1. Nicholas Chillura Nuccio was a two-time mayor of Tampa, Florida in the 1950s and 60s.
11 Facts About Nick Nuccio
1. 2.
Nick Nuccio was the son of Sicilian immigrants who were among the earliest settlers of Ybor City, an immigrant-founded neighborhood in Tampa, Florida originally based on the cigar industry.
3.
Nick Nuccio married Concetta Licata on July 6,1924 and they had three children.
4.
In 1929, Nick Nuccio successfully ran for a seat on the Tampa City Council as a representative from Ybor City.
5.
Nick Nuccio was reelected several times before moving on to the Hillsborough County Commission in 1937, a post he held continuously until 1956.
6.
Hixon easily defeated Nick Nuccio, winning reelection after national newspaper coverage alleged that Nick Nuccio had close ties to organized crime.
7.
Nick Nuccio was known for his unconventional governing style and unusual daily schedule.
8.
Nick Nuccio regularly ate a breakfast of toasted Cuban bread and Cafe con leche at a small cafe in West Tampa, sometimes moving on to another cafe in Ybor City later in the morning.
9.
Nick Nuccio was immensely popular among Tampa's Latin residents but was equally disliked by others in Tampa's "Anglo" community.
10.
In 1971, Nick Nuccio again ran against Greco for the mayor's office but was again defeated, at which point he retired from political life.
11.
Nick Nuccio died in 1989, and a large bronze statue of the former mayor holding his trademark hat and large Tampa cigar was dedicated in Ybor City's Centennial Park in 1999.