His father, Mamoru Eto (1883–1992), was a devout Christian preacher, who had converted to Christianity after time spent living in San Francisco; Eto's father was said to have been shocked at the "degeneracy" of fellow Asian Americans and immigrants he encountered in the city, and thus sought to distance himself and his family (as much as he could) from such a "fate".

Eto despised his fanatically religious, overbearing and strict parents; with no more than an eighth grade education—the last school Eto attended was Virgil Junior High School in Los Angeles—he dropped out and ran away, eventually arriving in Portland, Oregon, where he survived for several years working odd jobs and stealing for a living.

Eto's selective service registration card states his home address was 306 6th Avenue South, Seattle, Washington, and he was employed as a farmer laborer.

[8] On August 1, 1949, Eto flew from Honolulu, Hawaii to San Francisco, California aboard United Airline flight 648.

The passenger manifest for this flight reflects that Eto gave his home address as 1234 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois.

[9] On October 11, 1950, Eto was sentenced in Bannock County, Idaho by Judge Isaac McDougall to 14 year imprisonment for obtaining money under false pretenses.

His signed statement concerning the details of this crime and legal proceedings states: On April 12, 1950, REDACTED and myself bought what we thought were 50 cars of opium.

As he was sitting in a parked car, hitmen Jasper Campise and John Gattuso fired three shots into his head; however, the bullets only grazed his skull.

On July 14, 1983, about five months after the unsuccessful hit, the bodies of Eto's would-be killers were found in the trunk of a car in suburban Naperville, Illinois; the men had been strangled.

[citation needed] Eto testified in court against his former mob partners and helped put away fifteen Outfit mobsters and their associates, including corrupt police officers.