The Dark Side of Growing Up in a Mafia Family

Growing up just blocks from John Gotti's social club in New York City's Little Italy, Frank Parisi was raised in a world of Mafia figures, drug dealers, violence, and organized crime. His family owned a famous Italian bakery that secretly operated as a major marijuana distribution hub, moving hundreds of pounds of drugs through the streets of New York.

Johnny sits down with Frank Parisi to reveal what it was really like growing up surrounded by the New York Mafia during the 1980s and 1990s. From witnessing brutal beatings outside his family's bakery as a young child to rubbing shoulders with powerful mob figures, Frank was exposed to the criminal underworld before he was old enough to understand it.

His father was one of New York's biggest marijuana dealers, supplying everyone from street crews to well-connected organized crime figures. By age 12, Frank was selling drugs himself, and as he got older, he became involved in violent Staten Island street crews, drug trafficking, and an increasingly destructive opioid addiction. Despite countless arrests and dangerous encounters, he somehow managed to avoid a lengthy prison sentence.

After years of addiction, violence, and brushes with death, Frank finally walked away from the streets and rebuilt his life in Texas. But in 2023, his incredible story took another shocking turn when he suffered sudden heart failure, experienced what he describes as dying on the operating table, and received a life-saving heart transplant from a 19-year-old girl.

Frank reveals the untold stories of growing up in New York's Mafia underworld, the reality of life inside a criminal family, his descent into addiction, and the near-death experience that changed everything.

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Website and Book: frank-parisi.com

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00:00 Growing Up Around the New York Mafia

04:45 Life in Little Italy During the 1980s and 90s

11:18 My Father's Bakery and Secret Drug Empire

17:22 Following My Father's Footsteps Into Street Life

24:55 How My Father Made Millions Selling Marijuana

31:10 My Addiction Spiraled Out of Control

38:54 Leaving New York and Fighting to Get Sober

46:15 Fighting for My Life and Needing a Heart Transplant

53:26 Getting a Second Chance at Life

1:00:36 What My Near-Death Experience Taught Me

1:07:05 Overcoming Addiction, Breaking the Cycle, and Living Fully

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