Joseph A. (Joe LaBarba) LaBarbara – aka “Joe Barone,” “Joseph LaBarbera,” “Joe New York,” and “Joe Labar” – was born in Independence, Iowa (other sources say Louisiana), on August 17, 1912, one of two sons of Dominick and Josephine LaBarbara. When he was still a child, the family relocated back northeast to the City of Buffalo, NY.
The LaBarbaras first resided at 211 Busti Avenue, and later, at 248 Busti Ave. By the mid-1930s, during various arrests, Joe alternately listed his home address as either 488 or 506 West Avenue. But regardless of exact addresses, the Buffalo area is where he and his brother Michael would grow up and operate for most of their lives.
