Joseph Francis Civello – aka “Joe Civello,” “Joe Civillo,” and “Giuseppe Francis Civello” (TN) – was born in Port Allen, Louisiana on February 2, 1902. He was one of six children born to Filippo G. and Caterina Civello. He had a brother named Charles, and four sisters named Frances, Anna, Phyllis, and Margaret.
As a young man, Joe Civello met and quickly fell in love with a girl named Mary Musso whose brother was a mafioso from Rockford, Illinois by the name of Rosario (Ross) Musso. Joe and Mary would eventually marry, but this union would never produce children for them.