As Madonna joins the billionaire club, her tragic homeless brother says: 'She doesn't care if I'm dead or alive' :

Madonna’s homeless brother sits alone on a freezing cold bench drinking alcohol from a paper bag in the treacherous North Michigan snow - as his family fear he may die any day.

It is a tragic existence that could not be a starker contrast from the decadent glamour of his sister's life as the best selling woman rock artist of all time and who, it emerged this week, has a staggering net worth of $1billion.

Anthony Ciccone – who has been on the streets for almost three years - claims his superstar sister doesn’t care if he is dead or alive.

However MailOnline can exclusively reveal his family is in fact terrified he could die at any moment and are devastated they can’t save him.

To add to his woes the down and out recently spent a month in jail after being arrested intoxicated in a church and swearing in front of children. 

Frozen out: Madonna's homeless brother Anthony Ciccone wanders the freezing, snowy streets of Michigan 

In an exclusive investigation into the heartbreaking family feud MailOnline  can reveal how:

• He had to spend a month locked up because he unable to pay his fine for trespass and being drunk and disorderly 
• He is currently fighting to survive a harsh winter where temperatures frequently drop as low as -10c
• He lost his job at the family vineyard after being found sprawled on his back drinking wine straight from the vats
• Alcoholic Anthony claims his family have 'stood against him completely' and he only needs their 'love and care' 
• His heartbroken father drives out to the streets to give him leftovers

It was 16 months ago that it was first revealed Anthony Ciccone was sleeping rough under a bridge in Traverse City, Michigan.

But despite his plight garnering worldwide attention, Anthony remains homeless and is currently battling to survive a brutal winter – where temperatures regularly dip as low as -10c.

These exclusive photos show the horrible reality of Anthony's life on the streets of one of the America's coldest cities.   

Desperate existence: He spends the cold nights in a church but wanders the cold town roads in the day where he drinks alcohol wrapped in paper bags

Speaking exclusively toMailOnline, the 56-year-old said: 'Madonna doesn’t give a s**t if I’m dead or alive.She lives in her own world.

'I never loved her in the first place, she never loved me. We never loved each other. 

'My father would be very happy if I died of hypothermia and then he would not have to worry about it anymore. He’s old school, he grew up in the depression.

'He doesn’t want to be bothered, he’s lived his life you see. He doesn’t like me. He doesn’t want me to be me, he wants me to be somebody else. He thinks the way I live is intentional. He simply doesn’t know me.'

A family divided: Madonna (centre) with her siblings (from left-to-right): Anthony (now homeless in Michigan), Jennifer, Paula, Christopher, Mario, Melanie and Marty pictured in 1986

Asked why he’s in this state, Anthony claimed: 'No family back up, when the chips fell, no family back-up. I’d rather be working. What would you do under these circumstance when your family has stood against you completely?'

Anthony’s refusal to admit he has a drinking problem appears to be the central obstacle to him getting off the streets.

Asked why he won’t go to rehab, he said: 'I’m a human being, you can call me what you want. [Alcoholic] is a label, I don’t like it. I don’t need brain surgery, I merely need love and care of family and friends.'

Family: Madonna's father Tony his wife Joan, the singer's stepmother

Despite Anthony’s shocking claims MailOnline was told a different story at the Ciccone family Vineyard – just 12 miles up the beautiful coast of the Grand Traverse Bay.

Close family friend and neighbour Kathy Meteyer, working in the wine tasting room, told how Madonna’s father Tony Ciccone is heartbroken by the situation but refuses to take Anthony back unless he quits booze.

She said: 'He did work here, they found things for him to do in the cellar, there’s all kind of work on a daily basis, in the summer there’s all kinds of pruning and picking to do.

'But he would sneak into the cellars and he would lay on the floor open up one of the big tanks and drink the wine, with a glass. 

'He just can’t come back until he stops drinking, because they think it will kill him, it already kind of has.'

Anthony is the oldest of eight siblings (one died in infancy) and is two years older than Madonna.

Strict Tony lives at the winery with his wife Joan, who has been Anthony’s stepmother since 1966 after their real mother Madonna tragically died of breast cancer aged 30.

Madonna's younger sister Paula and half-brother Mario also both work at the Ciccone vineyard. A family source told MailOnline that Paula is a recovered alcoholic which makes her more understanding than the others of his plight.

Anthony made it plain he doesn’t see eye to eye with Mario who he sarcastically calls the 'golden boy' but he still sees Paula who he says gives him 'moral support' and sometimes drops him off packets of tobacco.

Rolling in it: Madonna, seen here performing during her MDNA tour at Air Canada Centre last September, is now believed to have a net worth of $1billion

Giving his version of why he was sacked, he said:  'I planted grapes, I picked grapes, worked my hands in the earth. But I discovered that my father was not particularly fond of me for some reason, he doesn't approve of my friends.

'I've had people from the church come there - I'm talking ordained ministers and he thinks they're like street guys or something. I’m not evidently the heir apparent. I’m the black sheep.'

Tony and Madonna have both paid for Anthony to go to rehab on separate occasions but it didn’t work and he now refuses to go back.

Defending the family against Anthony’s allegations, Kathy said: 'They have helped him so many times. Tony has put him through rehab and given him lots of chances. I think Madonna paid for rehab a few times. 

'I never loved her in the first place, she never loved me... we never loved each other'

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'The alcohol has taken over his brain.'

Anthony’s illness puts a huge strain on Tony who turns 83 this year.

Kathy said: 'Joan and Tony Ciccone are the most down to earth people I’ve met, they don’t deserve this.'

In a sign of the anguish the feud causes him, Tony has even driven around looking for his son to give him leftovers.

Kathy went on: 'At Thanksgiving Tony packed up all the leftovers and drove all over town to find Anthony and give them to him.

'His sister Paula has picked him up on occasions and brought him to the house for dinner but he refuses to even stay the night.

'Anthony just won’t accept help. As a parent you can only do so much before you have to let it go. 

Traverse City is covered in deep snow from late November to early April.
By day, down and out Anthony trudges the icy streets stopping occasionally to drink or roll another cigarette. A local bookshop let him sit inside and keep warm for periods of the day.

In his rucksack he carries a photo of Madonna printed off the internet  – where he also keeps a bottle of cheap wine in a brown paper bag, his gloves and his rolling tobacco - which he smokes constantly.

Mugshot: To add to his woes the down and out recently spent a month in jail after being arrested intoxicated in a church and swearing in front of children

Luckily for Anthony the local churches take turns allowing the homeless night time shelter during the winter and cooking them hot meals – otherwise he admits he would already have frozen to death. 

Explaining how he ended up in jail recently, Anthony said: 'Someone took offence because I used some strong language in a public church. I was having an argument with a person who disagreed with me and I was trying to call him down but he didn’t listen.'

He added: 'I had never been arrested or had a brush with the law in my entire life until I came here to this town.'

MailOnline obtained the police report into the incident. The officer writes how it was the person in charge of giving the homeless beds at the church that night who called the police. 

'Ciccone was sitting at a table inside the parish and was highly intoxicated. He stated he was using profanities in front of several kids and that the kids were offended by this', the report said.

MADONNA THE BILLIONAIRE

Madonna has a new net worth of $1 billion.

The Girl Gone Wild singer - who has four children, Lourdes, 16, Rocco, 12, David, seven, and Mercy, also seven, - recently became a billionaire, according to Women's Wear Daily (WWD) magazine via the New York Post.

The 54-year-old star - who was named the top earner in pop music in 2012 - was previously estimated to have a personal fortune of around $700 million but has now earned more than a billion dollars from her successful career in showbiz after investing in several additional money making ventures recently.

Her MDNA world tour, which saw her perform 72 sell out shows last year, grossed $305,158,363, and also saw her rake in $75 million in merchandise sales and $10 million in TV rights and DVD sales.

Madonna has also enjoyed success off stage as her perfume Truth of Dare saw her earn $60 million.

She is also a investor in the popular drinks brand Vita Coco and gym chain Hard Candy, and retail experts estimate she takes home $10 million from her clothing line Material Girl, which she runs with her teenage daughter. 

It goes on to say Anthony refused to leave, saying he had nowhere to go and was subsequently arrested for trespassing and taken to jail. 

It has been a tough year for Anthony who told how he also recently lost his best friend on the streets – a 48-year-old fellow alcoholic called Mike Champ -  after he 'drunk himself into oblivion', fell down some stairs and bled to death. 

Anthony has also been assaulted a few times, he said: 'I get chased around by freaks, it happens everyday. Crazy people chase me around, because my sister’s famous. I’ve had a few collisions with drunken fools, who decided my face didn’t look pretty enough so they needed to rearrange it.'

Anthony, who has previously worked as a restaurant bus boy, stage set carpenter and a film location scout, was once settled down in Los Angeles with a partner and son Angelo who was born in 1993.

However when he lost his job and his partner left with his son after a domestic dispute he returned to Michigan on a greyhound bus and took up the job at the Ciccone vineyard.

He hasn't seen his son in more than 10 years, due to a restraining order, which is another reason for his alcoholism: 'You have to realise the s**t I am haunted with', he said before adding it was too painful for him to talk about.

He gets angry when asked about his famous sibling and says he doesn’t miss her.

He said: 'Evidently various people have been pestering her about matters of neglect regarding family and such. I think she’s probably a little bit p****d off with me for even troubling her. But I’ve never asked my sister for anything. 

'She don’t owe me nothing.That’s her s**t man, she made her money, she worked for it, I’ve got no beef. If she wants to live that way, that’s her thing.'

He laughs at the fact she is worth more than $1billion and he is a tramp, saying: 'Well it’s a bit of an oxymoron isn’t it? I can’t explain it. We were never friends. When we were growing up we were enemies, sibling rivalry and all that bulls**t.'

In the car park: Anthony, seen in a cap and glasses at the back of the group, sat outside the Super Bowl stadium in Indianapolis in 2012 as his sister performed inside . The stunt was organized by a local radio station

Last year Anthony hitchhiked to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis where his sister was performing at half time in a stunt organized by the local radio station.

He heard her perform from the car park where he sat drinking beer with his fellow vagrants – he said: 'They wouldn’t let us in we didn’t have tickets. We sat in the parking lot drinking beer. Yeah (I could hear her performing) I’ve heard it before. I don’t think she would have given a flying f*** I was out there.'

When asked about how he sees the future and if he is afraid of dying, Anthony's eyes well up: 'I was saying a prayer this morning asking myself the same question. 

'I was thinking whether I should go back to Los Angeles or not. The woman I love, the mother of my son is married to another guy and no longer wants me, my father doesn’t want me working at his vineyard. How many options I got left?'

Contrast: Madonna graces the stage for her stunning half-time performance which was watched by millions

WHAT HAPPENED TO MADONNA AND 
ANTHONY'S OTHER SIBLINGS?  

 JENNIFER, born 1967

Madonna’s half-sister teaches art in the Michigan area and got married in 2011 at their father’s vineyard. All the siblings apart from Madonna and Anthony were there. She wasn’t invited to Madonna’s weddings because they’re not close. Her brother has Chris said at the time: ‘It was a lovely wedding day. I think she’s really looking forward to starting a family.’

PAULA, born 1959

Spent some time in the Eighties as a model in New York. She then worked as a graphic artist in Michigan — she is an accomplished portrait painter. She’s spent time working at the family vineyard doing marketing and looking after the website. She and Madonna are ‘fond’ of each other. Chris has said: ‘Madonna is close to Paula — she is only a year younger than her.’ There was some bad feeling in 2000 when Madonna refused to pay for Paula to travel to her second wedding, to Guy Ritchie.

Christopher was once Madonna's closest sibling. They fell out when she dropped him as her tour director. Guy Ritchie never liked him

CHRISTOPHER, born 1960

Once Madonna’s closest sibling, he began his career as her assistant, dresser, stylist and artistic director. Later, he furnished her houses, too. Madonna paid for him to have rehab for alcohol and cocaine abuse. They fell out in 2003 when she dropped him as her tour director. Guy Ritchie never liked him. Chris’s memoir, Life With My Sister Madonna, was published in 2008. He is now working as a creative director for singers and songwriters. He has plans for a coffee-table book, continues to work as an interior designer and paints. He hopes he can make up his differences with Madonna. ‘We’ve not spoken since the book, but it’s inevitable we’ll see each other at a family event,’ he has said.
 

MARIO, born 1968

Madonna's half-brother and the baby of the family, Mario has also worked at thier father’s vineyard. He used to work at Madonna’s record company, Maverick. He married in July 2011 and has three children, one from a previous relationship. He had a wild period in his youth, taking cocaine and getting into fights. He battered a motorist and broke a police officer’s nose. Madonna paid his legal bills.

MELANIE, born 1962

Now married with two children, Melanie used to be a publicist at Brian Eno’s Opal Records. She is married to the singer and songwriter Joe Henry — an old friend of Madonna’s who recently produced Hugh Laurie’s album. Chris has said: ‘Madonna is probably closest to Melanie. They are both mums and have children of a similar age.’ Madonna calls her ‘Smells’, and she was the trusted sibling who held her hand when she gave birth to Lourdes.

MARTY, born 1957

Was in the U.S. army. In 1994, he released a debut rap album under the name MC Ciccone, which included numerous bitter digs at his sister. In 1999, after being without a record contact for several years, he was finally persuaded by Madonna to enter rehab to deal with his alcohol problem — which she paid for — causing him to miss her second wedding. He started a restaurant in Los Angeles, and went back into rehab again in 2003. Divorced with a daughter, he lives in Los Angeles and is trying to make it as a voice-over artist. He and Madonna are in friendly contact.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2301196/As-Madonna-joins-billionaire-club-tragic-homeless-brother-says-She-doesnt-care-Im-dead-alive.html#ixzz2PAnSonIn
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