Born in Cicero, Illinois, Petti became the boss of a crew based in San Diego and was also active in street rackets in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was a close associate of slain Las Vegas rackets boss "Tony the Ant" Anthony Spilotro and of Joseph Sica of the Los Angeles crime family. Petti sought to fill the void created by the 1986 murder of Spilotro, who was beaten to death, along with younger brother, Michael, and buried in an Indiana cornfield. Petti died on New Year's Eve 2005, at the age of 78.