Pieri was born in Buffalo to Sicilian immigrants Giovanni and Ignazia Ciresi Pieri who hailed from Montemaggiore Belsito, Sicily. Giovanni entered the U.S. on April 20, 1893. Ignazia entered July 1, 1898 and were married in 1900. Sam was the seventh of nine children born to the couple. He first ran into trouble with the law when he was just 10 years old. He was arrested Aug. 7, 1921, for malicious mischief. His rap sheet included arrests for Grand larceny, truancy, second-degree larceny, first-degree robbery, bootlegging and tariff violations and for violating the Brownell Law.