Madonna's Brother Tells Newspaper: I'm Homeless

A Michigan paper recently ran a story on the influx of homeless in the northern burgh of Traverse City. The interview subject: Madonna's brother.

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The Michigan Messenger (via Gawker) published a conversation with 55-year-old Anthony Ciccone, in which he claims to have been homeless for more than a year.

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“My family turned their back on me, basically, when I was having a hard time,” he said. “You think I haven’t answered this kind of question a bazillion times -- why my sister is a multibazillionarie, and I’m homeless on the street?”

That's the only reference he makes to his famous family.

Ciccone's last job was at the family winery, Ciccone Vineyard & Winery in Suttons Bay, MI.

Before losing his job there a year and a half ago, Ciconne peddled the family collection, which at one point included five varieties of "Madonna Wine."

Since losing his job at the winery, Ciconne has slept under a local bridge and relying on a network of local churches and Goodwill Industries to get by.

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He told the paper that the city's surprising effort to help the homeless, the reason for the population boom, still isn't enough to spare them all from the elements.

Last winter, Ciccone suffered from frostbite on his feet. He also spoke of a friend who lost all of his toes and several more who have died of hypothermia.

Anthony is not the only sibling of Madonna's to cause a stir for the singer. Their brother Christopher Ciconne, once one of Madonna's confidants, published an unflattering tell-all book in 2008, Life With My Sister Madonna.