Inside The American Mafia with Louis Ferrante

Louis Ferrante (born May 13, 1969) is a former high stakes heist expert and Gambino crime family mob associate. He spent eight and a half years in prison for stick ups, heists and hijackings. He successfully appealed his conviction and became a bestselling true crime, business, and science writer. He has previously hosted his own show, which aired on the Discovery Channel and was nominated for a Grierson Trust Award, which is considered the most prestigious documentary award in the UK.

On September 15, 2011, Ferrante spoke at The Economist's Ideas Economy: Human Potential Summit in New York City. On October 21, 2014, Ferrante spoke at the CEO Global Leaders Forum in New York City, hosted by billionaire businessman Leonard Lauder.

Early life
Ferrante was born on May 13, 1969, in Queens, New York, where he was raised. As a teenager, he made his reputation as a gang leader. Ferrante and his gang hijacked delivery trucks[4] all over New York and he soon gained the attention of the Gambino crime family.[5] By his early twenties, Ferrante headed a crew of older armed robbers within the family.[6] Newspaper articles from the 1990s referred to Ferrante as "John Gotti's pal". Another article referred to Ferrante as a "crony of John A. Gotti."[7] 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.[8][9] Around 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)
Ferrante was targeted by many investigations. He was eventually indicted by the FBI, the United States Secret Service, and the Nassau County Organized Crime Task Force.[10]

The main witness against Ferrante entered the Witness Protection program. Another informant against Ferrante was William Degel, now the host of Restaurant Stakeout on Food Network.[7] By 1994, and facing a life sentence in prison, Ferrante wrote and distributed a rap song defending crime boss John Gotti. Ferrante hired controversial civil rights attorney William Kunstler to defend him. Ferrante has appeared in at least one biography based on the life of William Kunstler.[11] During the trial, Kunstler claimed that Ferrante's song aggravated law enforcement agencies who had convicted Gotti and that the massive resources used to indict Ferrante multiple times were part of a government vendetta.[12] Ferrante's defense was defeated in court by prosecutors and Ferrante was convicted. In Ferrante's second case, he chose 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.[13] He was sent to the maximum security prison in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, to begin his sentence.

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