Arthur "Artie" Bucco Jr. (born 15 April 1959) was an Italian-American restaurateur in Newark, New Jersey who owned and ran the Vesuvio Restaurant and, after the previous restaurant burned down, the Nuovo Vesuvio Restaurant.
Biography[]
Arthur Bucco Jr. was born in Newark, New Jersey on April 15th 1959 to a family of Italian descent. Artie's father (also Arthur Bucco) was a chef and was married to Dorothy "Dot" D'Auria Bucco; they were both born in Newark, New Jersey. His paternal grandparents, Angelo Bucco and Concetta Palagonia Bucco, emigrated from Baiano, Avellino, Campania, Italy in 1913 and opened the family's first restaurant in 1926. This restaurant was "Bucco's Vesuvio" in the Italian First Ward of Newark, New Jersey; the second "Bucco's Vesuvio" opened in Bloomfield, New Jersey in the early 1950s. Artie's parents helped finance his attendance at the Cooks Culinary Academy in London, England. Soon after he graduated, his parents retired to New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Artie and his wife Charmaine took over Vesuvio as equal partners.
A childhood friend of mobster Tony Soprano, Bucco never entered a life of crime, but his life was significantly impacted by his Mafia connections. In 1998, Soprano had Silvio Dante burn down the Vesuvio Restaurant to prevent Junior Soprano from killing Gennaro Malanga in the restaurant, which would cause a decline in business; Bucco would be able to collect insurance and re-open his restaurant, ultimately losing nothing but his pride. Tony's mother Livia later told Bucco that Soprano had his pride and joy burned down, and a tearful Bucco once confronted Soprano in a parking lot with a hunting rifle before Soprano convinced Bucco that he was not the arsonist. Bucco later made up with Soprano, and he opened the Nuovo Vesuvio Restaurant, which would become a mob hangout like the previous restaurant. These Mafia issues caused disputes between Artie and his wife Charmaine, who disapproved of his friendship with Tony Soprano. Bucco would later be briefly separated from his wife, and he once even attempted suicide after he fell into debt with Soprano; Soprano, whose mistress had just killed herself, decided to repay Bucco's loan in exchange for Bucco getting rid of his tab at the restaurant. Bucco angered Soprano after saying that he figured out how the entire situation would occur from the beginning, and the two did not speak to each other for a long time.
In 2006 Bucco began a feud with mobster Benny Fazio over Fazio's relationship with the head hostess at Nuovo Vesuvio (whom Bucco liked), and also over his use of credit card scams at his restaurant. After discovering that American Express would not allow its customers to use its cards at the restaurant as the result of Fazio's scam, Bucco knocked Fazio out. This led to bad blood between the two of them, and Fazio would force Bucco's arm into a boiling pot of tomato sauce after Bucco attempted to reveal his infidelity in front of his wife. Later, he insulted Soprano after Soprano privately suggested that he see psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi, and Soprano told Bucco that he should stay more in the kitchen and stop chatting with customers, telling him the hard truth. By 2007, Bucco had dealt with his personal issues and worked to restore his business.