Vaccaro was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has a criminal history dating back to 1971. Vaccaro emerged in the early 70s as a partner in Diamant's 9000 a restaurant on Sunset Blvd. Vaccaro arranged a deal which became a $50,000 loan from John Louis Battaglia, Peter Milano and Louis Tom Dragna. The L.A. family then allowed Vaccaro to take a portion of that money and start a gambling operation. The financially strapped restaurant eventually failed as Vaccaro and the others mentioned abused the business financially.