Arrival in America
Born in Bagheria, Sicily, Aiello was one of 10 boys in his family. In July 1907, Aiello immigrated to the United States to join family members already residing there.
The Aiello family set up a number of businesses in both New York and Chicago. They became importers of groceries such as olive oil, cheeses, and sugar. Aiello was the co-owner of a cheese importing business alongside a fellow Sicilian, Anthony "The Scourge" Lombardo. The Aiellos also opened a bakery and a confectionery shop. With the enactment of Prohibition and startup of bootlegging, the sugar import business brought the family into contact with organized crime. In Chicago, the Aiello family began supplying sugar to gangs illegally distilling spirits, a territory previously occupied by the Genna family, a Sicilian-American criminal gang. He is an ancestor of Bonanno crime family mobster Antonino Aiello and Bonanno crime family street soldier Anthony Aiello.
Read more about this topic: Joe Aiello
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