Greco Mafia Clan - Second Mafia War

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 Bontade 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 hitmen 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.