Michael Scarletti (d. 1973) was the older brother of Eleanor Scarletti. He served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. He was approached by Lt. John Rourke in Saigon in 1973, and offered a few thousand dollars to deliver a "diplomatic package" to Los Angeles. He agreed, and discovered that the package contained heroin, which he then attempted to sell to a different buyer during a two-day layover.