Died Kansas City, MO, Feb. 14, 2006.
Anthony Civella probably would have moved into the Kansas City Mafia leadership as authorities moved his father Carl into a long prison stay late in 1984. However, Anthony faced his own legal troubles and began a five-year prison term for racketeering. Successful prosecutions of the Civella leadership permitted the rise of a Kansas City faction commanded by William Cammisano. Anthony Civella reached the top position in the local Mafia by the late 1980s but was closely watched by law enforcement and served an additional prison sentence in the early 1990s.
Like his father and his uncle Nick, Anthony Civella was at home in gambling rackets and kept the Kansas City family a key player in nationwide illegal gaming. But, in 1991, three years after his early release from prison, he strayed from the "family business" and involved himself in the reselling of fraudulently obtained prescription drugs on the West Coast. The endeavor resulted in an extended jail term beginning in summer of 1992.
During Civella's imprisonment, his father passed away. Civella was released from prison in 1997. Due to a criminal history that dated back to 1952, he was placed on the Exclusion List of the Nevada Gaming Commission in February of 1997. He was similarly prohibited from involvement in any Missouri gaming.
Civella died in mid-February 2006.
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