During the March 26 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-hosts Brian Kilmeade and Gretchen Carlson hosted Michael Franzese, the former caporegime of La Cosa Nostra's Colombo crime family, to discuss similarities in the way Democratic leaders and progressive figures are “operating” and “the way we used to operate on the street.” Kilmeade began the segment by asking, “So, is this a big stretch to think that, all of a sudden, the Washington, D.C., has become our Godfather?” Asked by Carlson what he would “call” Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Franzese replied that Geithner is “like an underboss to me. I mean, he's doing the work of, you know, the whole family, and he's kind of the guy out front, and looking to exercise control.” When Kilmeade later asked how House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) would fit “in the mob,” Franzese replied that Pelosi and Frank are like “the lady and the guy that [President] Obama is kind of stuck with to appease the rest of the family,” and also referred to Obama as “the boss.” Carlson also asked Franzese about financier George Soros, whom Carlson described as “a very wealthy man who's made his political views very well known to the left.” Franzese replied that Soros is "[t]he guy in the shadows that's kind of, you know, pulling the strings on the whole party. I think this guy maintains a lot more control than we may think."

During the segment, Kilmeade and Carlson aired on-screen graphics featuring an image of the iconic puppet strings from The Godfather along with photos of Geithner, Pelosi, Frank, and Soros:

From the March 26 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:

KILMEADE: So, is this a big stretch to think that, all of a sudden, the Washington, D.C., has become our Godfather?

FRANZESE: Well, I don't know. I mean, I see a lot of similarities in the way they're operating and the way we used to operate on the street. And, you know, to me, it's -- it looks like that's the way it's going.

CARLSON: What do you mean? Extortion, things like that?

FRANZESE: No, I mean, just this desire to take control. You know, it's Geithner coming out now with wanting to exercise more control over business. It's the way we used to operate, you know? The mob was all about --

KILMEADE: Decide 90 percent of your bonuses belong to him.

FRANZESE: Exactly. You know, we would walk into a business, and, you know, put our arms around the people, lend them a little money, if they needed, and the whole object was to get control of the company. And, I see this going the same way.

CARLSON: So let's talk a little bit more about Tim Geithner, because this plan -- and apparently, it's been leaked last night, but he's going to announce it today. You call him what?

FRANZESE: He's like an underboss to me. I mean, he's doing the work of, you know, the whole family, and he's kind of the guy out front, and looking to exercise control. To me, it's scary, because this is how we used to take control of things and, you know, to me I want less government intervention in my life.

KILMEADE: Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank play what role in the movie? In the mob?

FRANZESE: You know, they're like, to me, the two guys -- or, you know, the lady and the guy that Obama is kind of stuck with to appease the rest of the family. And, you know, we used to have that in our life. Sometimes the boss would have two people there or one person there that he didn't really want there, but he was stuck with them because they had control in the family, and you had to appease the rest of the people. And I look at them as the two people that he's appeasing the rest of the Democratic Party with.

CARLSON: Interesting. George Soros, of course, a very wealthy man who's made his political views very well known to the left. How do you see him?

FRANZESE: The guy in the shadows that's kind of, you know, pulling the strings on the whole party. I think this guy maintains a lot more control than we may think, and you know, he's got the money. He funds a lot of their groups. And I really think he has a lot to say in that party.

KILMEADE: Michael, does it scare you?

FRANZESE: It concerns me. I mean, you know, not much scares me at this point, but it really concerns me because I see that trend, you know.

CARLSON: He got out of the mob, Brian, so, you know, in the early '90s, you said you did fear for your life for a short period of time. So I understand that nothing scares you.

FRANZESE: Yes, and with good reason. I had, you know, my issues in walking away from that life. People were pretty upset with me about it, and -- so it took years to get over. But, you know, George Soros, you know, to me, he's the guy. I mean, he's the guy you gotta be concerned about here because he exercises a lot of control.

KILMEADE: And here's the scary thing: He's made money through this global downturn. He came out of retirement because he predicted it. I don't know if he orchestrated it -- if that's possible with his money -- but he's made billions.

FRANZESE: Yes.

KILMEADE: So, he's in control, while everybody else wonders what the heck happened.

FRANZESE: And I wonder why they associate with this guy. I mean, here -- one thing about mob guys, now, we were pretty patriotic. We may have been doing our thing on the streets, but we didn't like anybody messing with the country. And I recall, you know, after 9-11, he was -- he did some damage on Wall Street.

KILMEADE: Absolutely.

CARLSON: Here's your new book: I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse: Tips from a Former Mob Boss. Michael, great to see you. Thanks so much for coming on.