Frankie Calabrese

Frankie Calabrese is a character played by Borbgod

## General Description

Frankie Calabrese may seem to be a simple old man to the untrained eye, but his endeavors have trekked much further than one might think. An ex-don of one of the largest crime families of his time, crime always followed him. Calabrese had always been into crime and coming to Los Santos, he thought he would be living his retirement in peace and his life of crime behind. Never once has a man been so mistaken. Calabrese always knew how to get what he wanted and as soon as he got the itch to get back into crime, he set his mind to it. He has been seen with many well known criminals throughout Los Santos, but his association is still unknown. It is assumed by many that Calabrese has begun to relive his life of organized crime and has applied his past knowledge of organized crime to the work he is doing in Los Santos.

## Background

Frankie Calabrese was born to immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York in 1950. Calabrese has always been known for his life of crime and it started at a very young age. Calabrese was arrested at age 12 for stealing bread from a bakery on Arthur Avenue, this being his first small offense. Local officers were surprised when, following his release, Calabrese began working for the same bakery as a delivery boy. Over the next few years Calabrese would be observed waiting tables and taking other odd jobs at several mob-owned businesses in Little Italy. He saw the glorious suits and hats some of the business owners in the city had and from the first time he set his eyes on organized crime, there was no looking back. Unfortunately at 15, Calabrese was arrested by an undercover officer who had received word Calabrese was selling firearms out of his delivery truck. Calabrese refused to say a word during his trial and received 6 years in prison for firearms violations. In 1971 Calabrese was released from prison and went back to work, this time in Brooklyn at Berezino-owned Trattoria Social Club, under Berezino caporegime Nino Calderone. At the time, the Berezino crime family was the largest family in the area. Their reputation was for being violent and brutal murderers, which ultimately Frankie did not mind. He felt safe here knowing that he was the one behind the gun, not in front of it. The Berezino family had two major businesses at the time: Trattoria Social Club, and Verdi's Firearm Emporium. Calabrese was often seen with Verdi's Firearm Emporium manager Thomas Palazzo and other local Brooklyn underworld figures at several mob-hangouts including Balbino's Bar, owned by the allied Cassano crime family. It is believed Calabrese had contact with fugitive Ryan James Galianto, a ruthless killer, during this time. Calabrese had made many friends during this entry into organized crime but his closest was Italian native Roberto Benvenuto who also entered the Berezino Family the same time Calabrese did. Benvenuto and Calabrese had become partners in crime, quite literally. Whenever there was one, there was the other. Calabrese was made manager of Trattoria after some time and at this time he also became a made man in the Berezino Family. Calabrese was one of the last to be seen with Berezino associate and suspected arms smuggler John "Jack Daniels" Giacomo. Giacomo’s body was found in a 55-gallon drum. Giacomo's eyes were gouged out, his ears carved off and his tongue was cut out. A Colt M1911 magazine was shoved in his mouth and his hands had been cut off. He had been shot 19 times in the head and torso. By the time 1973 rolled around, the Berezino crime family would see itself be split into two by a coup. In an effort to win him over, Don Vincenzo Berezino made Calabrese a Caporegime. Calabrese knew where his heart was at and Calabrese would follow Underboss Giuseppe Castellano into the Castellano crime family after a successful coup on Vincenzo Berezino. Calabrese became a regular at the Colombo-operated Silver Tongue Social Club, and is known to have frequently brought Valentina Genovese when the two dated, before her murder during an attempt on the life of New York Senator Meyer Lansky. Calabrese began to understand the effects he had on other lives by bringing them into his life of crime and Calabrese would never love again after Valentina's death. Calabrese eventually took over and became Don of the Calabrese Family in 1976, after the death of Bruno Castellano and the retirement of Don Giuseppe Castellano. This made Calabrese the youngest Don in the history of the American Mafia at only age 25. Following Calabrese's young retirement to Calabria, Italy in 1985, he was often seen with his close friend Roberto Benvenuto. Undercovers and informants in the New York underworld reported during the 1970's that Benvenuto and Calabrese were close friends, having opened Brooklyn-based Chops' Boxing Gym together in 1974. Chops' was closed in 1977, and in 1993 bones were discovered under the foundation. The two Calabrian natives had returned to Italy, following Calabrese stepping down as Don. It is believed Benvenuto had taken a step back from his position in the family following some years before. His activity had dwindled since he went missing for several weeks and resurfaced missing an eye and bearing a limp that forced him to walk with a cane. It is believed these injuries may have been sustained during the assassination of Tony Spinelli. Returning to Italy, the pair entered the inner circle of 'Ndrangheta Don Arigo Lavoro, Benvenuto's half-brother. Italian authorities report that Calabrese served as an advisor, with Benvenuto as his personal bodyguard. During Benvenuto's wedding in 1987, Italian police entered the reception and arrested 80% of the attendants. Benvenuto escaped and remains at large, though Calabrese was apprehended and extradited to America on RICO charges for ordering several murders during his time in the American Mafia. Calabrese did not utter a word during his trial, until asked about the disappearance of Bruno Castellano in 1976. Calabrese and Benvenuto are believed to have tortured, executed, and disposed of his body somewhere in Brooklyn. When asked "What happened to Bruno Castellano", his response prompted snickers and gasps in the courtroom. Calabrese had been entirely silent during the proceedings until he smirked and replied, "Fuck 'im." Upon release in 2021, Calabrese, now 70 years old flew to the city of Los Santos where his friends Tafari Olanrewaju, Baki Yamamoto, Mark Diaz, Biggie Cheeks, and Maurice Cheeks are believed to be residing.