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| “ | Business, always business. | „ |
| ~ The Greek to an airport employee |
| “ | Lambs go to slaughter. A man, he learns when to walk away. | „ |
| ~ The Greek explains his philosophy. |
The Greek is the overarching antagonist of the HBO series The Wire.
He is the mysterious leader of the Greek crime syndicate, which is responsible for the trafficking of heroin into Baltimore, as well as both human trafficking and the import and export of stolen goods.
He is portrayed by Bill Raymond, who also played Joseph Krolinsky in Law & Order.
Personality[]
The Greek is an enigmatic and mysterious individual; in contrast with Marlo Stanfield and, to a lesser extent, Avon Barksdale, he has no desire to garner a reputation and conducts his business in total secrecy. In fact, the only person in the world who likely even knows his name is Spiros Vondas, his right-hand man, and everyone else simply knows him as the moniker he chose, “The Greek”.
The Greek’s outward persona is one of a harmless old man, speaking in a pleasant manner and never raising his voice. Despite his mannerisms, he is an extremely ruthless, callous, and cold-blooded kingpin who controls a vast, worldwide smuggling empire. The Greek is the supplier of all the heroin in Baltimore, selling drugs and people to foreign countries and murdering anyone who threatens his empire. The only person he expresses any care for is Vondas.
History[]
Background[]
His real name is never mentioned and at one point in Season 2 he states that he is not even Greek. He operates his criminal organization from a small diner in Baltimore, and it is stated that he was active in San Diego before that. His three main sources of income are the trafficking of sex workers, the importation of stolen goods and selling illegal drugs, which he smuggles into the country inside shipment containers and bribes local Baltimore stevedores to move said containers past customs. He operates all of his business through his loyal underboss Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos, which provides a wall between him and the illegal activities of his business.
Season 2[]
His criminal organization began to receive attention when both his contact at the docks, Frank Sobotka, became the target of an investigation by the Baltimore Police Department and a container full of 13 dead bodies was found at the docks simultaneously. It was discovered that the container belonged to the Greeks, with the women found inside meant for the sex trade in Baltimore and that the container actually had 14 women inside, with the 14th being a women that was killed and thrown overboard. The Greek's men capture the crewman responsible and he confesses killing the first woman and then hammering the breathing tube shut and killing the rest of the women in the container in an attempt to cover up his crimes. Under the Greek's instruction the man is killed by Vondas.
The Greek learns of the police investigation on him from a source in the FBI, which The Greek is an asset to. The Greek orders his men to began shutting down their operations in Baltimore but two of his men, Sergei Malatov and Eton Ben-Eleazer, are arrested and charged with there involvement in the criminal organization. The Greek is once again tipped off by his FBI source that Sobotka is planning on cooperating with the police, and has him killed. He and Spiros leave Baltimore before the police are able to bring them into custody, but plan on continuing importing their heroin and selling it to Proposition Joe.
Season 5[]
The Greek is shown once again in Season 5 when Marlo Stanfield meets with Spiros about the possibility of Marlo being their "insurance policy" in the event that something may happen to Prop Joe. While Spiros originally disagrees, The Greek objects and is very open to the idea of Marlo being there back up plan, essentially giving Marlo the okay to kill Prop Joe and take over as the main distributor for the Greeks. He is shown once again in the series finale meeting with members of the New Day Co-Op, including Slim Charles, after Marlo sells the connect to them following his forced retirement from the drug game.
External Links[]
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| The Wire Villains | ||
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The Barksdale Organization The Stanfield Organization The New Day Co-Op The Greeks Others | ||