Born in Torino, Italy, Michele spent his formative years in Sicily before immigrating to the United States with his family when he was 13 years old. He graduated from New Jersey Institute of Technology with a degree in Civil Engineering. After graduation however, he decided to pursue a career in Opera where as a tenor, he performed in all the major opera houses around the world, including Carnegie Hall, The Metropolitan Opera, Teatro dell’Opera (Rome), Teatro Communale (Florence), the Rossini Opera Festival (Pesaro), the USA Spoleto Festival in Charleston, and the State Theatres of Pretoria, Cape Town and Tel Aviv. In addition to his normal performances at The Met, he also served as understudy for Luciano Pavarotti in all his performances for L’Elisir d’Amore. It is through Opera that he met his wife, Barbara at a singing competition outside of Milan. After spending a beautiful decade together living in Italy and performing all over the world, they decided to move back to the US while their children were still young. Wishing to spend more time with his family, Michele retired from singing and returned to civil engineering where he worked for 20 years, overseeing safety inspections for a number of prominent buildings across the tri-State area. 

As successful as he was in his professional life, Michele considered his greatest achievement his family and being a father. He loved spending time fishing, watching his kids perform, and traveling with his wife. He could recite the original Star Trek episodes by heart, he loved renovating and enjoying his house in Florida, and was looking forward to many more years of travel. He was known for his beaming smile, heart, intelligence, and sense of humor.