Yeah I was gonna say Sinatra, Uncle Joe was in prison and/or on trial at the time of Chuckie Merlino's funeral and much of the time Joey had people visiting him in Florida. Plus Joey couldn't have him visiting him until recently when he got off his parole violations as a meeting between the two would've been a violation for Joey. It wasn't until recently that Joey was able to meet with Uncle Joe.

Also, without going into a great amount of detail, I find it interesting that people are so skeptical about Uncle Joe and Joey Merlino being one in the same "faction" or "crew". Borgesi said in prison that his Uncle (Ligambi) was simply warming the seat for them while they're away and he would have to step aside when they returned. With Joey being away in Florida and still needing a type of street boss, it makes sense that they would continue to utilize Uncle Joe for the simple sake of seamless continuity. However, he is still reporting to, loyal to, kicking up to, and in the same faction as Joey. I wouldn't by any means put the two men in two separate factions or categories...