Early Career
Ferdinand Pecora was born in Nicosia, Sicily, the son of Louis Pecora and Rosa Messina, who emigrated to the United States in 1886. He grew up in Chelsea on the west side of Manhattan. After briefly studying for the Episcopal ministry, Pecora was forced to leave school as a teenager when his father was injured in an industrial accident. After securing a job as a clerk in a Wall Street law firm, Pecora eventually attended New York Law School and became a member of the New York bar in 1911. Originally a Progressive Republican, Pecora became a member of the Democratic Party and Tammany Hall in 1916. In 1918, he was appointed as an assistant district attorney in New York City. Over the next twelve years, Pecora earned a reputation in the city as an honest and talented prosecutor. Although he had little experience with Wall Street, Pecora helped shut down more than 100 bucket shops.
In 1922, Pecora was named chief assistant district attorney, the number-two man in the office under the newly elected Joab H. Banton. In 1929, Banton chose Pecora as his heir apparent, but Tammany Hall refused to nominate him, fearing that the honest Pecora might bring prosecutions against its members. Pecora left the district attorney's office for private practice, where he remained until 1933.
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