Vito Ciancimino - Sack of Palermo

Sack of Palermo

The railway concession became a turning point in Ciancimino's life. He became a rich man, moved house and changed his style of life. In 1959, when a fellow Christian Democrat, Salvo Lima, became mayor of Palermo, Ciancimino became assessor for public works and building permits. This period would be the peak phase of what is called the Sack of Palermo, a construction boom that led to the destruction of the city's green belt, and villas that gave it architectural grace, to make way for characterless and shoddily constructed apartment blocks. In the meantime Palermo’s historical centre was allowed to crumble.

Ciancimino, described by the Mafia turncoat Tommaso Buscetta as "a pushy Corleonese embezzler", made a vast fortune in bribes. Ciancimino was candid about the need for bribes. If the Christian Democrats had 40% of the votes, they needed 40% of the construction contracts, he explained. Italy simply would not work without bribes: "It's as though someone wanted to remove one of the four wheels of a car."