Roti was born in an apartment in Chinatown. Fred's father, Bruno Roti, Sr., was known as "Bruno the Bomber" for his work as a gangster alongside Al Capone, and was arrested twice in murder investigations. Fred Roti was the son of Bruno Roti, Sr., the first capo of what became the 26th Street/Chinatown crew of the Chicago Outfit. Fred Roti's start with the City was inauspicious. He shoveled asphalt before entering World War II with the US Navy, as a machine-gunner on a boat in Europe. On his return to Chicago, Roti became active in the Democratic Party, serving as a precinct captain and held a succession of mundane city and county jobs. Roti, Sr., owned a grocery store on the 2100 block of S. Wentworth Avenue, less than six blocks away from Al Capone's headquarters, at 2135 S. Michigan Aven