Mob reporter extraordinaire Jerry Capeci broke this story earlier this week:

John Franco, who has been a �go-to-guy� during his 14 years as a relief pitcher for the New York Mets, has also long been a go-to-guy for mobsters looking for free tickets to Mets games, Gang Land has learned.

Despite strict prohibitions by Major League Baseball against associating with organized crime figures, Franco has had a long, chummy relationship with members of the Bonanno family, according to FBI documents obtained by Gang Land.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Capeci also reports that Franco might turn out to be a witness in an upcoming mob trial.

What with the BALCO investigation, Pete Rose, the Dale Berra-Keith Hernandez scandal, and a shady, on-again, off-again history of ballplayers consorting with various "undesirables," (Joe DiMaggio even once "crossed paths" with Albert Anastasia) Bud Selig may want to make a statement with Franco.