Born in Rionero in Vulture, a town in the Basilicata region, He began the criminal activity after killing a comrade in a brawl during the military service and joined the Garibaldi's expedition of the thousand in 1860 hoping for a pardon. However, his offence wasn't cleared and Crocco was arrested. He escaped from prison with the help of the Fortunato, a bourgeois family linked to the Bourbon dynasty and became the leader of the peasants rebellion in Basilicata, who didn't get any benefit with the political change.