Sciandra was born in Pittston, Pensylvannia and became a member of the Bufalino crime family under powerful mob boss Russell Bufalino. He was one of the attendees of the ill fated mob conference in Apalachin, New York in 1957. His father was John Sciandra, a Sicilian mobster who was led the Pittston-Scranton crime family and was allegedly killed on the orders of Joseph Barbara in 1940 at which point Barbara became the boss of the family. His only known arrest prior to 1960 was conspiracy to obstruct justice regarding Apalachin. He was a known trong-arm man in the garment industry.