The day before last week’s big Mafia roundup, one of New York’s great underworld characters left a federal prison and checked into a Brooklyn halfway house to serve the final six months of his sentence.

Federico “Fritzy” Giovanelli, 78, departed the lockup in Fort Dix, New Jersey last Wednesday, according to Bureau of Prisons records. Giovanelli, a Genovese crime family soldier, was convicted in May 2004 of conspiracy for providing a fellow hoodlum with secret grand jury information he had illegally obtained.

Giovanelli, pictured above, is admired in these parts for his highly entertaining musings on a multitude of subjects that were captured by an FBI wiretap on the phone in his Middle Village, Queens home. In fact, Giovanelli’s conversations with fellow Genovese soldier Frank “Frankie California” Condo are so good, we actually built a web site/shrine filled with them (wmob.com).

To mark Fritzy’s return to New York City, here’s one of his typical conversations with Condo, who begins the call by inquiring about his buddy’s health:

Click here to download a transcript (PDF) of the 2:54 conversation, which touches on a variety of topics, including depression; allergies; chest tightness; acupuncture; Dr. Wong; AIDS; tainted needles; virility; and apparent erectile dysfunction.

Giovanelli’s halfway house stay is scheduled to end July 15.