Schwermetall

Two years later, in May 1924, the Fascist leader Benito Mussolini, then prime minister, visited Sicily and also passed through Piana dei Greci where he was received by the mayor Don Ciccio. At some point Cuccia expressed surprise at Mussolini’s police escort and whispered in his ear: “You are with me, you are under my protection. What do you need all these cops for?” Mussolini felt humiliated and outraged. To Cuccia the large police escort indicated a lack of respect. When Mussolini declined to release the substantial police force, Cuccia had the central town square emptied when Il Duce made his speech. Mussolini found himself addressing a group of some 20 village idiots, beggars, bootblacks and lottery ticket sellers picked out as an audience by Don Ciccio.

Cuccia's careless remark and subsequent insult has passed into history as the catalyst for Mussolini’s war on the Mafia. When Mussolini firmly established his power in January 1925, he appointed Cesare Mori as the Prefect of Palermo, with the order to eradicate the Mafia at any price. In 1927, when reporting on the progress of the drive against the Mafia in Sicily to the Chamber of Deputies, Mussolini referred specifically to Cuccia as "that unspeakable mayor who found ways of getting himself portrayed at every solemn occasion" and who was now safely behind bars.

Cuccia and his brother had been arrested on July 2, 1924, on charges of murdering the socialist militants Mariano Barbato and Giorgio Pecoraro in May 1914. However, on May 1, 1928, the Court acquitted the Cuccia brothers for lack of evidence.