Ralph Falsetta

Ralph Joseph Falsetta
Louisiana State Senator for District 18 (parts of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. James, and St. John the Baptist parishes)
In office 1975–1976
Preceded by	Louis Lambert
Succeeded by	Joe Sevario
Personal details
Born	August 25, 1914 Donaldsonville Ascension Parish Louisiana, USA
Died	May 13, 1999 (aged 84)
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Solange Simoneaux Falsetta
Children	Raphael Joseph "Rip" Falsetta Rosalyn F. Griffin Marilyn F. Diez
Parents	Anthony "Tony" and Rosa Regira Falsetta
Residence	Donaldsonville, Louisiana
Occupation	Businessman
Religion	Roman Catholic

Ralph Joseph Falsetta, known as Big Ralph Falsetta (April 25, 1914 – May 13, 1999),^[1] was a businessman from his native Donaldsonville in Ascension Parish near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who from 1975 to 1976 represented District 18 as a Democrat in the Louisiana State Senate.^[2]

Background

Falsetta was the son of Anthony "Tony" Falsetta (1885-1963)^[3] and the former Rosa Regira (1890-1966), both natives of Italy.^[1] Tony Falsetta founded the Town and Country Club in Donaldsonville, where Fats Domino, Little Richard, and Irma Thomas often played during the 1950s.^[4]

Ralph Falsetta and his wife, the former Solange Simoneaux (1911-1996), had three children, Raphael Anthony "Rip" Falsetta (1943-2009); Rosalyn F. Griffin, the widow of Charles Griffin; and Marilyn F. Diez and husband, Ronald. Until his death, Raphael Falsetta managed the family business, Falsetta Amusements.^[5]

Falsetta was involved in two automobile accidents twelve years apart, both of which were the subjects of civil suits and appeals in the Louisiana 23rd Judicial District Court and the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the First Circuit. In the first accident, on May 17, 1961, Falsetta rear-ended the vehicle ahead of him driven by Morgan City restaurateur John Joseph Bogasky, who was passing through Donaldsonville while returning home from an out-of-state trip. Bogasky unsuccessfully sought damages for personal injury and property loss. The district court held that both Bogasky and Falsetta were partially negligent in the accident. The court ruled that Bogasky as the plaintiff held the burden of proof to show that Falsetta, the defendant, alone caused the crash by following too closely and failed to provide a proper lookout. Yet, the court found that "at the very least" Bogasky was "guilty of contributory negligence in stopping suddenly immediately in front of the defendant." Falsetta admitted to having drunk three or four scotch and soda cocktails at Bob Seeds Lounge^[6] within an hour of the accident. Falsetta said that he then went to his family-owned Town and Country Club for a short time but drank nothing there. The court did not address whether Falsetta was intoxicated at the time of the crash. Falsetta did not answer the appeal filed by Bogasky before the appeals court, which denied damages to the plaintiff.^[7]

In the second accident on May 1, 1973, Falsetta, his wife, and another couple were involved in a two-vehicle collision as Falsetta entered Louisiana Highway 1 in Donaldsonville. The trial court and the appeals court determined that because of conflicting testimony, the plaintiff, Harry J. Boudreaux, was partially negligent in the crash. He hence failed to collect damages. Falsetta was an uninsured motorist, but his passenger, Harvey Blanchard, affirmed that Falsetta followed traffic rules when he entered the highway. The two vehicles were sideswiped.^[8]

Public career

Falsetta was the mayor of historic Donaldsonville,^[3] which was from 1829 to 1831 the Louisiana state capital. In 1981, as the newly elected mayor, Falsetta appointed a bond committee and worked to extend the Donaldsonville city limits to accommodate Sam Walton's Wal-Mart, which two years later opened a 45,000-square-foot store built outside the corporate limits. Several local merchants, a department store owner and a mortician-businessman, E. J. Ourso, the benefactor of the Louisiana State University E. J. Ourso College of Business, fought against the bonds for Wal-Mart construction. When Falsetta and Ourso appeared before the Louisiana Bond Commission, the two men nearly came to a physical confrontation until chairman B. B. "Sixty" Rayburn of Bogalusa, a member of the state Senate, admonished the two to "wait till you get back to Donaldsonville. The folks down there might enjoy it."^[9]

Falsetta filled the year remaining in the state Senate term of Louis Lambert, a Baton Rouge Democrat who was elected to the Louisiana Public Service Commission.^[2] Lambert was also the unsuccessful Democratic gubernatorial candidate in 1979.

The Falsettas, who died three years apart, are interred at the Ascension of Our Lord Catholic Church Cemetery in Donaldsonville.^[3]

References

1. "Ralph Joseph Falsetta". searchancestry.com. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
2. "Membership in the Louisiana State Senate since 1880:Ascension Parish" (PDF). senate.la.gov. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
3. "Ralph "Big Ralph" Falsetta". findagrave.com. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
4. "Smiley: Losing the Race (Music Makers section)". Baton Rouge Advocate. July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
5. "Raphael Falsetta". obits.dignitymemorial.com. November 22, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
6. It is unclear if this Bob Seeds Lounge was owned by the professional baseball player Bob Seeds, who did not seem to have any Louisiana connection. Apparently, the lounge no longer exists.
7. "Bogasky v. Falsetta". casetext.com. July 8, 1966. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
8. "Boudreaux v. Falsetta". leagle.com. June 30, 1976. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
9. Bob Ortega (Wall Street Journal) (1998). In Sam We Trust: The Untold Story of Sam Walton and How Wal-Mart Is Devouring the World. Times Books. pp. 168–169. ISBN 0-7494-3177-6. Retrieved July 22, 2015.