"[5] The Arbëreshë poet Giuseppe Schirò publicly defended the Mafia administration of Cuccia several times, considering it "the most suitable for the peaceful development of the best qualities of its people," able to open "a new period in our history."
"[4] In June that year, Cuccia received King Vittorio Emanuele III in full regalia in the local town hall, and, in return, was awarded the prestigious Knights Cross of the Crown of Italy (Croce di Cavalieri della Corona d’Italia).
[1] 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.
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.
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.
[9] 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.
[2] Cuccia has also been mentioned as one of the mafiosi behind the Portella della Ginestra massacre during a Labour Day manifestation on May 1, 1947, when 11 people were killed and 33 wounded by the bandit Salvatore Giuliano.