My Brother, Salvatore Giuliano: The True Story

Giuliano's story begins with the allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, a time of great turmoil allegiances. One of World War II's most bizarre episodes was Operation Underworld. This was a secret alliance formed between American army intelligence officers and the Mafia kingpin, Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, so that the New York docks would be free of sabotage. In exchange, the Sicilian Mafia leaders would assist the Allied landings by providing intelligence information on Sicily. Luciano was released from prison and deported to Sicily. As agreed, American forces placed certain Mafia members who were loyal to Luciano in positions of power. Anyone who resisted the regime was either killed or imprisoned. The situation was desperate and it seemed that there was no one strong enough to stand against the evil that was engulfing the land. For some time, Giuliano had been waging his own war against the corruption by smuggling food into the area to feed his family and help the town's people of Montelebro. The police confiscated Salvatore's gram and tried to arrest him. He resisted and was shot twice in the back but killed an officer before he escaped into the hills. Now a hunted man, villagers flocked to the hills around Montelebro to join him. Salvatore Giuliano's resistance movement soon became a symbol of Sicily's desire to escape from the dominance of Italy and establish self-government. Political parties seeking autonomy for the island eagerly supported his cause, while politicians who opposed him devised a plot they felt would finally eliminate him.