Vito Casciofero was a prominent boss of the Sicilian Mafia and also known as Don Vito. Some says that he was the ‘Boss of Bosses’ and a legend. He was born in January 22, 1862 in a very poor family. He was raised in a rural town named Bisacquino but his actual birthplace is Palermo. His father and mother were illiterate and his father worked as an armed guard in Bisacquino. He started as a revenue collector but beside this character he started criminal activities as menacing, kidnapping etc.

Cascioferro was recruited into a Sicilian League by Bernardino Verro and Cascioferro became the president of that League. He was punished for kidnapping and for escaping from police he sailed to America in 1901. He was worked as a fruits importer for two and half years in New York.

He joined the Morello Mafia gang in USA but came back in Sicily in 1904 as USA police sergeant ordered his arrest. A journalist named Luigi Barzini described Don Vito as very intelligent. He ruled his area with great qualities. He always started a journey dressed in best cloths and he was loved by all, generous by nature and very helpful.

Joe Petrosino was a police man of USA and head of Italian police.He described Cascioferro as ‘Terrible criminal’. Joe was shot and killed and Cascioferro is considered as murderer. Cascioferro was about to join a noble party. He excused and had gone to Piazza Marina and killed Joe Petrosino and returned to party.This news spread very fast in USA. Joe described Cascioferro as ‘Terrible criminal’.

Because of lack of evidence the Joe murder case was never solved and Court of Appeals sends Cascioferro to trial. In his lifetime he was arrested for many times but not convicted. According to some writers he agreed that he had killed the policeman but a police commissioner concluded that this murder probably organized by other people under Cascioferro’s direction.

In 1926 Fascist leader Mussolini ordered Prefect Cesare Mori to destroy Mafia. Mori arrested Cascioferro and 150 other members were also arrested. His godson asked a landlord to help Cascioferro but landlord replied that ‘Time has changed’. Cascioferro was sentenced to life in 1930. During his prison life he died of natural causes. An Italian author stated that probably he died of dehydration in 1943. Some says that he was transferred to another prison. Historians consider Cascioferro as a great leader of Mafia history.