"All the Piccolo brothers were low-key and wore hats, 'Jeff' caps," according to a police organized crime source. Joseph "was a lowkey gentleman mobster."
Every brother but Anthony "Tony Buck" Piccolo was a soldier in the crime family, according tothe source. The brothers once owned Piccolo's 500, a nightclub and restaurant at 11th and Christian streets, where Cous' Little Italy and Torano's once stood.
As they got older they got out of the business, in the mid- to late 1960s. Nicholas died of natural causes in 1989, according to a crime commission report.
Joey Buck was a subordinate to Francis "Faffy" Ianarella and turned his gambling receipts into him during the 1980s before Ianarella went to prison.
Joey Buck was "not openly violent"; none of the Piccolo brothers were, said the source. "If somebody owed money on a loansharking debt, they'd have one of the musclemen . . . pay a visit."
Survivors include his wife, the former Rose Siciliano; a daughter, RoseMarie; seven sisters, Theresa, Katherine Scarfo, Angelina Fella, Elizabeth Polito, Rose Dellanave, Nancy and Rosalie Vicari, and another brother, Michael.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, 10th and Christian streets.
Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Baily Road and Wycombe Avenue, Yeadon, Delaware County.
Friends may call between 7 and 9:30 tonight at the Pennsylvania Burial Co., 1327 S. Broad St.
At a recent funeral of a mobster of Joey Buck's vintage, they buried his hat with him.
