Nicholas "Nicky Buck" Piccolo

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Nicholas "Nicky Buck" Piccolo (October 10, 1904- February 14, 1989) was a member of the Philadelphia Scarfo Crime Family a.k.a. the mafia or La Cosa Nostra. Known as one of the last "gentleman gangsters", Piccolo and his two younger brothers (Mike Buck and Joe Buck, also made members of the mafia), owned the mob hangout Piccolo's 500 Restaurant at 11th and Christian in South Philadelphia. Nicky Buck was a caporegime in the Philly mob under the Angelo Bruno regime, and in later life, he was a consiglieri under the brutal Nicodemo Scarfo or "Little Nicky" regime. Two of Nicky Buck's nephews were bosses of the Philadelphia family at different points in time. Of the two, Nicodemo Scarfo (son of Nicky Buck's sister, Mrs. Katherine a.k.a Katie Scarfo, maiden name Piccolo), who was brought into the family by Uncle Nicky Buck, is the most notorious. Scarfo and his underboss Phil Leonetti (Crazy Phil), the great nephew of Nicky Buck, ruled the mob in both Philadelphia and Atlantic City during the time period of 1982-1988. The time Scarfo served as boss of the Philly mob is said to be its most violent time, and also one of the most violent periods of any mob family in the United States. During the time of Scarfo was briefly in prison during the early eighties, it is believed that his uncle Nicky Buck, now his consiglierie, was heavily involved in the runnings of the Philadelphia mob in his boss nephew's absence. Like most mobsters, Nicky Buck was married, but kept a gorgeous girlfriend named Helen, who was known in mob circles as Babs, from the late 1940's forward. Thin blooded, Nicky Buck took Babs to Florida every February from 1949 until 1988. On weekends Nick and Babs would spend time at their Jersey Shore home located in Seaside Heights. Nicky Buck raised more than a few eyebrows in the family when he married Babs on March 1, 1986 (at age 82) after the death of the first Mrs. Piccolo. Nick and Babs spent their honeymoon at the Scarfo compound in Fort Lauderdale, enjoying time on the Scarfo boat, The Usual Suspects. After Scarfo's incarceration in 1988, Uncle Nicky Buck died at the Piccolo's home in Seaside Heights on Valentine's Day 1989 of emphysema, caused by many years of heavy smoking. Nicky Buck's funeral, held at the Timothy E. Ryan Home for Funerals in Seaside Park had a heavy turnout of known mafioso, and was closely monitored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In the wake of Scarfo's life sentence and Uncle Nicky's death, the other nephew, Anthony "Tony Buck" Piccolo took over as family boss until his incarceration for racketeering in 1995. After Nicky Buck's death, his widow, Mrs. Helen "Babs" Piccolo, 20 years his junior, retired to Coconut Creek, Florida, but returned to Seaside Heights, New Jersey after her home was destroyed with her in it during Hurricane Wilma in October 2005.