As part of the growing campaign to free the Menendez brothers

You get to know the most interesting people in solitary confinement.

Former New York gangster Michael Franzese, who was in prison for violating his probation, happened to be Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were encountered while incarcerated in a federal penitentiary in Los Angeles County.

The Menendez brothers were notorious for killing their parents – including father Jose, a big man in show business who allegedly sexually abused them – and were in the middle of their respective life sentences without parole in 1996. Since 2018, years after meeting Franzese, they have been held at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in Southern California.

But they won't be locked up for long. There is currently a movement for these sentences to be shortened and for their release. It was enlivened by the Netflix biographical series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” produced by Ryan Murphy.

Released last September, it tells the story of the murderous brothers, their alleged sexual predator father Jose and their laissez-faire mother Kitty. Franzese gushed about it on his YouTube channel and also stated that the brothers had “put in enough time.”

Franzese comes to this opinion through first-hand knowledge. “Lyle opened up to me and told me about the abuse,” Franzese told The Post. “I asked him a lot of questions. I have a good bullshit detector and believe they were abused by their father.”

Still, he remembers something strange coming out of Lyle's mouth, expecting not to die behind bars: “I'll never forget him telling me (when he gets out of prison), 'I don't know, what I do.' to get along without my father.'”

Despite everything, Franzese added: “They were so dependent on him. (Lyle) always expressed his love for his father – even when he was mistreated by his father. He said he lived in fear of him. But he was a great force in his life.”

Now the former gangster is among a diverse cadre of actors, relatives, influencers and others advocating for the brothers' early release. Kim Kardashian, Rosie O'Donnell, rapper Anerae “X-Raided” Brown and a few dozen relatives have all called for a reconsideration of life imprisonment.

Embattled Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón – rumor has it the ultra-liberal prosecutor is desperate for a public comeback as he faces re-election in November – announced he would review the sentences of Lyle and Erik and decide whether or not no reconsideration is warranted.

He briefly posted a screenshot of a letter from Erik to his cousin and quickly deleted it. This was uncovered by Robert Rand, who wrote a non-fiction book about the brothers' murders. “I tried to avoid Dad,” the letter says. “Every night I stay awake thinking he might come in.”

Some believe this is evidence of the alleged harassment.

The brothers have been incarcerated since 1990 and convicted of first-degree parricide – the murder of their parents in 1989. They claimed Jose sexually abused them while mother Kitty watched silently. Roy Rosselló of the boy band Menudo made similar allegations against Jose in the years since her conviction.

Erik and Lyle claimed that the double murders they admitted to committing were in self-defense, claiming their parents killed them to prevent them from exposing their father.

For years, the Menendez brothers were something of a punchline, and the likelihood of them seeing the light of day seemed slim. Then Ryan Murphy made the Netflix series about the alleged sexual abuse, murders and two trials – the first was declared a mistrial.

The series was filmed in Variety and the brothers hated it. They insisted it was “terrible” and “full of blatant lies” and particularly objected to scenes that suggested the brothers had an incestuous relationship.

Murphy responded: “It's really, really hard – if it's your life – to see your life on the screen.”

But then something unexpected happened. “Younger people saw it and were so outraged by the characterization,” Lyle and Erik’s attorney Mark Geragos told The Post. “The Ryan Murphy thing caused a backlash that was really helpful. When Ryan Murphy says, “I'm the best thing that ever happened to them,” it's because he was being so exaggerated. It’s so outrageous that I think the backlash helped.”

Although Franzese held Lyle and Erik in high regard, he had no respect for their behavior after the murder – particularly a luxury shopping spree in which they spent their dead parents' money on Rolex watches and a Porsche – which was said to have shown a lack of grief , which put law enforcement on their trail.

“I can tell you these guys weren't real criminals … they were amateurs,” Franzese said. “They didn’t act right after the whole thing was over. I mean, they went out and bought a car! They should have done the opposite.”

Since the series was canceled, the brothers have also attracted the interest of reality star Kim Kardashian, who is an advocate for social justice.

She wrote in an essay for NBC: “They are kind, intelligent and honest men… I hope that the life sentences of Erik and Lyle Menendez are reconsidered.”

Rosie O'Donnell claims she has been friends with Lyle for 30 years after appearing on Larry King Live. She ignored the advice of Barbara Walters, who warned: “He's a murderer. He's very smart.”

These days, O'Donnell and Lyle speak frequently on the phone – his wife, former magazine reporter Rebecca Sneed, arranged for them to meet on Mother's Day 2023 – and she hugs the brothers when she visits them in prison. O'Donnell described herself as a “big sister” and a “cheerleader” for her freedom.

Rapper Anerae “X-Raided” Brown has revealed that the brothers encouraged him to take prison classes, sign up for Narcotics Anonymous and renounce his violent past as a Crips gang member who ended up in prison for participating in a murder.

“They served time commensurate with the crimes they committed from the perspective of being victims of child abuse, sexual abuse and psychological abuse,” Brown, now free, told The Post. “I firmly believe that they have rehabilitated themselves and dozens of other men, including myself.”

Earlier this week, members of the Menendez family, young and old, gathered at a press conference in downtown Los Angeles calling for the release of Lyle and Erik. Joan Andersen VanderMolen, Kitty's 92-year-old sister, has expressed her unfailing sympathy for her nephews. “It became clear,” she said, “that her actions, although tragic, were the desperate reaction of two boys trying to survive their father's unspeakable cruelty.”

Although it's unclear what their finances would look like when they get out of prison – “I never asked,” said Geragos, who believes the family's leftover money is “long gone” – rapper Anerae “X- Raided” Brown no worries.

“They have powerful allies, including myself (who would find it unacceptable that the Menendez brothers are not financially secure,” X-Raided said.

But not everyone is ready to write off the blood on the Menendez brothers' hands. Their uncle Milton Andersen, Kitty's 90-year-old brother, wants them to remain in prison for life. According to his attorney, Kathy Cady, Andersen maintains that “his nephews were not abused.”

As Cady told Eyewitness News about Andersen, “He believes this is a fabrication and that the motive was pure greed.”

Brown acknowledges that “no one can limit the amount of time people are injured,” but he believes Lyle and Erik Menendez will make great contributions to society after their incarceration. “They have been given a lot of time in relation to the crime and the motivation behind it. The success of the brothers and the way they will appear in society after their release will justify everything.”