Philip Leonetti was born on March 27th 1953 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. His father abandoned him when he was a baby and his mother Nancy Scarfo raised him. she was the sister of future Philadelphia crime family boss Nicodemo Scarfo, he has a close bond with his nephew phil and thought of him as like a son. This event would have a huge impact on the young Leonetti's life and may have influenced him to follow his uncle into organised crime and join the Philadelphia crime family.