The Greek (The Wire)
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| The Greek | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| First appearance | Ebb Tide (episode 2.01) |
| Last appearance | Port in a Storm (episode 2.12) |
| Cause/Reason | Left Baltimore pre-empting a police investigation |
| Statistics | |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 70s |
| Occupation | International smuggling/Organized Crime Boss |
| Episode Count | 8 |
| Portrayed by | Bill Raymond |
| Created by | David Simon |
The Greek is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Bill Raymond.
[edit] Biography
"The Greek" is a mysterious figure who organized smuggling through the Baltimore docks. He is known only by his nickname, which is an excellent alias as he is not actually Greek. The Greek's given name is never said on the show, and his actual background and ethnicity are never identified. He operates all of his business through his friend Spiros Vondas maintaining a barrier between himself and his associates. He is a quiet, unassuming and thoughtful man but is cunning and ruthless and is only interested in facts that make him more money. Anyone interfering in this process is eliminated immediately, and his signature style is to leave victims headless and handless. While in Baltimore he operates out of a small diner and later by meeting in hotel rooms.
The Greek's smuggling operation includes importing sex trade workers, illicit drugs, stolen goods and chemicals for drug processing. He uses Sergei "Serge" Malatov as muscle and to run containers back and forth from the port to his warehouse. The warehouse is owned by Pyramid enterprises, a front organization, and managed by George "Double G" Glekas. The Greek supplies the major drug dealers in East Baltimore and uses Eton Ben-Eleazer to move his drugs out to them. His drug dealing contacts include the influential Proposition Joe as well as smaller organizations like those run by "White" Mike McArdle and Petey Dixon. The Greek bribes union Stevedores to move containers through the Baltimore port for him and organizes their activity through Vondas. His sex trade interests in Baltimore include a brothel run by a madam named Ilona. He protects himself from federal investigation by having an agent inside the FBI, a man named Koutris.
The Greek began to draw police attention in Baltimore when his contact at the docks, Frank Sobotka, became the target of an investigation. At the same time a container of dead young women intended for the sex trade was discovered at the docks triggering a high profile homicide investigation. The container belonged to The Greek and the girls were killed by a crewman onboard The Atlantic Light, the vessel that had been due to deliver them. The ship's crew had been paying the girls for sex and when one of the girls refused to participate she was killed and the crewman responsible dumped her overboard and stove in the air supply on the top of the container to kill the remaining women. The Greek tracked the crewman down and had him killed, first interrogating him personally to find out how he had ended up losing the valuable resource that the women represented. Serge was responsible for finding the man but it was Vondas who killed him. The Greek expressed a distaste for the crewman's Turkish nationality but spoke his language fluently. The body was dismembered in The Greek's preferred fashion - removing the head and hands to hinder identification.
The police investigation linked the murder to Serge and the drug operation to Eton, White Mike and Proposition Joe (although they were unable to find evidence against Proposition Joe). The port smuggling was thoroughly investigated and when police began tracking The Greek's containers as they left the port he was warned by Frank Sobotka and began to close down his operation temporarily. The Greek and Vondas decided to leave Baltimore when arrests were made against Sobotka, Ilona, Eton, White Mike and Serge. They contacted Sobotka to try to ensure his loyalty by offering help for his son, imprisoned for shooting Double G in a stolen car deal gone awry. Sobotka agreed to meet with The Greek and also offered to co-operate with the police. The Greek learned of this from Agent Koutris and had Sobotka killed and his body dumped into the docks. Frank's nephew, Nick Sobotka, was involved in the smuggling operation as a go-between and was driven to co-operate with the police by his uncle's death. He was able to identify The Greek and Vondas but with no further information the investigation fizzled out.
Before leaving Baltimore Vondas met with Proposition Joe to confirm that they could continue to supply him keeping some of The Greek's business interests alive in the city. Later Proposition Joe entered into a bargain with other drug dealers, called the co-op, to share The Greek's product with them in exchange for reduced violence and sharing of territory.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Character profile - The Greek. HBO (2004). Retrieved on 2006-08-16.
