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Salvatore Lo Piccolo (born in Palermo, July 20, 1942), also known as the Baron (''il Barone''), is a Sicilian mafioso and one of the most powerful bosses of Palermo, Sicily. Lo Piccolo rose through the ranks of the Palermo mafia throughout the 1980s and he became the capo-mandamento of the San Lorenzo district in the early 1990s, replacing Salvatore Biondino who was sent to prison. Lo Piccolo was a fugitive since 1983 and had been running his Mafia affairs in hiding. With the capture of Bernardo Provenzano on April 11, 2006 Lo Piccolo had been cementing his power and rise to the top of the Palermo Mafia until his own arrest on November 5, 2007. Lo Piccolo is also known as "u vascu," Sicilian dialect for "il vecchio," which translates into English as "the old one" or "elder." In clandestine correspondence with former mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano, Salvatore Lo Piccolo used to identify himself by the number 30. Lo Piccolo's fortune came from the international cocaine trafficking, the extortion of businesses, and the theft of money allocated for public works projects. He invested much of his earnings in real estate. Lo Piccolo long supported Provenzano's policy of not directing violence toward the state and preferred arbitration as means to settle conflict between rival mafia factions.〔(Changes in Mafia Leadership Reveal New Links to US-Based La Cosa Nostra ), DNI Open Source Center, November 19, 2007〕 ==Mafia background== Lo Piccolo was born in the neighbourhood Partanna Mondello in Palermo. He was the driver of the local Mafia boss Rosario Riccobono, who was killed in the Second Mafia War. Lo Piccolo changed sides and became an ally of the Corleonesi.〔 (Una "carriera" con Riina e Provenzano ), La Repubblica, November 5, 2007〕〔 (L'ascesa di Salvatore Lo Piccolo: da guardiaspalle a boss di Palermo ), La Stampa, November 5, 2007〕 Bosses like Pippo Calò and Nino Rotolo pleaded to save the life of Lo Piccolo. Nearly 25 years later Rotolo would regret his appeal when a conflict arose between the two. Rotolo was overheard on bugs installed by the police saying: "One who should have died. He was the ‘godson’ of Saro Riccobono and should have gone."〔 (Il boss che sfidò i corleonesi ), Corriere della Sera, November 6, 2007〕 Having survived the Second Mafia War, Lo Piccolo gradually extended his influence in the area in and around Palermo in the 1980s and 1990s. His influence in Palermo extended to Capaci, Isola delle Femmine, Carini, Villagrazia di Carini, Sferracavallo and Partanna-Mondello. According to Italian DIA (Direzione Investigativa Antimafia), Salvatore Lo Piccolo and his son, Sandro Lo Piccolo, were in charge of most of the urban territory of Palermo. Their area of influence encompassed the "mandamenti" of San Lorenzo, Passo di Rigano and Gangi, including the coastal area up to Cefalù, and part of the territory of Messina, including the towns of Mistretta and Tortorici.〔(Report concerning the activities conducted and the results obtained ) by the Direzione Investigativa Antimafia (DIA), first half of 2000〕〔 (Mafia cerca il confronto con lo Stato ), Sebastiano Gulisano, Polizia e democrazia, September 2001〕 Lo Piccolo allegedly made his fortune with drug trafficking and skimming off public contracts. He forced the residents of the low-income housing projects in the ZEN area of Palermo to pay him to keep the building corridors lit. He allegedly has strong links with the American Cosa Nostra.〔 (Cosa Nostra cerca il nuovo padrino ), La Stampa, April 13, 2006〕 In March 2005, the Lo Piccolo clan was subject of a police operation known as the "Notte di San Lorenzo". Eighty-four arrest warrants were issued. Nonetheless, Salvatore and his son Sandro Lo Piccolo remained at large.〔 (Mafia, 84 arresti a Palermo. Sgominato il clan Lo Piccolo ), Girodivite, March 9, 2005〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Salvatore Lo Piccolo」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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