He emigrated to the United States in 1869 and established a bank and a service company for Italians in New York City's South Village.

[3] Luigi served as an officer in the Royal Piedmontese Army, being briefly assigned to a unit commanded by Giuseppe Garibaldi,[3] and was considered a hero of the Italian unification.

[5] When Fugazy arrived in the United States, he had already learned to speak English and possessed a substantial inheritance from his father.

[1] Edith M. Thomas described him as "one of the best-known Italian bankers" in New York City,[7] and Gay Talese described him as "perhaps the most eminent padrone in the United States".

[1] Fugazy also founded the Italian Hospital in Manhattan,[5] and was one of the first trustees and a significant benefactor of Our Lady of Pompeii Church.

Among the dignitaries present were Congressman Fiorello La Guardia, judges and members of the city government, and the minister provincial of the Franciscan Province of the Immaculate Conception.