FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
American mafia legends, now YouTube stars: a new tale of power, blood and redemption...
Make-up, video games, entertainment, travel, music, education: in its 20-year distinguished career, YouTube has given us windows into every corner of humanity.
A platform that has become a stage for young and old who know how to do something, anything, that attracts the public. Not far behind are the historic American mafia families, whose leaders, after having “paid” their debt to justice, appear more and more often on YouTube to “teach life”. Once they swore with a finger prick and a burnt icon in their hand. Today they swear in front of a WebCam.
The protagonists of this story are not characters from a Netflix series, but real former mafiosi, and above all in pixels, who, after years of blood and silence, have found salvation (or business) in the only space where even crime seeks likes.
Michael Franzese, the survivor
Michael Franzese is not just a romantic name, but one of the rare cases of a mafia boss who managed to escape Cosa Nostra without being killed. The son of Colombo crime family underboss John “Sonny” Franzese, Michael was destined for “big things,” and he did. In the 1980s, he organized a multimillion-dollar gasoline scam, stealing more money from the IRS than any Silicon Valley CEO could dream of.
But unlike many colleagues who ended up at the bottom of a lake, Michael decided after prison to change his life. He did not become a cooperative witness, but a dissident with a microphone. So, in 2020, he opened his YouTube channel: today he has 1.69 million followers, over 265 million views and a ton more TED Talks than “Goodfellas”. He tells mafia anecdotes, comments on films (of course mafia), and gives advice on religion, finance and leadership. A former boss who now gives spiritual lectures on LinkedIn and YouTube. Also a good interviewer, so much so that he invited Rudy Giuliani to his “living room” for jokes in the “make us laugh” style.
If crime doesn't pay, content does. According to HypeAuditor, his channel has an engagement rate of 4.37%, well above average, with over 157,000 average views per video. A channel active 7 days a week, which attracts a diverse audience: not only nostalgic for the gangster world, but also young entrepreneurs, film lovers and believers in search of guidance. In Ireland and Britain, with the “Remade Man” tour, he has spiritually attracted young men, mainly men, interested in “leadership, religion and father figures”. The audience is therefore international, and seeks not blood and power, but salvation and an alternative model of success.
Sammy Gravano, the prototype of the American anti-hero
Sammy Gravano nuk është vetëm një ish-mafioz: është një makineri lufte që sot i mjafton një karrige, një mikrofon dhe një Wi-Fi për të ngjallur më shumë frikë se një pistoletë e mbushur. Ish-nënkryetar i Familjes Gambino dhe autor i deklaruar i 19 vrasjeve, Sammy është njeriu që orkestroi vrasjen e Paul Castellano-s, duke hapur rrugën për pushtetin e John Gotti-t. Por kur Gotti filloi ta hidhte poshtë (fjalë për fjalë në përgjime), Gravano kaloi në anën tjetër: në 1991 u bë bashkëpunëtori më i njohur i drejtësisë në historinë e mafies amerikane.
Pas burgut, në 2020, mbërrin në YouTube. Kanali i tij ka mbi 657.000 ndjekës, 132 milionë shikime dhe qindra video. Të folurit është i drejtpërdrejtë, i ftohtë, pa zbukurime: Sammy rrëfen vrasje, intriga, hakmarrje dhe pendesa me qetësinë e një punonjësi që shpjegon Excel-in. Por jo vetëm: si Franzese, edhe ai shpjegon politikën e jashtme amerikane.
Kulturisht, është kthyer në një lloj anti-heroi amerikan. Një burrë që thotë të vërtetën, ose versionin e tij, përballë kamerës. Një përzierje mes rrëfimi dhe kronike të zezë në kohë reale.
Analizat sugjerojnë se, përveç publikut “true crime” të etur për krime e tradhti, në mesin e ndjekësve të tij ka edhe agjentë të FBI-së, që përdorin podcast-et e tij si mjet investigimi për të kuptuar mentalitetin mafioz. Pra, publiku i tij është i përzier: nga studentë dhe pasionantë të krimit, deri te analistë, juristë dhe forca të rendit. Gravano flet me ton të qetë por të pamëshirshëm, gjë që krijon një atmosferë të errët: një dokumentar interaktiv ku tmerri dëgjohet në kohë reale dhe dëshmia e një vrasësi kthehet në burim primar.
Një kafe me Frank Cullotta
Frank Cullotta ishte mafiozi me theks nga Chicago dhe zemër në Las Vegas. Ish-anëtar i “Chicago Outfit” dhe krahu i djathtë i Tony “The Ant” Spilotro, ai drejtonte të ashtuquajturën “Hole in the Wall Gang”, një bandë hajdutësh të specializuar në vjedhje të dhunshme e të heshtura, shpesh duke hyrë përmes mureve.
Cullotta u përfshi në vrasje, grabitje, shantazhe, dhe pastaj, si shpesh ndodh, dikush u përpoq ta eliminonte. Atëherë u parapriu: në 1982 u bë dëshmitar i FBI-së, ndihmoi në shkatërrimin e Outfit-it dhe më vonë bashkëpunoi me Martin Scorsese-n për filmin “Casino”, frymëzuar nga historia e tij.
Në 2020, tashmë 70-vjeçar dhe i lodhur nga heshtja, hapi kanalin “Coffee with Cullotta”. Më shumë se kanal, një dhomë kujtimesh kriminale. Regjistroi rreth 80 video ku rrëfente Las Vegas-in e vërtetë mafioz.
Edhe pse publiku i tij ishte i ngushtë, ndikimi i tij ishte dokumentar: një vrasës i vjetër i kthyer në arkiv të gjallë të një qyteti të ndërtuar mbi para të pista dhe frikë. Vdiq në gusht 2020, duke lënë kanalin e tij si një kapsulë kohe.
There are no exact figures for followers or views, but the channel contains about 80 videos, all about Las Vegas and historical crimes. The audience of “Coffee with Cullotta” is specialized: historians, academics, enthusiasts of organized crime before 1980. Universities, journalists, digital archives and documentarians refer to it for authentic content, more mafia archive than viral entertainment. Cullotta is a historical witness, not a star.
What the government doesn't say, John Alite knows
But the parade of mafia stars cannot forget John Alite: not a "made man", and he emphasizes this. Not out of modesty, but because he could not be: he was of Albanian origin, and the rules of Cosa Nostra are quite conservative when it comes to blood.
However, he was one of the Gambino Family's most trusted enforcers, a close associate of John Gotti Jr., and the author, according to himself, of large-scale shootings, extortion and drug trafficking. Arrested in Brazil, extradited and tried, Alite also chose the path of cooperation with justice. But with a special will for the stage.
His channel “Mafia Truths” now has over 92,000 subscribers and more than 15 million views. Alite does weekly podcasts, interviews, and blasts where he debunks mafia myths, makes accusations (including against Sammy Gravano), and presents himself as the critical conscience of mafia 2.0. Dressed in an eagle T-shirt, MAGA hat, and “they don’t tell us” captions, he seems less refined than Franzese and less cool than Gravano.
Alite is a natural provocateur. Sometimes he seems like a talk show warrior, sometimes a repentant moralist. His audience is smaller but highly engaged. And if the mafia has always been theater, Alite seems to have fully understood the script, and he plays it live.
His content attracts a polarized audience: young, provocative, often interested in anti-mythological and violent narratives. Based on studies of the “manosphere” and extremist discourses, populist tendencies and viral forums interact with strong and misogynistic content, a space where Alite enters with direct, aggressive and occasionally controversial speeches. He is a figure who evokes strong reactions: loved for his sincerity and criticized for his sensationalist rhetoric.
Former bosses are redefining the image of crime in the digital world
Americans are fascinated by these anti-heroes because they embody one of the fundamental myths of American culture: salvation through sin. In a country where success is often worth more than the path taken, and where the “self-made man” can also be a former murderer in a double suit, these men offer an irresistible narrative, the criminal who survives, changes, but remains a legend. / Adapted from “Pamphlet” from “Inside Over”
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