[2] A Niagara Falls native, he attended La Salle Senior High School and is a graduate of Niagara University with a Bachelors and a master's degree in Education and Administration.
[2] In 1995, Ceretto was elected as a councilman on the Lewiston Town Board as a member of the Democratic Party.
[3] In the November 2010 election for State Assembly, Ceretto beat former Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte, who ran on the Working Families Party Line facing and Democratic challenger candidate and former Niagara Falls City Councilman John Accardo.
On August 18, 2015, Ceretto announced that he would run for reelection in 2016 as a Democrat.
The middle child John D. Ceretto II is an assistant district attorney for Niagara County.