Vic Cotroni was born in Calabria, Italy. In 1924, he immigrated with his family to Montreal. Rather than attend school, he worked briefly as a carpenter and then as a professional wrestler under the name Vic Vincent. But Cotroni found his true calling as a criminal - a path his brothers Giuseppe and Frank Cotroni would also follow - and by the age of twenty, had accumulated a lengthy record of minor offenses. The charges included theft, possession of counterfeit money, illegal sale of alcohol, assault and battery.