In 1924, Christopher Furnari was born in New York to first-generation Sicilian-Italian emigrants from Furnari, a commune in the Province of Messina in Sicily. By age 15, Furnari was managing his own loanshark operations in Brooklyn and Northern New Jersey. By 1943, the 19 year-old Furnari had already served two prison terms for armed robbery. Furnari was also sentenced to 15 to 30 years for the gang rape of a 16 year-old girl who Furnari dumped on a muddy road. Furnari's son is Christopher "Jumbo" Furnari Jr.