Mets' John Franco associated with the Bonanno crime family

[wilheim]

NEW YORK (AP) - The baseball commissioner's office will wait until after a government investigation to examine whether there has been a relationship between New York Mets reliever John Franco and alleged mobsters.


<!-- esi: /widget/story/videoAndPhotoGallery?contentId=3121652-->Franco has given people associated with the Bonanno crime family free tickets for Mets games and passes to visit him in the clubhouse, ganglandnews.com reported Thursday. Prosecutors may ask Franco to testify in the trial of Vito Rizzuto, the website reported, adding that Franco arranged in 1993 for alleged mobsters to get tickets for a Mets game in Montreal.



"When law enforcement is conducting an investigation of this type, we stand aside until the process is completed and then review the whole record of what took place," Kevin Hallinan, senior vice president for security in the commissioner's office, said Friday.

Franco wouldn't comment on the specifics of the report. "However, I will say I am proud to be an Italian American and have lived my life in a respectable fashion," he said in a statement issued by his agent, Dan Horwits. "Over the 20 years I have spent in the major leagues, I am extremely proud of the charitable contributions I have made and the work I have done within the community. My friends, family and teammates, can vouch for my character, as opposed to a journalist who does not know me or the type of person that I am."

 

[VaultedTreehouse]

I am a MET fan and I hate John Franco. Not surprised in the least.

 

[5teamparlay]

http://www.bluebirdbanter.com/2010/12/3/1853901/hall-of-fame-poll-john-franco

Hall of Fame: John Franco

by Tom Dakers on Dec 3, 2010 7:58 PM EST in Fun

John Franco is on the ballot for the first time, is it really 5 years since he was in the majors?

He is an interesting case, 21 years in the majors, 424 saves, 2.89 ERA in 1119 games with no starts. He led the NL in saves 3 times. He was on 4 All-Star teams and won the Rolaids Relief Pitcher award twice.
John is 3rd all-time in appearances and 4th in saves. Saves is an interesting stat for the Hall of Fame voters. Some folks say how important saves are, but if a player was 4th all-time in home runs or RBI or wins, there would be no question that he would make the Hall. Will Franco make it?

 

[5teamparlay]

Mets HOF

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/06/04/brooklyn-boy-john-franco-inducted-into-mets-hall-of-fame/

Brooklyn Boy John Franco Inducted Into Mets’ Hall Of*Fame
June 4, 2012 6:58 AM
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) — There’s always been something about John Franco that made him the quintessential New Yorker.

Now, the feisty little lefty from Brooklyn is a member of the Mets’ Hall of Fame.

Once an All-Star closer and Mets captain, Franco was inducted during a 35-minute ceremony at Citi Field before Sunday night’s win over St. Louis. Wiping tears from his eyes at the podium behind second base, he thanked just about everyone he could think of and said pitching for his boyhood team was a dream come true.

“For those 14 years that I played here, I gave it my best,” a smiling Franco told fans who arrived early for the festivities. “It wasn’t always easy, and I’m sure I kept a lot of you on the edge of your seats. But I had it under control all the time.”

Franco’s family, friends and several former teammates from the Mets and nearby St. John’s University were on hand for his big night. Dressed in a sharp suit and orange tie, he walked in from the right-field bullpen to the song “Johnny Be Good” and waved to the crowd. He was presented with his Hall of Fame plaque, to be displayed alongside the others inside Citi Field’s main entrance.

The ceremony started with New York City Department of Sanitation bagpipers playing in left-center field. Franco’s dad was a sanitation worker for nearly two decades and a union shop steward in Brooklyn.

In a touching tribute, the reliever wore his late father’s orange Department of Sanitation T-shirt under his uniform when he pitched for the Mets, and he got choked up Sunday night when talking about his parents.

“The sanitation department was like my second family,” Franco said.

His salute featured a 2-minute video tribute and concluded with Franco throwing out the first pitch to son J.J., who wore his father’s No. 45 Mets jersey. J.J. Franco was drafted by the Mets out of high school and just completed his sophomore season as a college infielder at Brown.

“Second-team all-Ivy,” his dad said proudly.

Franco is the Mets’ career leader in saves (276) and games pitched (695). He joined the team in 1990 after a trade from Cincinnati and stayed in New York until 2004, making him the second-longest tenured player in team history, behind Ed Kranepool.

The four-time All-Star finished with 424 major league saves, fourth on the career list and the most by a left-hander.

 

[5teamparlay]

HAPPY 53rd JOHN:


[h=1]John Franco — Baseball Player[/h] <section class="span12 user-info">

Birthday	<time datetime="1960-09-17" itemprop="birthDate"><span2>September 17</span2><span2>, </span2><span2>1960</span2></time>
Birthplace	<span2>New York</span2>
Age	53 years old
Birth Sign	<span2>Virgo</span2>

<tbody>
</tbody>

</section>

 

[Chi_Archie]

great blast from the past name