Louis Ferrante

Lou Ferrante (born May 13, 1969) is a former Gambino family mobster who, after spending eight years in prison,[1] successfully appealed his conviction and became a bestselling true crime, business, and science writer. He hosts his own show airing on Discovery Networks International in 195 countries and was nominated for a Grierson Trust Award which is the highest documentary award in the United Kingdom, known as "the Oscars of the documentary world."[2] He has also appeared on television stations such as MSNBC, Fox News Channel, BBC, PBS, Comedy Central, and The History Channel. On September 15, 2011, Ferrante spoke at The Economist's Ideas Economy: Human Potential Summit in New York City.[3] On October 21, 2014, Ferrante spoke at the CEO Global Leaders Forum in New York City, hosted by billionaire businessman Leonard Lauder. In 2015, Ferrante published his groundbreaking book, The Three Pound Crystal Ball: How the Dreaming Brain Can See the Future.[4] The book details Ferrante's theory of the dreaming brain, a theory he worked out while still in prison but wrote while free. A number of professional scientists have praised the book which follows the lives of Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud as the work of both men contribute to Ferrante's theory.

Early life

Ferrante was born and raised in Queens, New York. As a teenager, he made his reputation as a gang leader. Ferrante and his crew hijacked delivery trucks[5] all over New York and he soon gained the attention of the infamous Gambino crime family.[6] By his early twenties, Ferrante headed a crew of older armed robbers within the family.[7] Newspaper articles from the 1990s referred to Ferrante as "Gotti's pal" in reference to Gambino boss John Gotti, Senior. Another article referred to Ferrante as a "crony of John (Junior) Gotti."[8] On one occasion, Ferrante and his crew flew from New York to California to hold up an armored car. His plans were foiled by the FBI, although there was insufficient evidence to charge Ferrante and his crew with a crime.[9][10] During this time, he was suspected of masterminding some of the largest heists in U.S. history.

Arrests

FBI Surveillance Photo of Louis Ferrante in California, on His Way to a Meeting with His Crew
FBI Surveillance Photo of Louis Ferrante and His Crew in California Planning an Armored Truck Heist (Ferrante's Back is to the Camera)

The law caught up with Ferrante and he became the target of three separate investigations. He was eventually indicted by the FBI, the United States Secret Service, and the Nassau County Organized Crime Task Force.[11] The main informant against Ferrante was entered into the Witness Protection program. Another informant against Ferrante was William Degel, now the host of Restaurant Stakeout on Food Network.[12] By 1994, and facing a life sentence in prison, Ferrante wrote and distributed a rap song defending infamous Gambino Family Boss John Gotti. Ferrante hired controversial civil rights attorney William Kunstler to defend him.[13] In court, Kunstler claimed that Ferrante's song aggravated law enforcement agencies who'd convicted Gotti and that the massive resources used to indict Ferrante multiple times were part of a government vendetta.[14] Ferrante's defense was defeated in court by prosecutors and Ferrante was convicted. In Ferrante's second case, he was forced to plead guilty to a thirteen-year sentence, with his third case running concurrent with the first two cases. Ferrante refused to cooperate with the government and did not inform on former associates of the Gambino family.[15] He was sent to the maximum security prison in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to begin his sentence.

Prison

During Ferrante's incarceration, he read his first book.[16] He subsequently immersed himself in the study of history, philosophy, and literature. He also learned the art of writing, and penned a historical novel, Aleesa, set in the antebellum South. At the time, Lewisburg Penitentiary was the scene of an ongoing race war which claimed the lives of several men who were brutally murdered inside the prison.[17] Ferrante states in his memoir, Unlocked, that he wrote the novel to shield his mind from the racism around him.[18]

While in prison, Ferrante hired and fired a number of attorneys before successfully appealing his own conviction, a case that is cited in courtrooms across the country.[19] He was released in January 2003,[20] after serving eight and a half years.[21] In addition to law, Ferrante (who was raised Catholic) studied many religions and chose to convert to Judaism,[22] becoming an observant Jew.[23][24]

Books and Other Writings

In the U.S., the paperback edition of Ferrante's memoir is titled Unlocked: The Life and Crimes of a Mafia Insider.[25] In the United Kingdom, the memoir is titled Tough Guy: The Life and Crimes of a Mafia Insider. The book has also been translated into Dutch.

Ferrante's second book is a non-fiction work, Mob Rules: What the Mafia Can Teach the Legitimate Businessman.[26][27] The book was shortlisted for the 800-CEO-Read Awards and is an international bestseller. It has been translated into the languages of the following countries: Bulgaria, China, Holland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, Russia, Spain, Portugal, and Serbia.

Ferrante's third book combines physics, psychology, personal experience, extensive research, and neuroscience to establish that the dreaming brain can see the future; it is titled, The Three Pound Crystal Ball: How the Dreaming Brain Can See the Future.

Ferrante has also contributed essays to Signed, Your Student: Celebrities Praise the Teachers Who Made Them Who They Are Today, and Bound to Last: 30 Writers on Their Most Cherished Book.

The book, Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations, by Jules Evans, contains a chapter about Ferrante titled, "Plutarch and the Art of Heroism."[28][29]

United Kingdom

Ferrante contributed his time and efforts to promoting literacy in the UK, and has visited numerous prisons in an effort to help British prison inmates. As a result of his voluntary work, he was given the Celebrity Reading Hero Award, presented to him at Number 10 Downing Street. He has been a guest on numerous BBC radio programs and has appeared as a guest on the world-renowned news program BBC HARDTalk. Ferrante was also nominated for the United Kingdom's most prestigious documentary award; the list of nominees included Sir David Attenborough.

Awards

Ferrante was recognized at a ceremony at Number 10 Downing Street, where he received the Celebrity Reading Hero Award, given to him by Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in 2009.[30]

Mob Rules was a 1-800-CEO-READ 2011 Business Book Award nominee,[31] and was one of Forbes magazine columnist Marc Kramer's World's Best Business Books.[32][33]

In 2013, Ferrante made the final shortlist of nominees for the Grierson Trust Documentary Television Awards in the United Kingdom. Ferrante was nominated for Documentary Presenter of the Year for his show, Inside the Gangsters' Code.[34]

Inside the Gangsters' Code Television Series

Ferrante's television series, Inside the Gangsters' Code, premiered on February 27, 2013. Each hour-long episode follows Ferrante as he explores different gang cultures around the world. Inside the Gangsters' Code aired on Discovery Channel in over 195 countries and in multiple languages. Ferrante wrote, hosted, narrated, and co-produced the series.

The 2013 episode "The Commandos" which exposed the luxurious prison cells owned by gang leaders controlling the Philippines' largest maximum security prison became the subject of a drug smuggling and bribery scandal and investigation at the House of Representatives of the Philippines.[35][36]

Television Work

Ferrante is an award nominated TV host who also works behind the camera. He is co-creator and executive producer for the television series, The Diamond Collar, which aired on Oprah Winfrey's OWN Network in early 2014.[37] Ferrante appeared with actors Al Pacino and James Caan, and director Francis Ford Coppola in the anniversary documentary, The Godfather Legacy.[38]

Ferrante's television appearances include:

Bibliography

Radio Interviews

References

  1. ↑ Jacobs, E. (15 June 2011). "Lessons from the lawbreakers". Financial Times.
  2. ↑ "Radio Times sponsors reader's choice awards". The Grierson Trust.
  3. ↑ "'The Economist': Ideas Economy: Human Potential: The Next Level of Competition". The Times Center, New York City. 14–15 September 2001.
  4. ↑ The Three Pound Crystal Ball. ISBN 0692439080.
  5. ↑ Gluckstadt, M. (21 May 2008). "La Kosher Nostra". Gelf Magazine.
  6. ↑ Dominguez, R. (2 June 2011). "Wiseguy's wisdom: Ex-mobster offers tips to legit businessmen". New York Daily News.
  7. ↑ Jones, N. (3 March 2009). "How books saved Mafioso". London Telegraph.
  8. ↑ Rashbaum, W. K.; et al. (4 June 1996). "Record of run-ins, busts for cop's partying pal". New York Daily News.
  9. ↑ Ferrante, L. (2009). Unlocked: the Life and Crimes of a Mafia Insider. HarperCollins. pp. 41–57.
  10. ↑ FOIA Documents Request No.1040554-000, Received June 21, 2008.
  11. ↑ Price, M. (27 April 2008). "Louis Ferrante speaks freely about 'Unlocked'". Newsday.
  12. ↑ Rashbaum, W. K.; et al. (4 June 1996). "Record of run-ins, busts for cop's partying pal". New York Daily News.
  13. ↑ Langum, D.J. (1999). William M. Kunstler: the Most Hated Lawyer in America. New York University Press. p. 275.
  14. ↑ Good Day New York, WNYW TV transcript, June 8, 1994.
  15. ↑ Brawarsky, S. (28 April 2008). "A wiseguy's new racket". The Jewish Week.
  16. ↑ Loizos, C. (14 July 2011). "What the Mob can teach the startup industry". peHUB.
  17. ↑ Goffard, C. (16 September 2006). "Aryan Brotherhood leaders get life terms". Los Angeles Times.
  18. ↑ Ferrante, L. (2009). Unlocked. HarperCollins. p. 241.
  19. ↑ United States v. Livorsi, 180 F.3d 76,82 (2d Cir. 1999)
  20. ↑ Flamm, M. (15 May 2011). "Ex-mobster writes business advice book". Crain's New York.
  21. ↑ Dominguez, R. (3 June 2011). "Wiseguy's wisdom". New York Daily News.
  22. ↑ Burstein, N. (15 February 2012). "From organized crime to organized religion. Ex-mobster: first reformed, now modern Orthodox". The Times of Israel.
  23. ↑ Brawarsky, S. (22 April 2008). "A wiseguy's new racket". The Jewish Week.
  24. ↑ "Louis Ferrante: From Mobster to Mensch". Jewish Literary Review. May 2008.
  25. ↑ Sandall, S. (February 2012). "Louis Ferrante". Readersvoice.com.
  26. ↑ Ferrante, L. (1 June 2011). "10 legitimate business tips from an ex-Mafia man". Huffington Post.
  27. ↑ Ferrante, L. (6 June 2011). "Former Mafia associate gives lessons for success in legitimate business". Huffington Post.
  28. ↑ "Philosophy for Life". Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  29. ↑ Evans, Jules (2012). Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations. New World Press. pp. 187–191. ISBN 978-1-60868-229-4.
  30. ↑ "Meet the Reading Heroes: ordinary people who have helped transform lives". The Sun. 18 December 2008.
  31. ↑ "Introducing the Candidates: General Business". 1-800-CEO-READ. 23 December 2011.
  32. ↑ "World's Best Business Books Homepage". Kramer Communications.
  33. ↑ Kramer, M. (2 January 2012). "'Mob Rules: What the Mafia can Teach Legitimate Businessmen'". Kramer Communications.
  34. ↑ "The Grierson Trust: the British Documentary Awards". Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  35. ↑ Merueñas, M. (20 September 2016). "'Bilibid' gang leader shows picture with De Lima to docu show host". GMA News. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  36. ↑ "Bilibid docu 'Inside the Gangster's Code' a star at House hearing". ABS-CBN News. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  37. ↑ "Press Release: Oprah Winfrey Network 12/18/2013". Corus Entertainment.
  38. ↑ "The Godfather Legacy 2012".
  39. ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/transcript/2015/06/26/confessions-former-inmate/
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