<body><div>Former mob boss Michael Franzese is in support of the Menendez brothers as he details why he believes them as well as the time he knew them in prison.The ex-mafia member recently spoke on Piers Morgan Uncensored about Erik and Lyle Menendez as their case is recently being re-examined, along with new evidence for the brothers. He told the controversial host that he believed that the Menendez brothers were "100%" abused by their father during the time he spent specifically with Lyle and how they should have been charged with manslaughter instead of murder.The brothers have maintained for many years that they were sexually, physically, emotional abused by their parents and murdered them in self defense. They are currently serving life sentences without parole for killing their parents, José and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez, in 1989. Their highly-publicized case has been placed back in the spotlight with Ryan Murphy's dramatized limited series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and Alejandro Hartmann's documentary called The Menendez Brothers.Michael shared how he met the pair in prison and saw how they were "scared" about their situation and mentioned that they were young adults at the time. He talked about how during their time in prison together, they would seek advice from him. He added that he spent more time with Lyle (11 months) than Erik (two months) because of an alleged escape plan between the brothers. He specified that him and Lyle had "many conversations" as Lyle confided in him and "looked up to" him.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1e1wvp_0wAAXq3200" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1e1wvp_0wAAXq3200" width="310" height="465" ><figcaption>Michael is a former mafia member ( Image: WireImage)</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=46lRH9_0wAAXq3200" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=46lRH9_0wAAXq3200" width="1200" height="1087" ><figcaption>He knew the brothers in prison ( Image: AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>"I believe totally, 100% that he was abused. I mean, he opened up to me about his dad and how abusive he was. And yet, the irony of it all was that he still loved his dad, very much. He talked about him. He even said to me at times, he didn’t know how he’s going to function without him," the ex-caporegime of the Colombo crime family said."They were more upset that the mum did nothing to defend them when this abuse was going on for so long and that’s what I got out of it," Michael added.While Michael understood what could have led to the brothers committing the "pretty brutal" murder, he said that one "can never justify a murder like that.""I also asked Lyle, I said 'Why didn’t you just go to your relatives and report it?' He said, 'Micheal you didn’t understand, my dad ruled the family and for any reason if it got back to him, things would have been worse,'" Micheal said."I said to him, 'What about the police?' [ Lyle replied] 'My dad was a very powerful guy in the industry, you know, people knew him and I was afraid if it didn’t work out what he might do to retaliate'" Michael continued. "They were kind of in their own box, their own prison, dealing with this."Michael went on to say that considering their rape and abuse claims, manslaughter should have been their "proper" charge and/or conviction. Speaking on the pair's potential release from prison Michael mentioned that their whole family supports them and wants them to be free. "They have done over 30 years in prison. They have been model prisoners, model inmates, from what I understand and I think they deserve a break here," Michael elaborated.</div></body>

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Ex-mob boss says Menendez brothers 'look up to him' for advice and confided in him in prison

Former mob boss Michael Franzese is in support of the Menendez brothers as he details why he believes them as well as the time he knew them in prison. The ex-mafia member recently spoke on Piers Morgan Uncensored about Erik and Lyle Menendez as their case is recently being re-examined, along with new evidence for the brothers. He told the controversial host that he believed that the Menendez brothers were \"100%\" abused by their father during the time he spent specifically with Lyle and how they should have been charged with manslaughter instead of murder.

Former mob boss Michael Franzese is in support of the Menendez brothers as he details why he believes them as well as the time he knew them in prison. The ex-mafia member recently spoke on Piers Morgan Uncensored about Erik and Lyle Menendez as their case is recently being re-examined, along with new evidence for the brothers. He told the controversial host that he believed that the Menendez brothers were "100%" abused by their father during the time he spent specifically with Lyle and how they should have been charged with manslaughter instead of murder.