Joseph (Giuseppe) Masella was born to blue collar first generation Italians from Cantalupo nel Sannio, Molise, Italy. His father came to Brooklyn at a young age in the mid-late 1930s with his cousins, also with the surname Masella. His parents were "Alex" and Mary. "Alex" died when Joey was young. He was hit by a train while working on the tracks with his cousins. He slipped and fell while trying to get out of its path, and Joey grew up without a father figure. He was raised mainly in Brooklyn and became friends with John D'Amato, Charles Majuri and Vincent Palermo. As Vincent rose in the mob ranks he took Masella under his wing and gave him guidance to be a protege. He had a small crew of associates that served under him including James Gallo and Anthony Capo. He oversaw a lucrative illeg