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I am Judge Michael Randazzo, but by all odds, I never should have been. My story begins in a pop-up trailer—no electricity, no running water—born to parents who dropped out of high school and carried the weight of our family’s excommunication from the Sicilian Mafia. I came into the world premature, delivered by a veterinarian, clinging to life while doctors warned I’d never catch up.Crime and tragedy run through my bloodline: moonshining, sexual abuse, attempted manslaughter. My father struck deals with the Mexican Cartel and still battles opioid addiction. Every member of my family has been both perpetrator and victim. Yet, somewhere between generational sin and the chance to start over, I clawed my way through law school. Today, I serve as one of Missouri’s youngest Presiding Circuit Judges.This memoir is my confession and my exorcism. It’s about the curse of inherited character flaws, the desperate hope to shield my children from them, and the heavy truth that even heroes—like my beloved Grandpa Nick—are deeply flawed. Each chapter opens a new door: from Grandpa Nick wrestling a grizzly bear to the darkest corners of family trauma, violence, and betrayal.What does it take to rise above a legacy of darkness? How do you reconcile love for those who did unspeakable things? My life is proof that the past shapes us—but it doesn’t have to define us.https://amzn.to/49aGLhkBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

For five decades, I believed I was a member of the Graham family, from a lower middle-class neighborhood, several miles east of Buffalo, NY. The revelation that I was not, shocked me. To make my story more intriguing, I was not adopted, Truth can be stranger than fiction. I quickly realized I was a pawn in a scheme to protect the Catholic Church from a public scandal. Kathryn Graham, who I believed to be my aunt and was not, unsympathetically told me, "It had to be this way." She went on to say, "We are all dealt a hand in life, it comes down to how we play it." The hand that I was dealt was seven card stud, with only one card turned up. Over the following 25 years, I perservered, putting together the pieces of my life I was denied. My story is compelling and poignant. A true page turner.https://amzn.to/3L0MVqoBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

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Circuit Judge Michael Randazzo is preparing to add “author” to his long list of accomplishments. His debut book, Presiding Over Shadows: From Chaos to Order in the Court, is scheduled for release on September 16, 2025.Randazzo’s journey to the bench has been marked by resilience and achievement. A first-generation college graduate, he earned degrees in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Missouri–St. Louis, completing the Pierre Laclede Honors College program before obtaining his Juris Doctorate from Saint Louis University School of Law in 2010.By 2015, Randazzo was running his own law firm and was named to The National Trial Lawyers’ Top 50 Under 40. His career as a prosecutor included more than 3,000 felony cases and 10,000 misdemeanors before he was elected Circuit Judge. In 2021, he was appointed to Missouri’s 42nd Judicial Circuit and, within a year, became one of the youngest presiding circuit judges in state history. To date, he has participated in more than 75 jury trials.Blending memoir and true crime, Randazzo’s forthcoming book delves into the challenges and contradictions of his life. “I have Italian roots that trace back to the Sicilian Mafia, including Al Capone’s Chicago Outfit and the St. Louis Mafia,” Randazzo said. “The book details some crimes and victimization of my family members. It’s about my family’s history and how it made my path to the bench almost impossible. Even more specifically, it deals with my relationship with my grandfather, who was my hero, despite him being a deeply flawed man.”TwitterFacebookUnterrified DemocratBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

For five decades, I believed I was a member of the Graham family, from a lower middle-class neighborhood, several miles east of Buffalo, NY. The revelation that I was not, shocked me. To make my story more intriguing, I was not adopted, Truth can be stranger than fiction. I quickly realized I was a pawn in a scheme to protect the Catholic Church from a public scandal. Kathryn Graham, who I believed to be my aunt and was not, unsympathetically told me, “It had to be this way.” She went on to say, “We are all dealt a hand in life, it comes down to how we play it.” The hand that I was dealt was seven card stud, with only one card turned up. Over the following 25 years, I perservered, putting together the pieces of my life I was denied. My story is compelling and poignant. A true page turner.================Jim Graham, born in Buffalo, NY, thought he was a member of the Graham family, living in a lower middle-class neighborhood. At age 48, he learned it was all fiction. More intriguing, he was not adopted. A cover-up of international interest is exposed as Jim’s decades long journey reveals the truth he was denied.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.