NY mobster finds new purpose helping men overcome addiction

WATCH – AN OFFER THEY CAN’T REFUSE –

July 16, 2021 – We have no tolerance for drugs or alcohol — I mean, like, immediate leaving,” Franzese said.

Indianapolis has become home. He has a routine and friends. He’s a guy who pulls a guy out from a behind a Panera dumpster and gives him some place to stay and talks to people about HIV and AIDS and goes to high schools and tells them to stay out of trouble. That’s the guy I know,” Lisa Gilbreath said.

Reporter Zak Keefer finished his article on John. It went on to gain national attention. John and Zak still stay in touch today.

“I think the attention was a lot at first, and I think it took him by surprise because, remember, this is a guy who was hiding. He was trying to be invisible for 10 years. He was in witness protection for 10 years. And all of a sudden he’s a pseudo-celebrity in Indianapolis, and people are coming up to him and asking him, and some people are scared of him, to be honest, with that history and that past. It was a lot to handle; I think he’s come to peace with that and the biggest thing about it is he’s very content with who he is and he’s very content with what he decided to do, which was tell his story,” Keefer said.