Ricchiazzi was raised in a Siccilian neighborhood, so Siccilian in fact that at a young age he thought that anyone non-Siccilian was a foreigner. It's from this neighborhood that he picked up on habits and demographic cues that would influence his political style for the rest of his life.

Ricchiazzi eventually moved to California, where he would attend college at CSU Northridge and later become a political figure

Ricchiazzi served in the Army for two years (1965-1967) before working as an investment banker at Crocker National Bank from (1967-1976). Even after working as an investment banker, he remained self-employed as an investor and as an investor and income and commercial developer in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

Ricchiazzi, while self-employed, then began his longstanding career in politics, where his work would change the California queer communities relationship with the republican community forever.