ONE SHOW. TWO MEN. NO RULES..

INSIDE THE GANGSTERS CODE

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

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 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.

THE CHRIS BENOIT MURDER SUICIDE CASE

Another thing that could have had weight in the story and in this tragic ending was the fact that Chris's brain was totally out of shape, had cet after having had constant traumas in his head. Literally, Chris's brain was the same as an 85-year-old elder with Alzheimer. The fault of this is the damn ambition and the little care that the directors of the WWE had for their fighters. Certainly, every fight was a performance and they had a script, but the acrobatics and the use of metal chairs to hit each other put their health and integrity at risk.

Eerie Twist In Wrestler's Murder-Suicide

Investigators are looking into who altered pro wrestler Chris Benoit's Wikipedia entry to mention his wife's death hours before authorities discovered the bodies of the couple and their 7-year-old son.

Benoit's Wikipedia entry was altered early Monday to say that the wrestler had missed a match two days earlier because of his wife's death.

A Wikipedia official, Cary Bass, said Thursday that the entry was made by someone using an Internet protocol address registered in Stamford, Conn., where World Wrestling Entertainment is based.

An IP address, a unique series of numbers carried by every machine connected to the Internet, does not necessarily have to be broadcast from where it is registered. The bodies were found in Benoit's home in suburban Atlanta, and it's not known where the posting was sent from, Bass said.

Benoit allegedly strangled his wife and son during the weekend, placing Bibles next to their bodies, before allegedly hanging himself on the cable of a weight-machine in his home, police said. No motive was offered for the killings, which were discovered Monday.

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The wrestling world stopped in June of 2007 when a tragedy beyond anything the industry had ever seen occurred over a three day period in Fayetteville, GA. The industry had dealt with a considerable number of younger wrestlers die from a variety of causes. Drug abuse, suicide and freak accidents had hit the industry hard. But this was something different. One of the top performers in the industry, Chris Benoit, who had been heralded for years and was a former world champion had killed his family. The impact on the industry continues to this day as it still remains a tragedy that is seldom talked about in the industry.

Chris Benoit started wrestling in Canada in the mid-1980′s. He started in the wrestling promotion that was started by the famed Hart family. Bret and Owen Hart’s father Stu ran that territory in the area around Calgary. Benoit was known to idolize the “Dynamite Kid (real name Thomas Billington) for his style of wrestling which was really ahead of his time. Benoit was shorter in stature than a lot of wrestlers being under six feet tall and learned to do an intense and brutal style of wrestling that made fans notice him even though he was not as large as many other competitors. Steroids were also rampant in the industry during that decade and Benoit did utilize them to build an incredible amount of muscle.

As the years went by Benoit traveled to Japan and eventually wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) but he became nationally known when he joined World Championship Wrestling. Benoit was brought into the legendary “Four Horseman” stable led by Ric Flair primarily due to his abilities as a top level performer in the ring.

Nancy Benoit got into the wrestling business a few years after Chris and started as a valet and manager in WCW in the late 1980′s. She was most well known for playing the villainous manager “Woman”. During this time she was married to wrestler Kevin Sullivan who was several years older than her.

During the mid-90′s when Benoit was married, Sullivan booked a wrestling angle with Benoit where in storyline he started an affair with Nancy. But that on-screed romance developed into a real life romance and the two eventually divorced their respective spouses and got together as a couple. Which is ironic being that Nancy Benoit’s ex-husband Sullivan booked that original wrestling angle.

Nancy Benoit eventually left wrestling but Chris continued to make progress in his career. He eventually won a world title in WCW then left for the WWE (then WWF) in 2000. Around that time Nancy and Chris got married and had their son Daniel.

Chris’ career continue to ascend during his time in WWE as he eventually won the world title in the main event of Wrestlemania XX.

June 2007

It was the weekend going into the Monday Night Raw that was slated for June 25th, 2007 and Benoit was slated to appear. But no one had heard from Benoit in the days leading up to the event and missing performance dates was very out of character for him. Wrestler Chavo Guerrero spoke about cryptic voicemails and text messages he received from Benoit and reported it to WWE management. This was spoken about on the “Dark Side Of The Ring” documentary produced by Vice TV. Eventually police went to the Benoit home at the request from WWE to conduct a welfare check. Investigators in Fayetville, GA found the bodies of Benoit, his wife Nancy and his son Daniel. Nancy Benoit was killed by asphyxiation and her hands and feet were bound. His son appeared to have been sedated and was also killed by asphyxiation. Then Benoit eventually took his own life by hanging himself on a weight machine.

Prior to police determining the cause of death and who was responsible WWE was put in a position on how to deal with the news publicly because Raw was about to go live. The “Dark Side Of The Ring” documentary shows Vince McMahon gathered all the performers together to break the horrific news to them. The show was essentially cancelled and turned into a tribute to Chris Benoit and his family. But as the hours went by later in the evening WWE learned the true horror of what had happened in the Georgia home and responded the next night. The following night WWE had the broadcast of their ECW show and at the beginning of the show McMahon gave a statement:

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Last night on Monday Night Raw, the WWE presented a special tribute show, recognizing the career of Chris Benoit. However, now some 26 hours later, the facts of this horrific tragedy are now apparent. Therefore, other than my comments, there will be no mention of Mr. Benoit’s name tonight. On the contrary, tonight’s show will be dedicated to everyone who has been affected by this terrible incident. This evening marks the first step of the healing process. Tonight, WWE performers will do what they do better than anyone else in the world: entertain you.”

McMahon provided a similar statement later in the week on their episode of Smackdown. That was the last time WWE ever mentioned Chris Benoit. The company went to great lengths to erase him from all WWE material. While there is still Benoit matches in their archives that can be found on Peacock, there has been no content produced by WWE since 2007 where Benoit is included.

Nancy Benoit’s sister Sandra Toffoloni has spoken in depth about her thoughts on the crime and what exactly happened on the “Talk Is Jericho” podcast hosted by wrestling star Chris Jericho who was a longtime friend of Benoit.

The public demands answers.

No other scandal in the history of professional wrestling made mainstream headlines like the Benoit tragedy. Cable news networks led a large number of shows for days analyzing the murder-suicide. A lot of that had to do with beliefs that steroids may have played a role in the tragedy. Benoit’s autopsy report showed he had a considerably high testosterone level in his body at the time of death leading many to speculate that “roid rage” may have caused the murders. Further investigation showed that he had been prescribed testosterone by his doctor. Many of those medications along with other prescription drugs were found in the home. It was later determined the testosterone was prescribed to supplement his levels due to years of past steroid use.

Eerie Twist In Wrestler's Murder-Suicide

Investigators are looking into who altered pro wrestler Chris Benoit's Wikipedia entry to mention his wife's death hours before authorities discovered the bodies of the couple and their 7-year-old son.

Benoit's Wikipedia entry was altered early Monday to say that the wrestler had missed a match two days earlier because of his wife's death.

A Wikipedia official, Cary Bass, said Thursday that the entry was made by someone using an Internet protocol address registered in Stamford, Conn., where World Wrestling Entertainment is based.

An IP address, a unique series of numbers carried by every machine connected to the Internet, does not necessarily have to be broadcast from where it is registered. The bodies were found in Benoit's home in suburban Atlanta, and it's not known where the posting was sent from, Bass said.

Benoit allegedly strangled his wife and son during the weekend, placing Bibles next to their bodies, before allegedly hanging himself on the cable of a weight-machine in his home, police said. No motive was offered for the killings, which were discovered Monday.

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The wrestling world stopped in June of 2007 when a tragedy beyond anything the industry had ever seen occurred over a three day period in Fayetteville, GA. The industry had dealt with a considerable number of younger wrestlers die from a variety of causes. Drug abuse, suicide and freak accidents had hit the industry hard. But this was something different. One of the top performers in the industry, Chris Benoit, who had been heralded for years and was a former world champion had killed his family. The impact on the industry continues to this day as it still remains a tragedy that is seldom talked about in the industry.

Chris Benoit started wrestling in Canada in the mid-1980′s. He started in the wrestling promotion that was started by the famed Hart family. Bret and Owen Hart’s father Stu ran that territory in the area around Calgary. Benoit was known to idolize the “Dynamite Kid (real name Thomas Billington) for his style of wrestling which was really ahead of his time. Benoit was shorter in stature than a lot of wrestlers being under six feet tall and learned to do an intense and brutal style of wrestling that made fans notice him even though he was not as large as many other competitors. Steroids were also rampant in the industry during that decade and Benoit did utilize them to build an incredible amount of muscle.

As the years went by Benoit traveled to Japan and eventually wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) but he became nationally known when he joined World Championship Wrestling. Benoit was brought into the legendary “Four Horseman” stable led by Ric Flair primarily due to his abilities as a top level performer in the ring.

Nancy Benoit got into the wrestling business a few years after Chris and started as a valet and manager in WCW in the late 1980′s. She was most well known for playing the villainous manager “Woman”. During this time she was married to wrestler Kevin Sullivan who was several years older than her.

During the mid-90′s when Benoit was married, Sullivan booked a wrestling angle with Benoit where in storyline he started an affair with Nancy. But that on-screed romance developed into a real life romance and the two eventually divorced their respective spouses and got together as a couple. Which is ironic being that Nancy Benoit’s ex-husband Sullivan booked that original wrestling angle.

Nancy Benoit eventually left wrestling but Chris continued to make progress in his career. He eventually won a world title in WCW then left for the WWE (then WWF) in 2000. Around that time Nancy and Chris got married and had their son Daniel.

Chris’ career continue to ascend during his time in WWE as he eventually won the world title in the main event of Wrestlemania XX.

June 2007

It was the weekend going into the Monday Night Raw that was slated for June 25th, 2007 and Benoit was slated to appear. But no one had heard from Benoit in the days leading up to the event and missing performance dates was very out of character for him. Wrestler Chavo Guerrero spoke about cryptic voicemails and text messages he received from Benoit and reported it to WWE management. This was spoken about on the “Dark Side Of The Ring” documentary produced by Vice TV. Eventually police went to the Benoit home at the request from WWE to conduct a welfare check. Investigators in Fayetville, GA found the bodies of Benoit, his wife Nancy and his son Daniel. Nancy Benoit was killed by asphyxiation and her hands and feet were bound. His son appeared to have been sedated and was also killed by asphyxiation. Then Benoit eventually took his own life by hanging himself on a weight machine.

Prior to police determining the cause of death and who was responsible WWE was put in a position on how to deal with the news publicly because Raw was about to go live. The “Dark Side Of The Ring” documentary shows Vince McMahon gathered all the performers together to break the horrific news to them. The show was essentially cancelled and turned into a tribute to Chris Benoit and his family. But as the hours went by later in the evening WWE learned the true horror of what had happened in the Georgia home and responded the next night. The following night WWE had the broadcast of their ECW show and at the beginning of the show McMahon gave a statement:

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Last night on Monday Night Raw, the WWE presented a special tribute show, recognizing the career of Chris Benoit. However, now some 26 hours later, the facts of this horrific tragedy are now apparent. Therefore, other than my comments, there will be no mention of Mr. Benoit’s name tonight. On the contrary, tonight’s show will be dedicated to everyone who has been affected by this terrible incident. This evening marks the first step of the healing process. Tonight, WWE performers will do what they do better than anyone else in the world: entertain you.”

McMahon provided a similar statement later in the week on their episode of Smackdown. That was the last time WWE ever mentioned Chris Benoit. The company went to great lengths to erase him from all WWE material. While there is still Benoit matches in their archives that can be found on Peacock, there has been no content produced by WWE since 2007 where Benoit is included.

Nancy Benoit’s sister Sandra Toffoloni has spoken in depth about her thoughts on the crime and what exactly happened on the “Talk Is Jericho” podcast hosted by wrestling star Chris Jericho who was a longtime friend of Benoit.

The public demands answers.

No other scandal in the history of professional wrestling made mainstream headlines like the Benoit tragedy. Cable news networks led a large number of shows for days analyzing the murder-suicide. A lot of that had to do with beliefs that steroids may have played a role in the tragedy. Benoit’s autopsy report showed he had a considerably high testosterone level in his body at the time of death leading many to speculate that “roid rage” may have caused the murders. Further investigation showed that he had been prescribed testosterone by his doctor. Many of those medications along with other prescription drugs were found in the home. It was later determined the testosterone was prescribed to supplement his levels due to years of past steroid use.

Marc Sotkin is an award winning writer, producer, and director who has influenced some of Americas most Iconic Television shows.  His Credits Include:

In 2015 He wrote the award winning short, THE DECISION and is the author of  several books, "With Time Off for Bad Behavior", "The Comatose Adventures Of Lenny Rose" and Kinda Dirty Paris Confessions.

Marc was also the host of his own podcast "Everything About it is Appealing"

Marc is the recipient of the prestigious Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy/Variety Series or Special. He is always candid, always informative and is always welcome. Welcome Marc Sotkin.

The Queen of Country Music

Lacy J. Dalton (born Jill Lynne Byrem on October 13, 1946 in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania), is an American country singer and songwriter with a career that has spanned many decades and touched the hearts of millions of music fans. In March 2017 Lacy J Dalton was inducted into the North American Country Music Association International Hall of Fame, and in 2022 she was awarded a Lifetime Career Achievement Award from the Josie Music Awards, the largest independent music awards show in the country.

She’s one of the most instantly recognizable voices in music – the woman People Magazine called “Country’s Bonnie Raitt.” From the first time Lacy J Dalton caught the public’s ear, that soulful delivery, full of texture and grit, has been a mainstay of Country Music. When you sit to listen to a Lacy J Dalton album, you find yourself pulled in by the very power and heart of this vocalist, because she’s not merely performing a ten-song set, she’s bringing each and every tune to life. It’s as if they were all written especially for her.

Prior to recording with Harbor Records in 1978 as Jill Croston, she like many before her, held many jobs to survive and support her family. As a truck stop waitress and singer, she would wait tables and then take the stage to sing a few songs. In June 1979, Lacy J Dalton was signed by Columbia Records and quickly rose to national prominence with Crazy Blue Eyes, which she wrote with her longest friend, Mary McFadden, and which raced to #7 on the Billboard Country Charts.  Her hard work and dedication paid off in 1979 when she was awarded the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Female Vocalist of the Year.

Lacy’s success was powered not just by the artist’s recordings, but by a stage show that truly electrified audiences. She quickly became one of the few women who could successfully open a show for the likes of Hank Williams, Jr., Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard or Charlie Daniels. Not only could she do it, but she left audiences across the country hollering for more. Her signature song 16th Avenue, became the Anthem for Nashville songwriters.  Her other hit records are legendary million-airplay cuts and include Crazy Blue Eyes, Takin’ It Easy, Everybody Makes Mistakes, Hillbilly Girl with the Blues, Hard Times, and the worldwide hit Black Coffee.

In addition to her Top New Female Vocalist award, she also brought home numerous Grammy nominations and 3 prestigious, back to back (1979, 1980, 1981) Bay Area Music Awards for Best Country-Folk Recordings. Lacy appeared on those shows with the likes of Neil Young, The Grateful Dead, Grace Slick and the Jefferson Airplane.

Lacy's collaboration with Willie Nelson on his platinum Half Nelson CD was a high spot for her. Lacy is the only woman featured on that recording (which included singing legends Ray Charles, Neil Diamond, Merle Haggard, Julio Iglesias, George Jones, Leon Russell, Carlos Santana, Mel Tillis, Hank Williams Sr., and Neil Young), and was awarded a Platinum Record for it. She also received a Gold Record from Hank Williams Jr. in 1985 for her support performances throughout his Five-0 Tour, where she opened for him at a time when it was unusual for a woman to do so. Her career includes accomplishments in music, film and radio.  In music, they range from her instantly recognizable charted hit songs to her notable duets recorded with George Jones, Willie Nelson, Bobby Bare, Glen Campbell, Eddie Rabbit, David Allen Coe and many others. Her film debut was in the motion picture Take This Job And Shove It, and her acting has also included live stage and theater performances. Until recently, Lacy J Dalton also hosted a weekly radio show called Mustang Matters.  Podcasts of past shows are available to listeners on the internet at www.americamatters.us

Following a successful career in country music, Lacy decided to draw on all her musical experiences including country, rock and folk, and cross over into the Americana genre.  This blend of musical styles allows her to express herself in a way that demonstrates all the facets of who she is as a singer/songwriter.  She became an independent artist and formed her own label called Song Dog Records.  Under this label, she has released three albums to date.  The first was Wild Horse Crossing in 1999, followed by the Last Wild Place Anthology which went #1 on the World Independent Chart, and a year later went #1 on the American Western Music Chart. Then Allison Eastwood, Clint Eastwood's daughter, used the hit song Slip Away from the Anthology CD on the sound track of her independent film, Don't Tell. In 2010 Lacy also released a tribute to Hank Williams Sr. entitled Here's To Hank.

Today, Lacy continues to record new music and perform live shows whenever possible.  She tours mainly west of the Mississippi and loves small boutique venues and old theaters with great sound quality and warm, receptive audiences she can really connect with.  She recently recorded some electrifying new music for an EP that was released in January 2019.  When hearing the signature song Scarecrow, her good friend Reverend Barbara Ann Fletcher remarked “that song makes you a whole new you, and it makes me a whole new me.”  And that’s exactly the response Lacy was hoping for.

In addition to her musical career, Lacy has been involved in various service projects through several charitable organizations – namely, the Let ‘em Run Foundation, William James Associates Arts in Corrections, and Rotary International. 

In 1999, Lacy co-founded the Let ‘em Run Foundation which received its 501(c)3 designation from the IRS in 2004.  The Let 'em Run Foundation is dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating and re-homing America's wild horses and burros who have no voice.  Let ‘em Run’s mission is to serve as an educational, fund-raising and public relations entity, through its own efforts and in assisting similar non-profit organizations, to promote the appropriate and compassionate management of the wild horse, estray horse, and mustang population of the U.S. and other species of endangered or mistreated animals. 

From 2015 through November 2018, Lacy and her partner, Dale Poune, worked with the William James Arts in Corrections program at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, California.  Their work there has been focused on teaching basic song writing skills and techniques, music theory and guitar playing to level 4 inmates.  Through their classes, a select group of inmates got the opportunity to learn the basic principles of guitar playing and song writing which they then used to develop songs and lyrics, both individually and as a group.  The class culminated with the inmates recording those musical compositions and giving a live performance to an audience of prison and non-prison personnel.  In addition, several inmates were able to go on to teach basic guitar to other inmates in the classic “each one teach one” teaching tradition.

Finally, Lacy is an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Reno, and a Paul Harris Fellow.  Lacy has written two songs for Rotary, which she then recorded on a CD to be used as a fundraising opportunity for the Reno club.  Lacy also performed at the Rotary International Convention in New Orleans in 2011, and has been a key note speaker and headline performer at several club meetings and district conferences.

Vincent Kennedy McMahon was the CEO and Chairman of the Board at World Wrestling Entertainment for decades before “voluntarily” stepping down.

McMahon, who was a former wrestler before taking over the WWE business, confirmed in June 2022 that he was resigning from his post while the company investigated misconduct claims against him.

Several hours later, McMahon opened smackdown with great fanfare. “It is a privilege as always to stand before you here tonight, the WWE universe,” he said during the June 17, 2022, broadcast. “I’m here simply to remind you of the four words we just saw in what we call our WWE signature. Those four words are: then, now, forever, and the most important word is together. Welcome to SmackDown!”

Amid McMahon’s exit from the WWE executive suite, federal law enforcement officials have continued investigating the allegations. The former pro athlete has not yet been charged with a crime.

Nearly two years later, McMahon faced a second misconduct scandal when a former WWE employee accused him of sexual assault, trafficking and abuse in a January 2024 lawsuit. He denied all claims before resigning from WWE’s parent company, TKO Group.

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July 2009: Epstein is released from jail. For the next decade, multiple women who say they are Epstein’s victims wage a legal fight to get his federal non-prosecution agreement voided, and hold him and others liable for the abuse. One of Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Giuffre, says in her lawsuits that, starting when she was 17, Epstein and his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, set up sexual encounters with royalty, politicians, academicians, businessmen and other rich and powerful men, including Britain’s Prince Andrew. All of those men deny the allegations.

November 2018: The Miami Herald revisits the handling of Epstein’s case in a series of stories focusing partly on the role of Acosta — who by this point is President Donald Trump’s labor secretary — in arranging his unusual plea deal. The coverage renews public interest in the case.

July 6, 2019: Epstein is arrested on federal sex trafficking charges after federal prosecutors in New York conclude that they weren’t bound by the terms of the earlier non-prosecution deal. Days later, Acosta resigns as labor secretary amid public outrage over his role in the initial investigation.

Aug. 10, 2019: Guards find Epstein dead in his cell at a federal jail in New York City. Investigators conclude he killed himself.

July 2, 2020: Federal prosecutors in New York charge Ghislaine Maxwell with sex crimes, saying she helped recruit the underage girls that Epstein sexually abused and sometimes participated in the abuse herself.

Dec. 30, 2021: After a monthlong trial, a jury convicts Maxwell of multiple charges, including sex trafficking, conspiracy and transportation of a minor for illegal sexual activity.

June 28, 2022: Maxwell is sentenced to 20 years in prison.