“I’m not here to entertain you. This is serious stuff.”

Those were the words of former Colombo Crime Family captain Michael Franzese in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium Wednesday night.

He went on to crack jokes about his clip-on microphone (“There were times in my life I’d never dare to wear a wire”), women (“They’re smarter than we are, guys; they’re on the ball and we aren’t”), and being the only thing between his high-profile mob father and a host of armed police officers in a crowded restaurant (“You know, normal stuff you do when you’re a kid”).

“I’m going to be honest with you guys, for awhile I was pulling in $3 million a week for myself,” Franzese said. “I had the money; I had that life. And I gave it up because it was no good.”

Franzese began his speech with a short video, set to Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” and featuring footage from the numerous times he was a top story on news networks across the nation, in addition to interview clips with a former associate of Franzese’s.

“I hate drugs,” Franzese said after the video ended and he was able to introduce himself. “I hate everything to do with them. My sister died from a drug overdose 15 years ago and my brother has been a drug addict for the last 23 years. In my [crime] family we would get killed for getting involved in drug trafficking. But I’ve known more people who get addicted to gambling than to drugs and alcohol combined.”

He went on to explain all online gambling is illegal because all online gambling companies are based offshore; also, all gambling on the street is illegal, because it is run by organized crime. And with every increase in legalized gambling (casinos, etc.), there is a corresponding increase in illegal gambling. In 1997, there were 25 online gambling sites. Today, there are more than 54,500 known sites.

“People in gambling are desperate and people who run gambling operations just want to make money,” Franzese said. “They don’t care about you. Gambling has been the No. 1 money maker for the mob since the days of prohibition.”

Franzese cites God as the reason he has been able to turn his life around, as well as the reason he is still alive. After he renounced his former lifestyle, his father didn’t speak with him for 10 years. There is still a contract out on his life and he has received numerous tips from the FBI that he was in danger.

Robert Michaels has been Franzese’s manager for the last three years and really likes the message Franzese gives to his audience.

“A friend of mine in Washington recommended I call up Michael, but he didn’t tell me about Michael’s past,” Michales said.

“When we met to talk about athletes, he told me about his past and that’s when I realized he was an ex-mob boss. So I asked him if he had a problem working with an ex-cop and he said no. We’ve been working together ever since.”

The speech was almost exclusively attended by NCAA athletes, who were required to attend events of this nature to continue participation in their sport. The response was enthusiastic and the ensuing question-and-answer session with Franzese used up all of the allotted time.

“Ask me anything,” he said. “I’ll tell you the truth. And if I don’t want to answer, I’ll take the fifth. I’ve had plenty of practice with that too.”

Even students whose attendance was mandatory found the event enjoyable.

“This was definitely the best presentation we’ve seen so far,” said freshman undecided major Ashley Rittenbacher. “Some of the other ones were horrible. I wanted to cry.”

Even non-gamblers were able to appreciate Franzese’s story.

“I’m not a gambler by any means, but I thought he was amazing,” said freshman nursing major Brittany Sasek. “He’s like a celebrity, but he’s so respectful to everyone.”

Franzese will speak to the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium Thursday at 7:30 p.m. His autobiography, “Blood Covenant,” is on sale now.