Greco Mafia family
Encyclopedia
The Greco Mafia family is a historic and one of the most influential Mafia
clans in Sicily
, going back to the late 19th century. The extended family ruled both in Ciaculli
and Croceverde Giardini
, two south-eastern outskirts of Palermo
in the citrus growing area. Members of the family were important figures in the Sicilian Cosa Nostra. Salvatore Greco "Ciaschiteddu" was the first ‘secretary’ of the Sicilian Mafia Commission
, while Michele Greco
, also known as The Pope, was one of his successors.
According to the pentito
Antonio Calderone “the Greco’s effectively exercised power in the whole of Sicily.” According to Giovanni Brusca
the Greco family was very important and the ones who tipped the balance in every internal Mafia war.
Both family groups probably had a common ancestor in Salvatore Greco who was mentioned in the Sangiorgi report at the turn of the 20th century as the capomafia of Ciaculli.
The boss of the Croceverde Giardini, Giuseppe Greco, also known as "Piddu u tinenti" (Piddu the lieutenant), was gabelloto
of I Giardini, an estate of about 300 hectares of citrus orchards, in particular the tangerine
s that make the area of Croceverde and Ciaculli famous.
The Greco’s were typical representatives of the rural Mafia. In 1916, they ordered the murder of a priest who had denounced the Mafia’s interference in the administration of ecclesiastical revenues and charity funds during a Sunday sermon. In 1921, a Greco who had suffered a sgarro (a personal affront) killed two shepherds along with their flock of sheep. In 1929, a Greco fired twenty bullets into an enemy’s great casks of wine and then sat down amid the foaming splinters to smoke his pipe.
between both clans started during a brawl about a question of honour among youngsters of the two clans. The son of Giuseppe Greco, also known as "Piddu u tinenti" (Piddu the lieutenant), the boss of Croceverde Giardini cosca
was killed. In 1946-47, the bloody internal feud between the factions in Ciaculli and Croceverde Giardini reached a climax. On August 26, 1946, Giuseppe Greco, the boss of the Ciaculli clan and a brother-in-law of "Piddu u tinenti", and his brother Pietro Greco were killed with machine guns and grenades. The Ciaculli faction reacted a few months later when two of Piddu the lieutenant’s men were shot with a lupara
, the typical Sicilian short-barrelled shotgun. In revenge the Giardini cosca kidnapped two members of the rival faction who were never seen again, a so-called lupara bianca.
The struggle between the clans came to a peak with a full-scale gunfight in the main square of Ciaculli on September 17, 1947. First, an important member of the Giardini cosca
was shot down by a machine gun. When it became clear he was not dead yet, two women of the Ciaculli clan, Antonina (51) and Rosalia (19) the widow and daughter of one of the bosses killed the year before, went down into the street and finished the victim off with kitchen knives. In return, the brother and sister of the victim shot the women; Antonina was wounded and her daughter killed. Their attacker was then shot and killed by Antonina’s 18-year-old son.
In total, eleven members of the two clans died and several others were wounded in the feud, before other Palermo Mafia bosses started to put pressure on Piddu the lieutenant to end the bloody feud, which drew too much attention. Moreover, Piddu was expected to take care for both factions of the feuding clans, after the killing of the bosses of the rival faction. His status depended on how he would manage the situation.
, the boss of the Mafia family of Villabate
, a town close to Ciaculli and Croceverde. Cottone, who had been deported from the US, was an influential mafioso both in Palermo
as in his native village Villabate, and still had good connections in the US, in particular with Joe Profaci
, who came from the same village. At the time, Profaci was in Sicily and it seems he played an important role in the peace negotiations.
The peace between the two rival factions of the Greco clan was settled by giving the rights of the Giardini estate to Salvatore Greco "Ciaschiteddu" (the son of Giuseppe Greco of Ciaculli) and his cousin Salvatore Greco, also known as "l'ingegnere" (The Engineer) or "Totò il lungo" (Totò the tall) (the son of Pietro Greco of Ciaculli). They became co-owners of a citrus fruit export business and partners in a bus company.
Historians are sceptical about the blood feud theory of the struggle. At stake was the control of the citrus plantations, the management of the citrus derivatives business and transport, as well as control over the wholesale markets in eastern Palermo. Six of the victims in the war did not bear the Greco name. The blood feud legend was probably spread around to hide the real motives behind the struggle.
, where he consolidated and expanded his friendships among the ‘accepted’ section of society, protecting his younger relations when they got into trouble with the law. His influence in the higher circles of Palermo was considerable. Cardinal Ernesto Ruffini
accepted an invitation of Piddu Greco to bless the new church of Croceverde-Giardini and a dinner afterwards.
The Greco’s were protagonist in the violent conflict about the Palermo
fruit and vegetable wholesale market that was moved from the Zisa area to Acquasanta near the port in January 1955, disturbing the delicate power balances within Cosa Nostra. The Acquasanta Mafia clan tried to muscle in on the protection racket
that traditionally belonged the "Mafia of the Gardens" — such as the Greco’s and Cottone — because it now fell under their territory. The bosses of the Acquasanta Mafia clan, Gaetano Galatolo and Nicola D’Alessandro, as well as Francesco Greco from the Ciaculli clan, a major wholesaler of fruit and vegetables, were killed in a dispute over the protection rackets.
Some villages just outside Palermo, like Bagheria
and Villabate
, flared up with the same kind of violence for the control of irrigation, transport, and wholesale markets. On August 22, 1956, Nino Cottone was killed as well. In the end the Acquasanta had to split the profits of the wholesale market racket with the Greco Mafia clan of Ciaculli
, who traditionally controlled fruit and vegetable supply to Palermo wholesale market.
in October 1957 between prominent American and Sicilian mafiosi. Heroin trafficking between these two groups might have been discussed, but there certainly was not a general agreement on the heroin trade between the Sicilian Mafia and the American Cosa Nostra, as is often suggested.
At one of the meetings American Mafia boss Joe Bonanno suggested the Sicilians to form a Sicilian Mafia Commission
to avoid violent disputes, following the example of the American Mafia that had formed their Commission
in the 1930s. The Sicilians agreed and Tommaso Buscetta
, Gaetano Badalamenti
and Salvatore Greco "Ciaschiteddu" set the ground rules. Somewhere in 1958 the Sicilian Mafia composed its first Mafia Commission. "Ciaschiteddu" Greco was appointed as its first segretario (secretary), essentially a "primus inter pares" – the first among equals. That position came to him almost naturally because he headed one of the most influential Mafia clans at the time. The Commission, however, was not able to prevent the outbreak of a violent Mafia War in 1962.
– an ally of the Greco's – in December 1962. The Greco’s suspected the brothers Salvatore
and Angelo La Barbera
of the attack.
The clash between the Grecos and the La Barberas involved an old and a new Mafia. According to Antimafia judge Cesare Terranova
the Grecos "represented the traditional Mafia, the Mafia in trappings of respectability … and they are linked by a dense network of friendships, interests, and protections with the leading Mafiosi of the Palermo area. They occupy a position of preeminence in the sector of cigarette and drug smugglers. The La Barberas, in contrast, come out of obscurity and their power consists especially in their enterprising ways and their following – a determined band of professional killers."
On June 30, 1963 a car bomb exploded near Greco’s house in Ciaculli
, killing seven police and military officers sent to defuse it after an anonymous phone call. The outrage over the Ciaculli Massacre
changed the Mafia war into a war against the Mafia. It prompted the first concerted anti-mafia efforts by the state in post-war Italy. The Sicilian Mafia Commission
was dissolved and of those mafiosi who had escaped arrest many went abroad. Even the old Piddu Greco was arrested in October 1965, and send into internal banishment from Sicily in May 1966.
The repression caused by the Ciaculli Massacre disarranged the Sicilian heroin trade to the United States. Mafiosi were banned, arrested and incarcerated. Control over the trade fell into the hands of a few fugitives: the Greco cousins, Pietro Davì, Tommaso Buscetta
and Gaetano Badalamenti
.
Salvatore "The Engineer" and "Ciaschiteddu" Greco were sentenced in absentia to respectively 10 and 4 years in prison at the Trial of the 114 in 1968 that was initiated as the result of the First Mafia War, but as they had been on the run since 1963, they did not serve a day. "Ciaschiteddu" Greco had moved to Venezuela, and the whereabouts of "The Engineer" were completely unknown. In 1973 they were both given the maximum period of five years of internal banishment at the remote island of Asinara
, but they were nowhere to be found.
and Salvatore Greco
operated low profile and were able to enter into relationships with businessmen, politicians, magistrates and law enforcement officials through their membership of Masonic lodges. Salvatore Greco’s nickname was "The Senator" for his political connections. He was the kingmaker of Christian Democrat politicians such as Giovanni Gioia, Vito Ciancimino
and Giuseppe Insalaco. Bankers and other notables were invited to wine and dine and take part in hunting parties at Michele Greco’s estate La Favarella. The estate was also used as a refuge for mafiosi on the run, and to set up a heroin laboratory.
In 1974 the Sicilian Mafia Commission
was restored under the leadership of Gaetano Badalamenti
. Michele Greco was a member and in 1978 he was appointed as the head of the Sicilian Mafia Commission
(Cupola), after its previous leader Gaetano Badalamenti
was expelled in the run up to the Second Mafia War
between the Corleonesi
headed by Totò Riina, and the faction led by Stefano Bontade
and Salvatore Inzerillo
. In January 1978, the ailing "Ciaschiteddu" Greco came all the way from Venezuela to try to stop Gaetano Badalamenti
, Giuseppe Di Cristina
and Salvatore Inzerillo
from retaliating against the growing power of the Corleonesi
. His efforts were in vain.
in 1981. According to Tommaso Buscetta
Michele Greco would just nod his head and agree with virtually everything Riina said during meetings between the heads of various Mafia families.
During the Second Mafia War
another offspring of the Greco clan rose to prominence: Giuseppe Greco
, a distant relative of Salvatore and Michele Greco. Giuseppe Pino Greco was one of Totò Riina preferred hit man and became a member of the Sicilian Mafia Commission
as well. Although Michele Greco nominally was his boss and head of the Commission, he was treated by Pino Greco as an irrelevant old man, making clear Pino Greco held the real power, according to pentito
Francesco Marino Mannoia
. Greco’s contempt for Cosa Nostra’s leadership was such that he no longer attended the meetings of the Commission, sending his deputy Vincenzo Puccio
instead.
. Greco gave testimony at the trial and to illustrate his standing as a supposedly honest citizen, he boasted of all the illustrious people he had entertained at his large estate, including a former chief prosecutor and police chiefs.
The Greco clan lost its grip on the mandamento
of Ciaculli, which was merged with Brancaccio and the leadership eventually was taken over by Giuseppe Graviano
and his brother Filippo from the Brancaccio Mafia family. Salvatore Greco surrendered on January 25, 1991, while in the hospital for a heart attack. By than he was considered not more than a museum piece – the Greco’s were no longer part of the power structures of Cosa Nostra.
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
clans in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, going back to the late 19th century. The extended family ruled both in Ciaculli
Ciaculli
Ciaculli is an outlying suburb of Palermo, Sicily in Italy. It counts less than 5000 residents. Ciaculli is close to the suburb of Croceverde. Ciaculli has been important within the history of the Cosa Nostra. The best known Mafia family is the Greco Mafia clan...
and Croceverde Giardini
Croceverde
Croceverde is an outlying suburb of Palermo, Sicily in Italy. It has less than 5000 residents. Croceverde is close to the suburb of Ciaculli. It has been important within the history of the Cosa Nostra, and is relatively rural in character....
, two south-eastern outskirts of Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
in the citrus growing area. Members of the family were important figures in the Sicilian Cosa Nostra. Salvatore Greco "Ciaschiteddu" was the first ‘secretary’ of the Sicilian Mafia Commission
Sicilian Mafia Commission
The Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
, while Michele Greco
Michele Greco
Michele Greco was a member of the Sicilian Mafia, previously incarcerated for multiple murders. His nickname was "il Papa" because of his ability to mediate between different Mafia families...
, also known as The Pope, was one of his successors.
According to the pentito
Pentito
Pentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations...
Antonio Calderone “the Greco’s effectively exercised power in the whole of Sicily.” According to Giovanni Brusca
Giovanni Brusca
Giovanni Brusca is a former member of the Sicilian Mafia. He murdered the anti-Mafia prosecutor Giovanni Falcone in 1992 and once stated that he had committed between 100 and 200 murders but was unable to remember the exact number...
the Greco family was very important and the ones who tipped the balance in every internal Mafia war.
Early history
The boss of the Croceverde Giardini, Giuseppe Greco, also known as "Piddu u tinenti" (Piddu the lieutenant), was gabelloto
Gabelloto
In Sicily, a gabelloto was a person who rented farmland for short-term use. They were rural entrepreneurs who leased the lands from aristocrats more attracted to the comforts of the city.Many gabelloti were associated with, if not members of, the Mafia...
of I Giardini, an estate of about 300 hectares of citrus orchards, in particular the tangerine
Tangerine
__notoc__The tangerine is an orange-colored citrus fruit which is closely related to the Mandarin orange . Taxonomically, it should probably be formally named as a subspecies or variety of Citrus reticulata; further work seems to be required to ascertain its correct scientific name...
s that make the area of Croceverde and Ciaculli famous.
The Greco’s were typical representatives of the rural Mafia. In 1916, they ordered the murder of a priest who had denounced the Mafia’s interference in the administration of ecclesiastical revenues and charity funds during a Sunday sermon. In 1921, a Greco who had suffered a sgarro (a personal affront) killed two shepherds along with their flock of sheep. In 1929, a Greco fired twenty bullets into an enemy’s great casks of wine and then sat down amid the foaming splinters to smoke his pipe.
The Greco war: Interfamily feud
In 1939 a bloody vendettaFeud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted or wronged by another...
between both clans started during a brawl about a question of honour among youngsters of the two clans. The son of Giuseppe Greco, also known as "Piddu u tinenti" (Piddu the lieutenant), the boss of Croceverde Giardini cosca
Cosca
The word cosca is a Sicilian word which refers to any plant – such as the artichoke or the thistle – whose spiny closely folded leaves symbolize the tightness of relationships between members of the Mafia. In the English language this is best described as a clan. It is often used as a synonym for...
was killed. In 1946-47, the bloody internal feud between the factions in Ciaculli and Croceverde Giardini reached a climax. On August 26, 1946, Giuseppe Greco, the boss of the Ciaculli clan and a brother-in-law of "Piddu u tinenti", and his brother Pietro Greco were killed with machine guns and grenades. The Ciaculli faction reacted a few months later when two of Piddu the lieutenant’s men were shot with a lupara
Lupara
Lupara is an Italian word used to refer to a sawn-off shotgun of the break-open type. It is traditionally associated with Cosa Nostra, the Italian organized crime group dominant in Sicily for their use of it in vendettas, defense—such as its use against Mussolini's army when he decided to break up...
, the typical Sicilian short-barrelled shotgun. In revenge the Giardini cosca kidnapped two members of the rival faction who were never seen again, a so-called lupara bianca.
The struggle between the clans came to a peak with a full-scale gunfight in the main square of Ciaculli on September 17, 1947. First, an important member of the Giardini cosca
Cosca
The word cosca is a Sicilian word which refers to any plant – such as the artichoke or the thistle – whose spiny closely folded leaves symbolize the tightness of relationships between members of the Mafia. In the English language this is best described as a clan. It is often used as a synonym for...
was shot down by a machine gun. When it became clear he was not dead yet, two women of the Ciaculli clan, Antonina (51) and Rosalia (19) the widow and daughter of one of the bosses killed the year before, went down into the street and finished the victim off with kitchen knives. In return, the brother and sister of the victim shot the women; Antonina was wounded and her daughter killed. Their attacker was then shot and killed by Antonina’s 18-year-old son.
In total, eleven members of the two clans died and several others were wounded in the feud, before other Palermo Mafia bosses started to put pressure on Piddu the lieutenant to end the bloody feud, which drew too much attention. Moreover, Piddu was expected to take care for both factions of the feuding clans, after the killing of the bosses of the rival faction. His status depended on how he would manage the situation.
Mediation
Piddu the lieutenant asked for mediation from Antonio CottoneAntonio Cottone
Antonio Cottone was a member of the Mafia in his hometown Villabate in the province of Palermo, Sicily. He was known as U Patre Nostru due to his generosity. The Cottone clan was a historical Mafia family...
, the boss of the Mafia family of Villabate
Villabate
Villabate is a comune in the Province of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about 8 km southeast of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 19,441 and an area of 3.8 km²....
, a town close to Ciaculli and Croceverde. Cottone, who had been deported from the US, was an influential mafioso both in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
as in his native village Villabate, and still had good connections in the US, in particular with Joe Profaci
Joe Profaci
Giuseppe "Joe" Profaci was a New York La Cosa Nostra boss who was the founder of what is today known as the Colombo crime family. Established in 1928, this was the last of the Five Families to be organized. He was the family's boss for over three decades.-Family ties:Profaci's sons were Frank...
, who came from the same village. At the time, Profaci was in Sicily and it seems he played an important role in the peace negotiations.
The peace between the two rival factions of the Greco clan was settled by giving the rights of the Giardini estate to Salvatore Greco "Ciaschiteddu" (the son of Giuseppe Greco of Ciaculli) and his cousin Salvatore Greco, also known as "l'ingegnere" (The Engineer) or "Totò il lungo" (Totò the tall) (the son of Pietro Greco of Ciaculli). They became co-owners of a citrus fruit export business and partners in a bus company.
Historians are sceptical about the blood feud theory of the struggle. At stake was the control of the citrus plantations, the management of the citrus derivatives business and transport, as well as control over the wholesale markets in eastern Palermo. Six of the victims in the war did not bear the Greco name. The blood feud legend was probably spread around to hide the real motives behind the struggle.
Descendants of the Ciaculli faction
Giuseppe Greco and Pietro Greco, of the Ciaculli faction, both had a son that became important mafiosi:- Salvatore Greco "Ciaschiteddu" (the son of Giuseppe Greco and Santa Greco, the sister of Piddu the lieutenant)
- Salvatore Greco, (the son of Pietro Greco), also known as "l'ingegnere" (the engineer) or "Totò il lungo" (Totò the tall).
Descendants of the Croceverde Giardini faction
Giuseppe Greco, also known as "Piddu u tinenti", the boss of Croceverde Giardini faction, had two sons that rose to prominence in Cosa Nostra:- Michele GrecoMichele GrecoMichele Greco was a member of the Sicilian Mafia, previously incarcerated for multiple murders. His nickname was "il Papa" because of his ability to mediate between different Mafia families...
also known as The Pope. - Salvatore Greco also known as The Senator. He married the daughter of Nino CottoneAntonio CottoneAntonio Cottone was a member of the Mafia in his hometown Villabate in the province of Palermo, Sicily. He was known as U Patre Nostru due to his generosity. The Cottone clan was a historical Mafia family...
, the peacemaker between the two factions.
Consolidation
Piddu the lieutenant withdrew from active life as a mafioso and settled in a modern house in PalermoPalermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, where he consolidated and expanded his friendships among the ‘accepted’ section of society, protecting his younger relations when they got into trouble with the law. His influence in the higher circles of Palermo was considerable. Cardinal Ernesto Ruffini
Ernesto Ruffini
Ernesto Ruffini was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Palermo from 1945 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946 by Pope Pius XII.-Biography:...
accepted an invitation of Piddu Greco to bless the new church of Croceverde-Giardini and a dinner afterwards.
The Greco’s were protagonist in the violent conflict about the Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
fruit and vegetable wholesale market that was moved from the Zisa area to Acquasanta near the port in January 1955, disturbing the delicate power balances within Cosa Nostra. The Acquasanta Mafia clan tried to muscle in on the protection racket
Protection racket
A protection racket is an extortion scheme whereby a criminal group or individual coerces a victim to pay money, supposedly for protection services against violence or property damage. Racketeers coerce reticent potential victims into buying "protection" by demonstrating what will happen if they...
that traditionally belonged the "Mafia of the Gardens" — such as the Greco’s and Cottone — because it now fell under their territory. The bosses of the Acquasanta Mafia clan, Gaetano Galatolo and Nicola D’Alessandro, as well as Francesco Greco from the Ciaculli clan, a major wholesaler of fruit and vegetables, were killed in a dispute over the protection rackets.
Some villages just outside Palermo, like Bagheria
Bagheria
Bagheria is a town and comune in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy.-Etymology:According to some sources, the name Bagheria originates from the Phoenician term Bayharia meaning "land that descends toward the sea." Other sources claim that it derives from the Arabic Bāb al-Gerib, or "windy...
and Villabate
Villabate
Villabate is a comune in the Province of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about 8 km southeast of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 19,441 and an area of 3.8 km²....
, flared up with the same kind of violence for the control of irrigation, transport, and wholesale markets. On August 22, 1956, Nino Cottone was killed as well. In the end the Acquasanta had to split the profits of the wholesale market racket with the Greco Mafia clan of Ciaculli
Ciaculli
Ciaculli is an outlying suburb of Palermo, Sicily in Italy. It counts less than 5000 residents. Ciaculli is close to the suburb of Croceverde. Ciaculli has been important within the history of the Cosa Nostra. The best known Mafia family is the Greco Mafia clan...
, who traditionally controlled fruit and vegetable supply to Palermo wholesale market.
On the Commission
Although descendants of the old, established rural Mafia, the cousins Salvatore Greco "Ciaschiteddu" and Salvatore Greco "The Engineer" quickly learned to profit from the post-war economic boom and became involved in cigarette smuggling and heroin trafficking. They both participated at the Grand Hotel des Palmes Mafia meetingGrand Hotel des Palmes Mafia meeting 1957
Over four days, between October 12–16, 1957, the American gangster Joseph Bonanno allegedly attended a series of meetings between some high-level Sicilian and American mafiosi in the Grand Hotel des Palmes in Palermo, Sicily – the most splendid in town at the time...
in October 1957 between prominent American and Sicilian mafiosi. Heroin trafficking between these two groups might have been discussed, but there certainly was not a general agreement on the heroin trade between the Sicilian Mafia and the American Cosa Nostra, as is often suggested.
At one of the meetings American Mafia boss Joe Bonanno suggested the Sicilians to form a Sicilian Mafia Commission
Sicilian Mafia Commission
The Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
to avoid violent disputes, following the example of the American Mafia that had formed their Commission
The Commission (mafia)
The Commission is the governing body of the American Mafia. Formed in 1931, the Commission replaced the "Boss of all Bosses" title, with a ruling committee, consisting of the New York Five Families bosses and the boss of the Chicago Outfit...
in the 1930s. The Sicilians agreed and Tommaso Buscetta
Tommaso Buscetta
Tommaso Buscetta was a Sicilian mafioso. Although he was not the first pentito in the Italian witness protection program, he is widely recognized as the first important one breaking omertà...
, Gaetano Badalamenti
Gaetano Badalamenti
Gaetano Badalamenti was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Don Tano Badalamenti was the capofamiglia of his hometown Cinisi, Sicily, and headed the Sicilian Mafia Commission in the 1970s...
and Salvatore Greco "Ciaschiteddu" set the ground rules. Somewhere in 1958 the Sicilian Mafia composed its first Mafia Commission. "Ciaschiteddu" Greco was appointed as its first segretario (secretary), essentially a "primus inter pares" – the first among equals. That position came to him almost naturally because he headed one of the most influential Mafia clans at the time. The Commission, however, was not able to prevent the outbreak of a violent Mafia War in 1962.
First Mafia War
The cousins Salvatore Greco "Ciaschiteddu" and Salvatore Greco "The Engineer" of the Ciaculli family were also protagonists in the First Mafia War between rival clans in Palermo in the early 1960s for the control of the profitable opportunities brought about by rapid urban growth and the illicit heroin trade to North America. The conflict was sparked by a quarrel over an underweight shipment of heroin and the murder of Calcedonio Di PisaCalcedonio Di Pisa
Calcedonio Di Pisa , also known as Doruccio, was a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was the boss of the Mafia family in the Noce neighbourhood in Palermo and sat on the first Sicilian Mafia Commission, the coordinating body of Cosa Nostra in Sicily.-Mafia career:Di Pisa was described by Norman...
– an ally of the Greco's – in December 1962. The Greco’s suspected the brothers Salvatore
Salvatore La Barbera
Salvatore La Barbera was a Sicilian mafioso. Together with his brother Angelo La Barbera he ruled the Mafia family of Palermo Centro. Salvatore La Barbera sat on the first Sicilian Mafia Commission that was set up in 1958 as the capo mandamento for Mafia families of Borgo Vecchio, Porta Nuova and...
and Angelo La Barbera
Angelo La Barbera
Angelo La Barbera was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Together with his brother Salvatore La Barbera he ruled the Mafia family of Palermo Centro...
of the attack.
The clash between the Grecos and the La Barberas involved an old and a new Mafia. According to Antimafia judge Cesare Terranova
Cesare Terranova
Cesare Terranova was a magistrate and politician from Sicily notable for his anti-Mafia stance. From 1958 until 1971 Terranova was an examining magistrate at the Palermo prosecuting office. He was one of the first to seriously investigate the Mafia and the financial operations of Cosa Nostra. He...
the Grecos "represented the traditional Mafia, the Mafia in trappings of respectability … and they are linked by a dense network of friendships, interests, and protections with the leading Mafiosi of the Palermo area. They occupy a position of preeminence in the sector of cigarette and drug smugglers. The La Barberas, in contrast, come out of obscurity and their power consists especially in their enterprising ways and their following – a determined band of professional killers."
On June 30, 1963 a car bomb exploded near Greco’s house in Ciaculli
Ciaculli
Ciaculli is an outlying suburb of Palermo, Sicily in Italy. It counts less than 5000 residents. Ciaculli is close to the suburb of Croceverde. Ciaculli has been important within the history of the Cosa Nostra. The best known Mafia family is the Greco Mafia clan...
, killing seven police and military officers sent to defuse it after an anonymous phone call. The outrage over the Ciaculli Massacre
Ciaculli massacre
The Ciaculli massacre on 30 June 1963 was caused by a car bomb that exploded in Ciaculli, an outlying suburb of Palermo, killing seven police and military officers sent to defuse it after an anonymous phone call. The bomb was intended for Salvatore "Ciaschiteddu" Greco, head of the Sicilian Mafia...
changed the Mafia war into a war against the Mafia. It prompted the first concerted anti-mafia efforts by the state in post-war Italy. The Sicilian Mafia Commission
Sicilian Mafia Commission
The Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
was dissolved and of those mafiosi who had escaped arrest many went abroad. Even the old Piddu Greco was arrested in October 1965, and send into internal banishment from Sicily in May 1966.
The repression caused by the Ciaculli Massacre disarranged the Sicilian heroin trade to the United States. Mafiosi were banned, arrested and incarcerated. Control over the trade fell into the hands of a few fugitives: the Greco cousins, Pietro Davì, Tommaso Buscetta
Tommaso Buscetta
Tommaso Buscetta was a Sicilian mafioso. Although he was not the first pentito in the Italian witness protection program, he is widely recognized as the first important one breaking omertà...
and Gaetano Badalamenti
Gaetano Badalamenti
Gaetano Badalamenti was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Don Tano Badalamenti was the capofamiglia of his hometown Cinisi, Sicily, and headed the Sicilian Mafia Commission in the 1970s...
.
Salvatore "The Engineer" and "Ciaschiteddu" Greco were sentenced in absentia to respectively 10 and 4 years in prison at the Trial of the 114 in 1968 that was initiated as the result of the First Mafia War, but as they had been on the run since 1963, they did not serve a day. "Ciaschiteddu" Greco had moved to Venezuela, and the whereabouts of "The Engineer" were completely unknown. In 1973 they were both given the maximum period of five years of internal banishment at the remote island of Asinara
Asinara
Asinara is an Italian island of in area. The name is Italian for "donkey-inhabited", but it is thought to derive from the Latin "sinuaria", and meaning sinus-shaped. The island is virtually uninhabited. The census of population of 2001 lists one man. The island is located off the north-western...
, but they were nowhere to be found.
Re-emergence
In the 1970s the Mafia recuperated. This time it were the Greco’s from Croceverde who rose to prominence. The brothers Michele GrecoMichele Greco
Michele Greco was a member of the Sicilian Mafia, previously incarcerated for multiple murders. His nickname was "il Papa" because of his ability to mediate between different Mafia families...
and Salvatore Greco
Salvatore Greco
Salvatore "Ciaschiteddu" Greco was a powerful mafioso and boss of the Mafia Family in Ciaculli, an outlying suburb of Palermo famous for its citrus fruit groves, where he was born...
operated low profile and were able to enter into relationships with businessmen, politicians, magistrates and law enforcement officials through their membership of Masonic lodges. Salvatore Greco’s nickname was "The Senator" for his political connections. He was the kingmaker of Christian Democrat politicians such as Giovanni Gioia, Vito Ciancimino
Vito Ciancimino
Vito Ciancimino was an Italian politician who served as mayor of Palermo, Sicily. He belonged to the Christian Democrat party , and was the first Italian politician to be found guilty of Mafia membership...
and Giuseppe Insalaco. Bankers and other notables were invited to wine and dine and take part in hunting parties at Michele Greco’s estate La Favarella. The estate was also used as a refuge for mafiosi on the run, and to set up a heroin laboratory.
In 1974 the Sicilian Mafia Commission
Sicilian Mafia Commission
The Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
was restored under the leadership of Gaetano Badalamenti
Gaetano Badalamenti
Gaetano Badalamenti was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Don Tano Badalamenti was the capofamiglia of his hometown Cinisi, Sicily, and headed the Sicilian Mafia Commission in the 1970s...
. Michele Greco was a member and in 1978 he was appointed as the head of the Sicilian Mafia Commission
Sicilian Mafia Commission
The Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
(Cupola), after its previous leader Gaetano Badalamenti
Gaetano Badalamenti
Gaetano Badalamenti was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Don Tano Badalamenti was the capofamiglia of his hometown Cinisi, Sicily, and headed the Sicilian Mafia Commission in the 1970s...
was expelled in the run up to the Second Mafia War
Second Mafia War
The Second Mafia War was a conflict within the Sicilian Mafia, mostly taking place in the early 1980s. As with any criminal organization, the history of the Sicilian Mafia is replete with conflicts and power struggles, and the violence that results from them, but these are generally localised and...
between the Corleonesi
Corleonesi
The Corleonesi is the name given to a faction within the Sicilian Mafia that dominated Cosa Nostra in the 1980s and the 1990s. It was called the Corleonesi because its most important leaders came from the town of Corleone, first Luciano Leggio and later Totò Riina, Bernardo Provenzano and Leoluca...
headed by Totò Riina, and the faction led by Stefano Bontade
Stefano Bontade
Stefano Bontade was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Some sources spell his surname Bontate. He was the capomafia of the Santa Maria di Gesù Family in Palermo...
and Salvatore Inzerillo
Salvatore Inzerillo
Salvatore Inzerillo was an Italian criminal, a member of the Sicilian Mafia, also known as Totuccio . He rose to be a powerful boss of Palermo's Passo di Rigano family...
. In January 1978, the ailing "Ciaschiteddu" Greco came all the way from Venezuela to try to stop Gaetano Badalamenti
Gaetano Badalamenti
Gaetano Badalamenti was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Don Tano Badalamenti was the capofamiglia of his hometown Cinisi, Sicily, and headed the Sicilian Mafia Commission in the 1970s...
, Giuseppe Di Cristina
Giuseppe Di Cristina
Giuseppe Di Cristina was a powerful mafioso from Riesi in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, southern Italy...
and Salvatore Inzerillo
Salvatore Inzerillo
Salvatore Inzerillo was an Italian criminal, a member of the Sicilian Mafia, also known as Totuccio . He rose to be a powerful boss of Palermo's Passo di Rigano family...
from retaliating against the growing power of the Corleonesi
Corleonesi
The Corleonesi is the name given to a faction within the Sicilian Mafia that dominated Cosa Nostra in the 1980s and the 1990s. It was called the Corleonesi because its most important leaders came from the town of Corleone, first Luciano Leggio and later Totò Riina, Bernardo Provenzano and Leoluca...
. His efforts were in vain.
Second Mafia War
Gradually, Michele Greco sided with the Corleonesi and according to some, was no more than a "puppet" for Corleonesi boss Totò Riina. The Corleonesi’s decimated their adversaries when the simmering conflict escalated into an all-out war after the killing of Stefano BontadeStefano Bontade
Stefano Bontade was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Some sources spell his surname Bontate. He was the capomafia of the Santa Maria di Gesù Family in Palermo...
in 1981. According to Tommaso Buscetta
Tommaso Buscetta
Tommaso Buscetta was a Sicilian mafioso. Although he was not the first pentito in the Italian witness protection program, he is widely recognized as the first important one breaking omertà...
Michele Greco would just nod his head and agree with virtually everything Riina said during meetings between the heads of various Mafia families.
During the Second Mafia War
Second Mafia War
The Second Mafia War was a conflict within the Sicilian Mafia, mostly taking place in the early 1980s. As with any criminal organization, the history of the Sicilian Mafia is replete with conflicts and power struggles, and the violence that results from them, but these are generally localised and...
another offspring of the Greco clan rose to prominence: Giuseppe Greco
Giuseppe Greco
Giuseppe "Pino" Greco was a hitman and high-ranking member of the Sicilian Mafia. A number of sources refer to him exclusively as Pino Greco although Giuseppe was his Christian name; "Pino" is a frequent abbreviation of the name Giuseppe.One of the most prolific killers in criminal history, he...
, a distant relative of Salvatore and Michele Greco. Giuseppe Pino Greco was one of Totò Riina preferred hit man and became a member of the Sicilian Mafia Commission
Sicilian Mafia Commission
The Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
as well. Although Michele Greco nominally was his boss and head of the Commission, he was treated by Pino Greco as an irrelevant old man, making clear Pino Greco held the real power, according to pentito
Pentito
Pentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations...
Francesco Marino Mannoia
Francesco Marino Mannoia
Francesco Marino Mannoia is a former member of the Sicilian Mafia who became a pentito in 1989. His nickname was Mozzarella. He is considered to be one of the most reliable government witnesses against the Mafia...
. Greco’s contempt for Cosa Nostra’s leadership was such that he no longer attended the meetings of the Commission, sending his deputy Vincenzo Puccio
Vincenzo Puccio
Vincenzo Puccio was a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was from Palermo and joined the Ciaculli Mafia family sometime in the late 1970s, although like many other members of that particular family he operated a great deal under the orders of the Corleonesi.- Criminal career :He was arrested...
instead.
Decline
Towards the end of 1985, Giuseppe Greco vanished. He was murdered on the orders of Riina, who thought Greco was getting a bit too ambitious. Riina was apparently threatened by the way a significant following of younger mobsters looked up to Greco and saw him as a potential future boss. Michele Greco was arrested on February 20, 1986, and joined the hundreds of defendants at the Maxi TrialMaxi Trial
The Maxi Trial was a criminal trial that took place in Sicily during the mid-1980s that saw hundreds of defendants on trial convicted for a multitude of crimes relating to Mafia activities, based primarily on testimony given in as evidence from a former boss turned informant...
. Greco gave testimony at the trial and to illustrate his standing as a supposedly honest citizen, he boasted of all the illustrious people he had entertained at his large estate, including a former chief prosecutor and police chiefs.
The Greco clan lost its grip on the mandamento
Mandamento
Historically a mandamento was the part of Italian territory under the jurisdiction of a "pretore" which is a kind of magistrate. These divisions were abolished in 1923....
of Ciaculli, which was merged with Brancaccio and the leadership eventually was taken over by Giuseppe Graviano
Giuseppe Graviano
Giuseppe Graviano is an Italian mafioso from the Brancaccio quarter in Palermo. He is currently serving several life sentences....
and his brother Filippo from the Brancaccio Mafia family. Salvatore Greco surrendered on January 25, 1991, while in the hospital for a heart attack. By than he was considered not more than a museum piece – the Greco’s were no longer part of the power structures of Cosa Nostra.