Louis Ferrantello (abt. 1918 - 1956)

Born about 14 Dec 1918 in Schriever, Terrebonne, Louisiana, United States

Ancestors

Died 17 Jul 1956 at about age 37 in Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States

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Biography

Louis Ferrantello is born 14 December 1918 in Schriever, Louisiana, in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. Louis is the son of Liborio "Lee" Ferrantello and Caterina Mondello^[1], both natives of Corleone, Sicily, who emigrated as children. On his mother's side, Louis' grandfather is a rural guard in Corleone, a profession closely associated with the Mafia.

Around 1928 Louis' family moves from Louisiana to Dallas, Texas, where his father owns a grocery.

In the 1930 federal census of Dallas, TX, taken 2 April, Lee Ferrantello, 55 (b. 1875), owns his home, worth $5,000, at 2100 Caddo with his wife, Catherina, 47 (b. 1883), and children Luke, 22 (b. 1908), Johnnie, 19 (b. 1911), Sebastian, 17 (b. 1913), Joseph, 14 (b. 1916), Louis, 12 (b. 1918), Mary, 9 (b. 1921), Vivian, 5 (b. 1925), and Cosimo, 3 (b. 1927), and his widowed mother, Lucia, 84 (b. 1846). Lee, Catherina, and Lucia were born in Italy and are naturalized citizens; the children were all born in Louisiana. Lee and Catherina married when he was 22 and she was 15 (m. 1897-8). Lee and his mother emigrated in 1891, and Catherina in 1897. Lee owns a grocery store, where Luke works as a baker. Johnnie is a driver for a produce company. Sebastian is a delivery boy for Western Union.^[2]

Louis' father, Lee, dies in November 1930 from a ruptured ulcer. He is 55.

Louis and his brothers, Buster (Sebastian)^[3] and Joe^[4], run a poultry shop, the Texas Poultry and Egg Co., hence his nickname.

Louis becomes an associate of the Dallas Mafia, founded in 1921 by brothers Carlo (who died in 1930) and Joe Piranio from Corleone. Louis is a bookmaker and nightclub owner.^[5]

In the 1940 federal census of Dallas, taken 15/16 April, Katherine Ferrantello, 54 (b. 1886), a widow, born in Italy, heads a household at 1214 Bordon St. with her children Louis, 21 (b. 1919), Mary, 18 (b. 1922), Vivian, 15 (b. 1925), Henry, 13 (b. 1927), all born in Louisiana, and nephew Johnny, 3 (b. 1937), born in Texas. Louis is a buyer and seller in the poultry business. Mary works as a saleswoman in the poultry business, both on their own account. Vivian is a new worker.^[6]

Louis serves during World War II under Patton.^[5]

Louis marries Mary Dorothy McCully. They have a son, Anthony.^[5]

Piranio's successor, Joseph Civello, is arrested along with Chicken Louie, John Eli Stone, and Isadore Miller, who are all considered close criminal associates of Jack Ruby.^[5]

Under investigation for organized crime, Louis pleads the fifth over one hundred times before a legislative committee investigating gambling. He is sentenced to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.^[7]

He appeals, unsuccessfully, serves the term and pays the fine.^[8]

He is released from prison in 1954.^[9]

Early in 1955, Louis divorces his wife so she can have a "normal" life.^[5]

Although Louie claims he is "going straight" after his release from prison, his girlfriend later testifies that he owned a gambling venue in Arlington at the time of his death.^[9]

Death of Louis

Louis' girlfriend, 24 year old Betty Louise Barry (b. 1932), comes to his office in Antony’s Lounge, in the Lakewood section of North Dallas to tell him that she is pregnant. She has a gun, and threatens to kill herself is he will not marry her. The two struggle, as he tries to prevent her from shooting herself, and according to her testimony, she "can't stop" firing. Louis is struck twice, in the chest and shoulder, and is pronounced dead on arrival at Parkland Memorial Hospital.^[10] Although Barry admits that she fired the fatal shots, she says she loved him and his shooting was accidental.^[11]

Louis Ferrantello of Monterrey Apts., Gaston & Collett, in Dallas, TX, dies on 17 July 1956 at 6410 Gaston Ave. He was divorced, age 37, a lounge owner, and WWII veteran. The informant is Buster Ferrantello. Louis dies from internal hemorrhages from gunshot wounds. He is pronounced DOA at Parkland Hospital. He is killed by homicide in his office in Dallas. He is buried in Calvary Hill Cemetery in Dallas on 19 July.^[1]

When Joe Piranio's wife dies in February 1956, he becomes reclusive and may be ill. He dies from suicide in October.

That same month, Louis' former wife is found, murdered. Walter G. Borchers, an insurance agent with money trouble, claims that fear of Louie's associates drove him to hire a private detective to spy on Dorothy, who was his secretary and girlfriend, and to take out an insurance policy on himself and name her beneficiary. Borchers kills her and puts her body in the trunk of his car. She is not discovered for 36 hours. Dorothy was 31.^[12]

In November, the Dallas County Grand Jury reopens its inquiry into Louie's death, at the request of his family.^[13]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GY13-SZZY?cc=1983324&wc=9T4X-6TL%3A263835801%2C283349601%2C283625801 : 22 July 2014), Death certificates > 1956 > Vol 069-075, certificates 034130-037500, Jul, Bell-Jefferson counties > image 1163 of 3466; State Registrar Office, Austin.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRZX-28V?cc=1810731&wc=QZFW-Z67%3A648808001%2C649505701%2C649127801%2C1589282368 : 8 December 2015), Texas > Dallas > Dallas > ED 14 > image 6 of 64; citing NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002).
3. ↑ "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GB9Z-DXY?cc=1983324&wc=9THV-GPX%3A263835801%2C284539201%2C284564201 : 22 July 2014), Death certificates > 1961 > Vol 110, certificates 054501-055000, Sep, Tarrant-Upshur counties > image 185 of 506; State Registrar Office, Austin.
4. ↑ Marian Ferrantello [Obituary]. (2008, July 16). Originally published in Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 27 April 2019 from https://obits.dallasnews.com/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=113484940
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4} Chicken Louie Ferrantello. Mafia Wiki Website. Retrieved 27 April 2019 from https://mafia.fandom.com/wiki/Chicken_Louie_Ferrantello
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9MY-XSNH?cc=2000219&wc=QZXR-35V%3A792575201%2C791880301%2C798553201%2C798560701 : accessed 22 April 2019), Texas > Dallas > Justice Precinct 1, Dallas, Tract 22 > 255-102 Justice Precinct 1, Dallas City (Tract 22 - part), Dallas Theological Seminary > image 27 of 44; citing Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012.
7. ↑ WBAP-TV (Television station : Fort Worth, Tex.). [News Script: Woman is Jailed in Slaying of Gambler], item, July 18, 1956; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc333508/m1/5/: accessed April 27, 2019), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.
8. ↑ WBAP-TV (Television station : Fort Worth, Tex.). [News Script: Woman is Jailed in Slaying of Gambler], item, July 18, 1956; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc333508/m1/7/: accessed April 27, 2019), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Woman Held After Dallas Man Slain. (1956, July 19). Waco News Tribune, p. 6.
10. ↑ WBAP-TV (Television station : Fort Worth, Tex.). [News Script: Woman is Jailed in Slaying of Gambler], item, July 18, 1956; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc333508/m1/1/: accessed April 27, 2019), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.
11. ↑ WBAP-TV (Television station : Fort Worth, Tex.). [News Script: Woman is Jailed in Slaying of Gambler], item, July 18, 1956; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc333508/m1/5/: accessed April 27, 2019), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.
12. ↑ Suspect’s Fear For Life Aired. (1956, October 18). Wichita Falls (TX) Times, p. 5.
13. ↑ WBAP-TV (Television station : Fort Worth, Tex.). [News Script: Woman Testifies in Ferrantello Inquiry], item, November 12, 1956;(https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc333569/m1/1/: accessed April 27, 2019),University of North Texas Libraries, Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.