Born in Kansas City, Brancato became involved in armed robbery and drug dealing. He later moved to Southern California. Arriving in Los Angeles during the early stages of the feud between Los Angeles crime family boss Jack Dragna and Mickey Cohen, Brancato was immediately able to find freelance work. He soon compiled a criminal record including illegal gambling, narcotics, and bootlegging. He was considered a suspect in many gangland slayings, including that of New York mobster Bugsy Siegel and Cohen lieutenant Harold "Hooky" Rothman. Brancato was also a suspect in the July 1949 assassination attempt on Cohen himself. Fresno, California police questioned Brancato about the drug-related death of Abe Davidson. He was a relative of Cleveland crime family mobster Frank Brancato who served unde