Joseph Ferriola
Encyclopedia
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
, from 1985 to 1988, after Joseph Aiuppa
Joseph Aiuppa
Joseph John Aiuppa , also known as "Doves," "Mourning Doves," "O'Brien," or "Joey Doves," was a Chicago mobster who became a leader of the Chicago Outfit.-Early career:...
and John Cerone
Jackie Cerone
John "Jackie The Lackey" Cerone was a Chicago mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit, during the late 1960s. He was the younger brother of mobster Frank "Skippy" Cerone and father of lawyer, John Peter Cerone and husband to the late Clara Cerone.He was born to John Cerone Sr. and Rose Valant. He...
went to prison for skimming Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
casino profits.
Early life
Joseph Anthony Ferriola was a product of Chicago's Near West SideNear West Side, Chicago
The Near West Side, one of the 77 defined community areas of Chicago, is located , adjacent to the downtown central business district . The rich history of the Near West Side of Chicago has its genesis in the Hull House phenomenon...
. He is the father of one son, Nicholas Ferriola who followed his father into organized crime.
Chicago Outfit career
Ferriola began his career as a protege of the late mobster Leonard "Fat Lennie" Caifano. Fat Lennie was Marshall Joseph CaifanoMarshall Joseph Caifano
John Caifano was a Chicago mobster who became a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit criminal organization...
's brother.
In 1970, Ferriola and four other mobsters were convicted for conspiring to operate an interstate gambling ring. He was sentenced to five years in federal prison, but only served about three years. He later became one of the Outfit's top enforcers, working in particular as an enforcer for Sam Giancana
Sam Giancana
Salvatore Giancana , better known as Sam Giancana, was a Sicilian-American mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957-1966...
. A 1989 article in the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
reported that federal agents had described Ferriola as a "cold-blooded terrorist" and as one of the most feared men in the mob.
During his mob career, Ferriola was the boss of his own street crew, the Cicero Crew, based in Cicero, Illinois
Cicero, Illinois
Cicero is an incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 83,891 at the 2010 census. Cicero is named for the town of Cicero, New York, which in turn was named for Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman statesman and orator....
with Ernest 'Rocco' Infelise serving as his underboss. This crew was involved in activities such as extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
, loan sharking, and bookmaking. To protect these enterprises, they resorted to bribery
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
, corruption, and the occasional murder of someone who was a threat to their operation.
In 1985, Ferriola became operations chief for the Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
. After suffering health problems and dealing with legal inquiries by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
and the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
, Ferriola was replaced in late 1988 by Sam "Wings" Carlisi.
At the time of Ferriola's death, federal prosecutors were in the process of seeking an indictment of Ferriola on racketeering charges.
Death
On March 11, 1989, Ferriola died at The Methodist HospitalThe Methodist Hospital
The Methodist Hospital is a hospital located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Established in 1919 as an outreach ministry of The United Methodist Church, Methodist is one of the most comprehensive teaching hospitals in the United States, with leading specialists in every field of...
, in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, after receiving a second heart transplant. He was 61-years-old and had been a patient of Dr. Michael E. DeBakey
Michael E. DeBakey
Michael Elias DeBakey was a world-renowned Lebanese-American cardiac surgeon, innovator, scientist, medical educator, and international medical statesman...
, one of the world's foremost heart specialists.
Ferriola was believed to have been the first gangster ever to have received a heart transplant.
Personal
Ferriola attracted significant attention shortly after taking over as head of the Chicago OutfitChicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
because he constructed a $500,000, 14-room home on Forest Glen Lane in Oak Brook, Illinois
Oak Brook, Illinois
Oak Brook is a village in DuPage and Cook Counties, in Illinois. The population was 8,702 at the 2000 census. A suburb of Chicago, it is the headquarters of McDonald's and Lions Clubs International.-History:...
, about a mile from the home of mobster Joseph Aiuppa
Joseph Aiuppa
Joseph John Aiuppa , also known as "Doves," "Mourning Doves," "O'Brien," or "Joey Doves," was a Chicago mobster who became a leader of the Chicago Outfit.-Early career:...
. Ferriola also owned a home in Florida and a trilevel log home in Green Lake, Wisconsin
Green Lake, Wisconsin
Green Lake is a city in Green Lake County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,100 at the 2000 census. The city is located on the north side of Big Green Lake. The city of Green Lake is the county seat for the county of Green Lake...
.
Ferriola's son, Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
mobster Nicholas Ferriola, was sentenced by United States District Judge James Zagel
James Zagel
James Block Zagel is a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and a novelist.- Early life and education :...
on September 9, 2008 to 3 years in prison for taking part in a broad, Outfit conspiracy trial that later led to life prison sentences for Joseph Lombardo
Joseph Lombardo
Joseph Patrick “Joey the Clown” Lombardo Sr. , also known as "Joe Padula," "Lumbo," and "Lumpy", is an imprisoned American mafioso and a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit crime organization...
, James Marcello
James Marcello
James J. “Little Jimmy, Jimmy Light” Marcello , also known as Jimmy "the Man" Marcello, is an imprisoned crime boss who was a front boss for the Chicago Outfit criminal organization in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s...
and Frank Calabrese, Sr.
Frank Calabrese, Sr.
Frank Calabrese, Sr. , also known as "Frankie Breeze," is a made man and a caporegime who ran major loansharking and illegal gambling operations for the Chicago Outfit. He is best known as a central figure in Operation Family Secrets and the subsequent Federal trial.-Early life:Frank Calabrese, Sr...
Nicholas Ferriola, who was the godson of Calabrese, had been convicted of running a gambling operation and attempting to extort the owner of the Connie's Pizza chain.
Ferriola's nephew, Harry Aleman
Harry Aleman
Harry "The Hook" Aleman was a Chicago mobster who was one of most feared enforcers for the Chicago Outfit during the 1970s. Aleman got the nickname "Hook" from his boxing career in high school.-Early life:...
, is an imprisoned Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
enforcer and hit man. He died in a downstate Illinois prison in May 2010.