Greco Mafia clan
Mafia boss Giuseppe Greco, also known as "Piddu u tinenti" (Piddu the lieutenant)
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| Founded | Late 19th century |
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| Named after | Greco family |
| Founding location | Ciaculli and Croceverde Giardini, two south-eastern outskirts of Palermo |
| Years active | Decline in the 2000 but still active with very strong influence |
| Territory | Ciaculli and Croceverde Giardini, two south-eastern outskirts of Palermo and Calabria Dasá |
| Ethnicity | Sicilian/Calabrian |
| Membership | Blood Ties |
| Leader(s) | Unknown |
| Criminal activities | Palermo wholesale market; Gioua Taurio Port racket (1950s); cigarette smuggling and heroin trafficking; money laundering |
| Allies | Uneasy alliance with the Corleonesi (Second Mafia War 1981-1983) |
| Rivals | Acquasanta Mafia clan (Palermo wholesale market war in the mid 1950s) La Barbera brothers (First Mafia War in the early 1960s) |
| Notable members | Giuseppe Greco, aka "Piddu u tinenti" (Piddu the lieutenant) Salvatore "Ciaschiteddu" Greco Salvatore "The Engineer" Greco Michele Greco aka The Pope Salvatore "The Senator" Greco |
The Greco Mafia family is a historic and one of the most influential Mafia clans in Sicily and Calabria, 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 and also rural areas of Calabria where they controlled the olive oil market . Members of the family were important figures in the Sicilian Cosa Nostra and Calabrian 'Ndrangheta. Salvatore "Ciaschiteddu" Greco 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 Grecos 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 tangerines that make the area of Croceverde and Ciaculli famous.
The Grecos 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.
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Wikipedia