Born in Palermo, Sicily in 1904, Lanza immigrated to the United States and settled in New York working as a handler in Lower Manhattan's Fulton Fish Market. Lanza soon became involved in labor union activity and, by 1923, had become an organizer for the United Seafood Workers union (USW). It was during this time that Lanza had become involved in organized crime, eventually becoming a member of the Luciano crime family the predecessor of the Genovese crime family. As head of the Local 359 USW, Lanza threatened wholesalers with delays in loading and unloading perishable goods resulting in profits of $20 million from the Fulton Fish Market alone. He is the father of Colombo crime family mob associate Harry Lanza born May 4, 1950 who lived in 2007 in Hyde Park, New York.