Mari was born in Italy of Calabrian blood. Mari was a close friend of "Little Angie" Tuminaro, the linchpin in the famous 'French Connection' case. "Frank T", as Mari was also called, was reportedly inducted into the Bonanno crime family in 1956, in a ceremony conducted at a house in Elizabeth, New Jersey. At the age of 30, he made his bones. His sponsor, the man who would vouch for him, was Carmine Galante.