Giuseppe Di Cristina

Giuseppe Di Cristina (April 22, 1923 – May 30, 1978) was a powerful mafioso from Riesi in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, southern Italy. Di Cristina, nicknamed “la tigre’’ (the tiger), was born into a traditional Mafia family, his father Francesco Di Cristina and his grandfather were men of honour as well.

In 1975 he became the head of Cosa Nostra in the Caltanissetta province and a member of the Regional Commission of the Mafia. Three years later he was killed by a rival Mafia faction, the Corleonesi of Totò Riina and Bernardo Provenzano. His death was a prelude to the Second Mafia War, which would start in 1981 after the Corleonesi killed Stefano Bontade.

Di Cristina’s grandfather Giuseppe Di Cristina was a giant strong man and a gabelloto – a leaseholder of an estate subletting land. When it was time to show who would succeed him, he chose the day of the procession of the saint San Giuseppe in Riesi. When the procession made a stop under Don Giuseppe’s balcony he kissed his son Francesco in front of the whole procession, which was looking up waiting for the sign to proceed. Francesco ‘Don Ciccu’ Di Cristina then gave the procession the signal to continue. It was now clear to the village that Don Ciccu was the new boss.

Don Ciccu was a clever boss and developed good relationships with the Palermo Mafia families and political groups. Francesco ‘Don Ciccu’ Di Cristina died on September 13, 1961. A holy image was distributed among the population. It read: “A enemy of all injustices he showed with word and deed that his Mafia was not delinquency but respect for the law of honour”. His eldest son Giuseppe Di Cristina replaced him.

Di Cristina was known as the ‘elector’ of Calogero Volpe, an MP for Christian Democrat party (DC – Democrazia Cristiana). Giuseppe’s brother Antonio Di Cristina would become the mayor of Riesi and the under-secretary of the Christian Democrat party of the Caltanissetta province. According to the pentito Antonino Calderone: “They were the bosses of the Riesi Mafia for three generations … the supported the Democrazia Cristiana, they were all DC.”

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