Anthony Piccolo (mobster)

Anthony "Tony Buck" Piccolo was a member of the Philadelphia crime family and former acting boss. He died in 2004

Member of Philly Family
Anthony "Tony Buck" Piccolo, was a soft-spoken mobster known more for his gentlemanly manner than his acts of racketeering. He was scheduled to be released in June 2004 after winning a reduction in an original 45-year federal prison sentence because of his poor health.

Piccolo became the acting boss of the Philadelphia crime family after his cousin, notorious mob boss Nicodemo Scarfo and 16 others were convicted in 1988 of racketeering and murder charges. Never one to seek the spotlight, he stepped down in favor of John Stanfa in 1991, authorities said. Through the early 1990s, Mr. Piccolo had the personal misfortune of being recorded repeatedly by state and federal agencies tracking the mob. One of the most incriminating tapes was a mob initiation ceremony over which he presided. One of the initiates that day, George Fresolone, was wearing a wire for the New Jersey State Police. "This is a thing of honor," he told Fresolone, according to the tape that was later played at his New Jersey trial. "This is not a thing of business. . . . You've got to be an honorable person." Mr. Piccolo followed that code even while he was facing charges that would put him in prison for the rest of his life. When the New Jersey case ended, he thanked the judge for a "fair trial."