 Patriarca was born on March 17, 1908, in Worcester, Massachusetts, to Eleuterio Patriarca, an Italian immigrant, and Mary Jane DeNubile, an Italian American.At the age of four, Patriarca moved with his family to Providence, Rhode Island, and left school when he was eight to shine shoes and work as a bellhop.During his teenage years, Patriarca was charged with hijacking, armed robbery, assault, safecracking, and auto theft.