Vito Scaletta. He is born in Sicily in 1925 to an extremely poor family. A few years later, his family immigrates to the fictional Empire Bay in America. They are no better off there than they were in Sicily. As he gets older, Vito gets involved with a local criminal named Joe Barbaro, who Vito becomes best friends with. Vito is arrested during a botched robbery and given a choice: Go to jail or join the army. He chooses the latter and ends up in Sicily in World War II, which he helps liberate before getting shot and sent home on leave. Once home, he is discharged courtesy of Joe's Mafia connections, and learns that his dead father left his family in massive debt. Hoping to make money, Vito turns to Joe, who introduces him to Henry Tommasino, an employee of crime boss Alberto Clemente. Working under Henry, Vito does several illegal jobs. Though he makes the money to pay the debt,