Digital Social Hour
Prison to Podcast: A Real Goodfella's Redemption Story | Gene Borrello DSH #997
20 Dec 2024
Chapter 1: What are the insights on the modern Mafia?
Damn, 10 years? Oh, it could take 10 years. Genevieve's family, you've got to be on record for 10 years that you would be considered. Holy crap. So, you know, like I said, the mob is much different. That's why we're so organized, and that's why the FBI hated us so much, because how organized we are. Right. And structured, and how we went by the rules. You went with a main man's wife, you die.
You put your hands on a member, you're dead. You know, these rules were very strict, and they had to go by them, and that's how they survived, you know? Right. All right, guys. Scott Jean Borrello out here. Thanks for coming on, man. What's going on, man? Thank you for having me. Yeah, we were talking out there.
You said you had the first mafia show ever. Yes, I did. Yeah. So what happened was... When I got out in 2020, I didn't know what I was going to do. I was, you know, a mob guy in the street my whole life. So I didn't know, you know, what can I do? I had a family friend named Johnny Elight. Johnny Elight was a hitter for the Gambino family. He already was out there doing talking.
So him and Mike Francis did interviews. Just interviews. I mean, so when me and Johnny got together, he put me on a show on a big podcast called Vlad TV. I came out with Vlad. I only did 10 minutes on there. But everyone wanted to know who I was. I was a modern-day guy. There's no such thing as that. You know, everyone's old school, old school. So me and Johnny came up with this idea.
And we said, what if we started a podcast for organized crime? So, yeah. Long story short, we end up doing it, and it just blows up. And then every other ex-mobster just followed suit, you know? Yeah. And that's exactly how it happened, you know? And then the government basically took it from me, you know? I was still on probation. So you got locked up, and they had to put a hold?
Well, they kept violating me for the show. Because you were traveling to film? No, sitting next to an ex-con. They were mad that we were putting other cooperators on the show. That was, they still wanted to use, they kept putting us in the newspaper, the government was going crazy, they wanted me off, so they ended up starting violating me for it. Damn.
I ended up doing like 20 months in violations. Jeez. Yeah. And you had to go to prison for that? MDC Brooklyn. Holy crap. Yeah, they kept putting me in and out, ankle monitors, we saw my probation, they were coming at me. Jeez, are you fine with free of all that? I'm done, no more probation. No more ankle monitors? Yeah. Jeez. So you can't even start it again now?
I can, but, you know, me and Johnny, he's in Jersey now. I'm over in Florida. So we don't want to do it through Zoom. So we try to get together. But he's in Europe right now. So we had it going back for a little while. And then we got demonetized to some things that we were saying. Got it. So we got made. Yeah, you know who does that? Oh, yeah. How long have you known John?
Well, I mean, since I'm young, but, you know, not well. But, you know, he was good friends with my family. And he went to jail in 2003. I was just starting in the street, you know? Yeah. But, yeah, I knew his kids very well. Did he know he was a hitman at the time? Of course. I mean, everyone knew what he did. Wow. And is that a path you wanted to follow? Yeah. Pretty real-ish.
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Chapter 2: How did Gene Borrello become a podcast host?
Damn. We don't operate like that. Yeah, that's awesome. Walk in a room and you don't walk in a room. You don't see it coming, you know?
Any meetings you took where you were like, this might be my... Yeah, so I had stuck up a social club, which is where mob guys hang out, me and my partner. I tell this story in a bunch of podcasts, but this is when I thought of... I'll cut to the chase. We did something we weren't supposed to. We stuck up a card game, and we had to go to the funeral parlor basement. Whoa. Holy crap.
I wasn't even going to go. And you talked your way out of it? No, but it was kind of like situated where we would just get a little beaten from our people and give the stuff back, and then that was it. So going to card games and robbing them was a big thing for you? Death. It's a death penalty. Oh, you weren't allowed to do it? No. We were doing it, though. Supposed to do it, yeah.
So, you know, but you definitely get killed all that. There's a scene of that in, what's that movie? Goodfellas? Where they rob a card game? That was at a different movie. It's Sopranos. Sopranos. So, yeah. But yeah, we were sticking up. We were doing a lot of armed robberies. That's how I started off with my partners. We were doing a lot of scores.
And then, you know, we went to Longshock and Sportsbet. And then we got recruited by the Banano family. And then we started to work for them. Were they the biggest family out of the five? There's no bigger family than the other. I guess you may say at one time the Gambinos were the biggest, but usually they had to keep it equal. Nobody's above anybody in their life. That's when you learn that.
Out of the five families, no one's above anybody. They're all equal. You're a member, you're a member. There's no difference. You don't care what family you're from. You still get the same respect. And they work together, right? They do, yes. But when it comes down to live beef, they'll take their sides. But usually, yeah, we're all friends.
You know, I have friends out of all the crews and families, and we did things together, but you got to be careful. There's a lot of rules with that. You can't get involved in their beefs. You know, there's a lot of things, you know what I mean? It's a lot of technicality, should I say. Right, right. You know? Were you in any beefs with certain families, any wars at the time?
No, more with Albanians. Albanians. We used to fight with them a lot. But yeah, there was definitely beefs within us, you know what I mean? Like crews or people that would be for each other inside the crew. That happens a lot, you know? What happened with Albanians? They didn't like us when they came over. So they were trying to run all the Italians out of their spots. Yeah.
Yeah, they weren't having it. Oh, so it got violent. Very violent. They were dragging mob guys out of their restaurants. Whoa. Yeah. It got really crazy in the Bronx, in certain areas. It was getting wild, you know? Holy crap, I didn't know that. Yeah. But Italians are the biggest. Well, we were, and then we softened up because... The generations started getting richer and richer.
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Chapter 5: What was life like in solitary confinement?
And that was like a long time ago.
you know the 80s yeah how accurate was that show pretty accurate really yeah okay you never know what these movies and shows yeah it's pretty accurate you know and then you have consultants on these shows remember that like me on the low right that might have been a mob guy in a jersey and they pay them to give them stories so that's how they get stories oh i feel that i'll hump to see your show man what is that job well you know working on it right now you know he's had a nice meeting yesterday we're trying to uh get this thing rolling okay cool uh anything else you're working on
So I might come out with a podcast again. I was thinking about it. You know, I was doing it again with Johnny Eli. But I'm thinking about doing a solo and trying to go on to, like, my own platform. I was thinking about it, you know. But I got a lot of things going on. I really want to focus on that TV show because that's what I really want. Okay. You know, that's my goal. Yeah.
We'll link your stuff below, man. And if you do start a pod, I'll help you out. I'll get you on Rumble. See you. I'll get you monetized. That's cool, man. Thanks, man. Thanks for coming on. Yeah, absolutely, man. Yeah, thanks for watching, guys. See you tomorrow.