Scozzari was born on January 7, 1900 in the city of Palermo, Sicily to Salvatore and Rosa Scozzari. He had one brother Frank, and two sisters, Anna and Josephine. He entered the United States illegally in 1923 and eventually made his way west to Los Angeles. His residence while in California was 3056 Sullivan avenue in Rosemead, California. During his time in Los Angeles, Scozzari was a shadowy gambling operator and was arrested several times for illegal bookmaking and once for obstruction of justice. He was also involved in one of the unsuccessful attempts on Mickey Cohen's life. In 1958, he married Theresa Macri in Las Vegas, Nevada (who was 32 years younger than him), but the couple had no children. He was also distantly related to Frank DeSimone. He owned the Venetian Club in Los Angel