Buster Crivello is a hardworking, loud boisterous man with a thick accent and a yes, we can attitude.
Born in Trapani, Sicily, he arrived in Monterey in 1961 with his father Fillipo Crivello, mother Rosa and sister Phyllis. Within 24 hours of his arrival, instilled with a strong work ethic, he overcame jet lag and began working for Rappa's Restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf. He met Antoinette Spadaro and they were married in 1969. They have two children, Phillip Crivello and Rosie Chessire, and three grandchildren, Gina Crivello, Michael Brindle and Leah Chessire.
Buster worked 43 years for Sea Products (a fish processing company) where he learned all his management skills. A devout company man he managed several processing plants in California, including Crescent City, San Francisco, Oakland, Tomales Bay, San Pedro, Oxnard, Moss Landing, Seaside and Monterey. He also served on the State of California Fishery Advisory Board for many years. He fished waters in Alaska for salmon and calamari in Monterey on the fishing vessel "Sea Diamond".
In 1997 along with Tom Fama and Carmelo Tringali, Buster was one of the co-founders of the Festa Italia Santa Rosalia Foundation. This foundation is a community-based non-profit, volunteer supported organization made up of a Board of Directors, committees of persons and sub persons dedicated to the common purpose and goals of said organization. Its purpose is to promote the heritage, traditions and culture of the Italian American community of the Monterey Peninsula through planning cultural events and planning and implementation of the annual Fishermen's Festival to honor the fishermen past and present and to educate the public of the contributions of the Italian community.
The annual festival brings in thousands from our community and bus loads from other cities in California to share in our Italian heritage and traditions. Buster was elected president for the year 2011. He oversees everything involved with the festival to make sure it is successful for our future generations. His granddaughter Gina has been involved with the Queen’s Coronation Ball and festival since she was 2 years old. His grandson Michael is a parade participant and his grand-daughter Leah will be an angel in this year’s parade. By involving his children and grandchildren he hopes to preserve and instill in them the Sicilian traditions, history and culture which he brought over from Sicily.
Buster is also involved in the Monterey Fishermen's Club. This club with 30 members, mostly retired fishermen, hold a monthly luncheon where all members meet to cook, laugh and reminisce.
Buster is proud of his accomplishments and is proud to be honored by the Italian Heritage Society.
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