[5][6] He moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1902, where he worked as an electrician and labourer until he had earned enough money to buy an Italian grocery.

[5][6] In 1900 he married Maria Marucci, who he had met at a boarding house where she worked as a housekeeper; the couple went on to have seven children, the eldest of whom was Stefano "Steve" Picariello.

[8] He sold this from a wagon during the summer of 1916 and shortly thereafter established ice cream parlours in Trail and Blairmore.

[14] The Alberta Provincial Police (APP) set up checkpoints in the Crowsnest Pass, but Picariello adopted a number of tactics to foil them.

Sometimes he would load his cars—Ford Model Ts, initially,[15] replaced in 1918 by three McLaughlins,[13] a number which grew to six by 1922[1]—with sacks of what appeared to be flour.

[18] He was elected alderman of Blairmore, and was praised for his philanthropy (among other things, the sacks of decoy flour were distributed to needy families).

[24] In Coleman, Picariello and Lassandro confronted Constable Lawson, who was fatally shot in front of his home by the pair.

[28] The executions of Picariello and Lassandro are credited with helping to turn public opinion against Prohibition in Alberta.