Former mob boss John 'Sonny' Franzese Sr. has died at the age of 103.
The gangster's death was announced on social media by his friend, California mobster Ori Spado, who knew him for more than 40 years.
Spado confirmed the news on his Instagram account. Sharing a photograph of Franzese, he said: "Good morning. I just received a call my dear friend of over 40 years John Sonny Franzese has passed away at 103 years old.
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"A man a true legend and my dear friend. Please remember him in your prayers. Thank you."
He later added: "My dear friend of over 40 years passed away last night. RIP my dear friend."
According to reports, Franzese served as an underboss of the Colombo family for three years, from 1964 to 1967, before being sentenced to 50 years in prison for bank robbery.
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Following his parole in 1978, the notorious gangster went in and out of jail a further six times.
In 2006 he opened up about how he managed to murder people and get away with it, telling a government informant - who was wearing a wire at the time - what techniques he used.
For example, he said that he would often apply nail polish to his fingertips before a killing because it stopped him from leaving fingerprints at the scene.
His was released from his final stint behind bars in June 2017, at the age of 100, making him the oldest prisoner in the federal penal system.
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He also became known as 'The nodfather' due tot he fact that he kept falling asleep during one of his trials.
Speaking to Newsday last year about his crimes, Franzese seemed unapologetic, claiming he would refuse to 'rat' on people in order to reduce his sentence.
He said: "They wanted me to roll all the time. I couldn't do that. Because it's my principle.
"I could never give a guy up because I knew what jail was. I wouldn't put a dog in a jail pod."
Featured Image Credit: AP/Shutterstock