Salvatore "Ciaschiteddu" Greco | |
---|---|
Born |
Palermo, Sicily, Italy |
13 January 1923
Died | 7 March 1978 Caracas, Venezuela |
(aged 55)
Nationality | Italian |
Occupation | Mafioso |
Known for | Boss of Ciaculli Mafia family, head of the first Sicilian Mafia Commission |
Salvatore "Ciaschiteddu" Greco (13 January 1923 – 7 March 1978) was a powerful mafioso and boss of the Sicilian Mafia Family in Ciaculli, an outlying suburb of Palermo famous for its citrus fruit groves, where he was born. His nickname was "Ciaschiteddu" or "Cicchiteddu", translated from the Sicilian alternatively as "little bird" or as "wine jug".
"Ciaschiteddu" Greco was the first "secretary" of the first Sicilian Mafia Commission that was formed somewhere in 1958. That position came to him almost naturally because he headed one of the most influential Mafia clans at the time, which went back to the late 19th century.
He was the son of Giuseppe Greco who was killed during a bloody internal feud between the factions of the Greco Mafia clan in Ciaculli and Croceverde Giardini in 1946-47. The peace between the two rival factions of the Greco clan was settled by giving the rights of the Giardini estate to Salvatore "Ciaschiteddu" Greco and his cousin Salvatore Greco, also known as "l'ingegnere" or "Totò il lungo". Although descendants of the old, established rural Mafia, the Greco cousins quickly learned to profit from the post-war economic boom and became involved in cigarette smuggling and heroin trafficking.
"Ciaschiteddu” Greco was present at series of meetings between top American and Sicilian mafiosi that took place in Palermo between 12–16 October 1957, in hotel Delle Palme in Palermo. Joseph Bonanno, Lucky Luciano, John Bonventre, Frank Garofalo, Santo Sorge and Carmine Galante were among the American mafiosi present, while among the Sicilian side there were – apart from the Greco cousins – Giuseppe Genco Russo, Angelo La Barbera, Gaetano Badalamenti, Calcedonio Di Pisa and Tommaso Buscetta.