Ferriola began his career as a protégé of the late mobster Leonard "Fat Lennie" Caifano.
A 1989 article in the Chicago Tribune reported that federal agents had described Ferriola as a "cold-blooded terrorist" and as one of the most feared men in the mob.
After suffering health problems and dealing with legal inquiries by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Ferriola was replaced in late 1988 by Sam "Wings" Carlisi.
[3] Ferriola's son, Chicago Outfit mobster Nicholas Ferriola, was sentenced by United States District Judge James Zagel on September 9, 2008, to three years in prison for taking part in a broad, Outfit conspiracy trial that later led to life prison sentences for Joseph Lombardo, James Marcello and 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.
[5] Ferriola's nephew, Harry Aleman, was an imprisoned Chicago Outfit enforcer and hit man.