He was born to Italian immigrant parents[REF] Eugene and Jennie (Dalesandro) Battisti, in the Hazelton district of Youngstown, Ohio, a steel-production center near the Pennsylvania border [REF].
Battisti was a civilian attorney for the Army between 1951 and 1952, taught law at Youngstown State University from 1952 to 1954, and was assistant city law director of Youngstown between 1954 and 1958 [REF].