U2fan,
My mother and I are also in the process of applying to become Italian citizens. We hired an agency near Chicago, ICAP to secure my great grandfather's birth certificate from Sicily and US Naturalization paperwork. They have a person in Sicily who got the birth certificate fairly quickly. The naturalization paperwork took about 4 months as there was some confusion with the birthdate. We have also utilized their translation services.
Good luck with your search.