old served around three years of his ten-year sentence before being released in 1989.
These days, he is a motivational speaker and has appeared on several popular podcasts, apart from Rogan’s.
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Michael has claimed he was making upwards of “$10m per week” over seven years by collecting gasoline taxes using shell companies based in Panama. Once enforcement agents attempted to collect the tax from the dummy company, it declared bankruptcy.
“I think there was there was some others doing it, but we mastered it,” Franzese told the Metro in 2024.
“I would say we had the system that was really impenetrable at the time, because the Government couldn’t figure it out.
“Next to Prohibition, that gas tax scheme was the biggest deal we ever had because we’re bringing in millions a week.”
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The Colombo crime family were and still are one of the most well-known organised crime gangs in the world and attract interest from around the world.
So, the question remains, why hasn’t Michael appeared on Rogan’s podcast?
Well, he gave a simple reason when speaking on his show several years ago.
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Franzese said: "Everybody's telling me 'Mike, Joe Rogan mentioned you on his show, he spoke about you for five or six minutes'.
"I haven't seen it, but I heard he had a graphic up about me, was reading things about me, him and his guest for a couple of minutes.
"Everybody is saying, 'Mike, you've got to get on Joe Rogan'. Hey, it's not up to me to go to him; if he would like to invite me, I'd be happy to go.
"He is the number one guy, no doubt about it. In podcasts, he does a brilliant job."
Topics: Joe Rogan, Donald Trump, UFC
Luke Davies