In 1991, Michael Franzese was feeling hopeless in a federal jail cell in Los Angeles County, California.

After leaving a life of crime as a former mob boss and being paroled three years into a 10-year prison sentence for racketeering, he found himself once again in prison, but this time for violating his parole.

He thought that he would never get out of jail again.

“I wanted to lay my head on that cot and not wake up,” Franzese said Thursday night at Trotter Convention Center. “It was too painful for me to think of my future.”

Franzese found hope in a Bible that was dropped through a slot in his cell by a prison guard.

“I said, ‘You know what? There’s only me and God in this cell. I got nothing but enemies. I don’t need another enemy,’” he said. “‘… I’m going to be in here. I’m going to die. I want to know where I’m going. I studied every faith, and I came out of there believing with all my heart that the Bible is God’s word.”

Roughly 700 men gathered Thursday to hear Franzese’s story at the first event hosted by Columbus 2717, a newly formed group focused on helping strengthen and support men in the community. Columbus men of all ages and faiths listened to the stories of Franzese’s past life in the mob before he found faith as a Christian, leaving with an encouragement to seek a similar change in their lives.

It certainly was not an easy road for Franzese after leaving the mob.

He grew up the son of Colombo family underboss Sonny Franzese in New York. He tried to stay away from the mob life, but eventually he was drawn in and took a blood oath to become a “made” member of the Colombo family.

“The first time I was born again, I was born into a criminal lifestyle where every day of my life I lived in violation of both God’s laws and the laws of man,” Franzese said.

Franzese, at his peak, was generating as much as $8 million a week from illegal endeavors, like a wholesale gasoline business that evaded paying federal taxes, he said.

“I was selling a half a billion gallons of gas a month, taking down 20 to 30 cents a gallon,” Franzese said. “We ran it for seven or eight years. We were doing well. … I had 300 guys under me ready to do anything I tell them to do. I had it going on.”

Eventually, he was released from prison and discovered his faith through his experience in prison and with the help of his wife Camille Garcia, he said.

Franzese had also left his life of crime for the safety of Garcia and his children. He moved to California to keep them away from those that may have wanted to harm him for leaving the mob.

“When I walked away from that life, people (were) coming to try and kill me (and) the government was all over me,” he said. “… It was very, very difficult.”

Franzese hoped that those he spoke to took away that no matter the circumstances there is always a way to turn a life around.

“It’s all encouraging them to have a relationship with the Lord Jesus and letting them understand no matter what they’ve gone through in their life, the challenges they face, obstacles they have to overcome, that there always is a way to transform their lives,” Franzese told The Dispatch in an interview before his speech.

‘We can all make the city better’

Franzese’s life story resonated with some of the men in attendance including Steven Good, who appreciated Franzese’s openness in sharing his background and testimony.

“(He) obviously has an amazing story, and it’s always cool when you hear someone who’s been through the kind of things that he’s been through and is not ashamed to stand up and speak the truth, which is something that we all struggle with,” Good told The Dispatch.

Others in attendance took inspiration for their own lives.

“What I got from this tonight is I just need to be a better me. (I) need to be there for people more,” Mark Sanderson said. “… It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what part of town you’re from, and all that stuff. We can all make the city better.”

After Thursday’s success, Columbus 2717 would like to host similar events in the future to continue to help men across the community meet who may have never met, group member Kevin Cuthbertson said.

“We’ve actually talked about a few guys we would like to come in and do another event similar to this, but we don’t want this to be everything,” Cuthbertson said.