 Cali was born on March 26, 1965 in New York City, to Augusto Cesare Cali and Agata Scimeca, both natives of Palermo, Sicily.His father ran a household goods store in Palermo and a video store in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.He had a clean police record in the United States, even though he was mentioned in the Pizza Connection investigation, when police discovered that he was a partner of Domenico Adamita, allied to Sicilian Mafia boss Gaetano Badalamenti.