Tommy Lucchese was born on 1 December 1899 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. He was married to Concetto Vassallo. He died on 13 July 1967 in Lido Beach, New York, USA.
When William O'Dwyer resigned as mayor of New York on 9/2/1950, he was succeeded by Vincent R. Impellitteri, who had been appointed to head the City Council at O'Dwyer's insistence. O'Dwyer chose Impellitteri at the behest of US Congressman Vito Marcantonio, who pushed for Impellitteri as a favor to Lucchese.