It’s the mob version of Social Security.
Geezer gangster John “Sonny” Franzese, 93, who is currently on trial in Brooklyn federal court for shaking down a couple of Manhattan strip clubs, banked on high-interest “shylock” loans to support him in his old age, an underling-turned-informant was heard saying on an FBI tape played in court yesterday.
“The old man loves it ’cause it’s like income,” jurors heard mob rat Guy Fatato saying.
“It’s like Social Security for the mobster crowd, these loans with high-interest payments.”
Fatato wore a wire for the FBI in 2006. In the tape played in court, he could be heard talking about a degenerate gambler who had taken out a $30,000 loan — with 30 percent interest — who continued making the regular minimum payments.