The American Mafia - Who Was Who: Kansas City

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Balistrieri, Frank P. (1918-1993)

b. Milwaukee, May 27, 1918.
d. Milwaukee, Feb. 7, 1993.

Frank Peter Balistrieri was the best known of Milwaukee's Mafia bosses and the most targeted by law enforcement.

Balistrieri was also the first local Mafia boss who was born in the United States. He was born in Milwaukee in 1918, the son of immigrant Mafiosi Joseph Balistrieri of the Town of Aspra near Santa Flavia, Sicily. He grew up in the city's Third Ward "Little Sicily" neighborhood around the intersection of Jefferson and Detroit Streets. (Detroit Street was later renamed St. Paul Avenue.)

FBI heard conflicting reports about Balistrieri's selection as boss. Some said that Alioto had trained him for the post through years and handed him the reins in December 1961 or January 1962. Others said that Alioto went into retirement at that time opposed to the idea of Balistrieri becoming boss, preferring someone older and more experienced. (FBI heard that Alioto was angered by a Balistrieri romantic relationship outside of his marriage to Alioto's daughter.)

As Balistrieri advanced in the local Mafia, he opened night clubs and gambling spots and attempted to monopolize jukeboxes and coin-operated vending machines. The success of one of his gambling ventures brought him into conflict with boss Sam Ferrara in 1952. Ferrara wanted a piece of the Balistrieri-run Ogden Social Club gambling hall. When Balistrieri resisted, Ferrara ousted him from the crime family.

Balistrieri's father-in-law John Alioto, a capodecina in the Milwaukee organization, brought a protest to the leaders of the Chicago Outfit. Since the establishment of the Mafia's Commission system in the early 1930s, Chicago had been responsible for overseeing Milwaukee. Outfit bosses ruled that Ferrara exceeded his authority and ordered him to step down. The Outfit then installed Alioto as the new boss.

Alioto reportedly groomed Balistrieri as his successor but seems to have had second thoughts as he retired in 1961-62. Alioto was upset by a Balistrieri romantic relationship outside of his marriage to Alioto's daughter. The break between the two men became so severe that Alioto did not attend the funeral of Balistrieri's father in 1971.

As boss, Balistrieri sought to increase the crime family's wealth and influence by assessing a street tax on gambling racketeers and a number of legitimate businesses. He brought in Joseph Gurera and Buster Balestrere from Kansas City (the Balistrieris of Milwaukee and the Balestreres of Kansas City are related) to enforce that protection racket.

He angered segments of his organization by elevating the newcomer Gurera to capodecina rank, as well as by doing away with the "sagia," a leadership panel used by Alioto for dispute resolution, and by acting in an autocratic manner. Balistrieri was protected against rebellion through his close relationship with Chicago Outfit leaders, particularly Felix "Milwaukee Phil" Alderisio.

He could not protect himself against the U.S. government, however. In the late 1960s, he was sentenced to two years in federal prison for tax evasion. In the 1980s, his participation in extortion and Las Vegas casino skimming rackets were exposed. In 1984, he was sentenced to thirteen more years in federal prison. (His sons, Joseph P. and John J. Balistrieri, were also convicted of extortion and served time in federal prison.) During this imprisonment, Balistrieri's brother Peter stood in for him as acting boss.

Frank Balistrieri was released from federal prison at Butner, North Carolina, in 1991. He died of a heart attack in 1993.

Sources:

"Balistrieri given 13 years," Oshkosh WI Northwestern, May 30, 1984, p. 3.
"Balistrieri goes to grave denying being mob boss," Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, Feb. 8, 1993, p. 2.
"Feds clean up union," Oshkosh WI Northwestern, Aug. 25, 1996, p. 15.
"Genealogy search," Archdiocese of Milwaukee Catholic Cemeteries, cemeteries.org.
Joseph Balistrieri Naturalization Petition, U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Wisconsin, Vol. 111, No. 15152, certificate no. 5199880, filed May 20, 1941, approved July 17, 1941.
Le Grand, Alexander P., "La Cosa Nostra," FBI report, file no. 92-6054-640, NARA no. 124-10287-10189, May 28, 1964.
Reed, Carlyle N., "La Cosa Nostra," FBI report, file no. 92-6054-2105, NARA no. 124-10293-10341, Sept. 11, 1967.
Schmitt, Gavin, Milwaukee Mafia: Images of America, Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2012.
Schmitt, Gavin, The Milwaukee Mafia, Fort Lee NJ: Barricade Books, 2014
Social Security Death Index, 388-18-0128, died Feb. 7, 1993.
United States Census of 1920, Wisconsin, County of Milwaukee, City of Milwaukee, Enumeration District 42.

Lazia, Johnny (1895-1934)

Born Brooklyn, NY, Sept. 28, 1895.

Killed Kansas City, MO, July 10, 1934.

Lazia likely started his underworld career as a thug for the Tom Pendergast political machine in Kansas City. By 1928, he had graduated to leader of the North Side Democratic Club and controlled much of the organized criminal activity in the region.

Lazia was born in Brooklyn, NY (the family name was Lazio) to immigrant parents Giuseppe and Frances. His birth year is generally recorded as 1896, which appears on his gravestone. A date of Sept. 28, 1895, appears on Lazia's World War I draft registration. The family relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, shortly after his birth and settled on Campbell Street.

Lazia was arrested in 1915. He was charged with armed robbery and with firing a weapon at a local police captain. His conviction resulted in a prison sentence of 15 years. The local political machine had an interest in Lazia, however, and he was paroled after serving just eight months behind bars.

As he matured, Lazia's underworld specialty became gambling. He operated a dog racing track and the swank Cuban Gardens club. Other business ventures included a night club and soft drink concessions. He appears to have coordinated bootlegging operations in the region during and following the Prohibition Era.

Lazia served as mentor for Charles "Mad Dog" Gargotta and Anthony Gizzo. Gargotta later allied with Lazia successor Charles Binaggio. (Gargotta and Binaggio were both killed in the Jackson County Democratic Club headquarters on April 5, 1950. Gizzo briefly served as top boss of the Kansas City Mob in the early 1950s.)

The influence of the Pendergast machine kept local law enforcement off Lazia's back. However, federal tax agents managed to nab the North Side gangster in 1930. He was tried and convicted of tax evasion. Though he was sentenced to a year in prison, he remained free during appeals.

While the appeal process dragged on, Lazia was believed to be involved in the Union Station Massacre and a gang shootout on Armour Boulevard.

Underworld rivals caught up with Lazia before the law did. Early on July 10, 1934, two men - one carrying a machine gun and the other carrying a shotgun - attacked and mortally wounded the Kansas City gang boss as he stepped from his car at his apartment house. With him at the time of the shooting were his wife and their trusted friends Mr. and Mrs. Charles Carolla. (Charlie "the Wop" Carolla served as Lazia's bodyguard.) Lazia was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital where surgery was performed. He lingered for eight hours before succumbing to his wounds.

Lazia's funeral cortege stretched for several miles. A dozen motorcycle police officers served as escort. Ceremonies began at the home of his older sister Mary Antonello (she married Joseph Antonello in January 1910). They continued at Holy Rosary Church. Burial took place at St. Mary's Cemetery. Lazia was laid to rest beside his parents.

Lazia's pall bearers included his longtime friends James Balestrere, Joseph Gallucci and Charles Gargotta.

Local police rounded up more than two dozen suspects. Rumors indicated that hours before the Lazia shooting, Lazia had argued with operators of a South Side beer tavern. There was wide speculation that his murder was related to alcohol rackets.

Related Links:

Crime boss listing - Mafiahistory.us.

Gizzo, Anthony (1902-1953)

Born New York, NY, Aug. 4, 1902.

Died Dallas, TX, April 1, 1953.

Anthony R. "Tony" Gizzo, a longtime ally of Kansas City political boss Charles Binaggio, is widely believed to have served as chief of the western Missouri Mafia Family during the early 1950s. Perhaps never the sole boss of the Kansas City underworld, he was a leader of gambling rackets and a strong political leader on the city's North Side.

Gizzo and Binaggio were arrested together Jan. 18, 1930, on a minor weapons charge in Denver. The arrest was seen by some as evidence that the KC Mob was attempting to stake out territory in the West. At the time, Gizzo was regarded as an enforcer for underworld leader John Lazia.

In the autumn of 1949, Gizzo was among the local underworld characters called before a federal grand jury investigating gambling rackets in Kansas City. Cigar store owner Sammy Butler, believed to be a partner in Gizzo's card and dice operations and also scheduled to testify before the grand jury, was found dead Oct. 19. He appeared to have taken his own life. Gizzo told the press that Butler was "greatly upset" at the prospect of appearing before the grand jury.

Gizzo caused a sensation at local hearings of the Kefauver Committee in 1950. He was asked how much cash he carried around with him. He pulled a stack of hundred dollar bills from his pocket and counted out twenty-five of them.

Gizzo was heir apparent to the North Side political rackets when Binaggio was slain April 6, 1950. However, some believe James Balestrere was top man in the KC underworld in the period 1950-1952. Gizzo's legitimate occupation in this period was sales agent for the Duke Sales Company, distributors of Canadian Ace beer.

Following his Kefauver testimony, Gizzo was charged with running a bookmaking operation in KC. He was specifically accused with taking wagers on five college basketball games. On May 7, 1951, Judge John F. Cooke ruled the testimony of two prosecution witnesses inadmissable and directed the jury to find Gizzo and two codefendants not guilty.

A heart attack ended Gizzo's life in spring of 1953. He was in Dallas, Texas, when he died. A short time after his death, federal tax agents filed a $59,529.97 lien against Gizzo's estate for tax evasion. The agents charged that the amount was due for unpaid income taxes in the years 1948 and 1950.

(Gizzo's son, Robert James Gizzo, employed as a piano tuner in Emporia, Kansas, was arrested in July 1966 on federal charges of illegal possession of narcotics and interstate transportation of a stolen car.)

Related Links:

Crime boss listing - Mafiahistory.us

Gentile, Nicola (1884-c1970)

Born Siculiana, Sicily, June 12, 1884

Died Sicily, c1970.

"Zu Cola" Gentile was a Sicilian Mafioso who traveled the United States as a sort of underworld handyman.

Born in the southern Sicilian community of Siculiana in 1884, he arrived in the U.S. at age 19. Much of his time in the U.S. was spent in western Pennsylvania, Ohio and Missouri. He was a trusted confidant of New York Mafiosi from the early 1900s through the Castellammarese War. He was called upon to mediate a dispute between the Morello-Lupo clan and boss of bosses Salvatore D'Aquila in the 1920s. He also was called upon to mediate disputes involving Chicago and Los Angeles crime bosses and underworld rivals in New York City.(1)

Gentile made a number of trips across the national criminal network and briefly served in leadership roles the Kansas City, Cleveland and Pittsburgh Mafia families. He was on intimate terms with Pittsburgh bosses Gregorio Conti and John Bazzano, and Cleveland bosses Joe Lonardo and Frank "Ciccio" Milano. He served as a capodecina and counselor in the Pittsburgh Mafia and as temporary commander of the Kansas City mob.(2)

Gentile experienced several close calls. The most dramatic occurred when he was called to the Chicago underworld coronation of Salvatore Maranzano at the conclusion of the Castellammarese War. Then Pittsburgh boss Giuseppe Siragusa had made some secret accusations against Gentile, and Gentile was summoned for a disciplinary hearing that easily could have resulted in his execution. In a face-to-face meeting with host Al Capone, Gentile denied the charges and threatened to behead any person making them. Capone, who recalled meeting Gentile in the days of Mafia boss Mike Merlo, was impressed by Gentile's courage. Siragusa backed off.(3)

In 1937, facing narcotics charges from a federal arrest in New Orleans, LA, he returned to Sicily. After World War II, when Luciano was deported to Italy, the U.S. narcotics enforcement agents believed the two men teamed up in Sicily to arrange drug smuggling into the U.S.(4)

About the time of his escape to Sicily, Gentile decided to write about his Mafia experiences. A manuscript was shared with American agents in Italy. It was translated to English and later turned over to the FBI. Gentile was advised to do no more writing. However, a 1963 book named Vita di Capomafia, he cowrote with journalist Felice Chilante, repeated and expanded upon the material in the earlier manuscript. A series of articles based on the book was run in Italian newspapers. Gentile's early manuscript, published book and articles were used by U.S. law enforcement officials as corroboration (possibly also as foundation) for the tales told by Mafia informant Joe Valachi.(5) (It is likely that bits of Gentile's work were provided to Valachi to fill the considerable gaps in his personal underworld knowledge.)

Gentile received an underworld death sentence for his violation of the Mafia's code of silence. However, his assigned killers took no action against him, allowing him to die of old age.(6) Gentile's passing was not noted by the American press.(7)

Related Links:

Notes:

. Gentile, Nick, Vita di Capomafia, Rome: Editori Riuniti, 1963.
. Gentile. Gentile's leadership of an American Mafia crew is also noted in Gage, Nicholas, "Mafioso's memoirs support Valachi's testimony...," New York Times, Sunday, April 11, 1971, p. 51. His work as a traveling troubleshooter is noted in Messick, Hank, Lansky, New York: Berkley, 1971.
. Gentile.
. Hinton, Harold B., "Luciano rules U.S. narcotics from Sicily, senators hear," New York Times, Thursday, June 28, 1951, p. 1.
. Gage.
. Blickman, Tom, "The Rothschilds of the Mafia on Aruba," Transnational Organized Crime, Vol. 3, No. 2, Summer 1997, Transnational Institute website: http://www.tni.org/detail_page.phtml?page=archives_tblick_aruba .
. In 1971, Gage, closed with, "Nothing has been heard about him in recent years, but he is believed to be still alive."

Gargotta, Charles (c1902-1950)

Born c1902.

Killed Kansas City, MO, April 5, 1950.

Charles "Mad Dog" Gargotta, once part of the Pendergast political machine in Kansas City, was murdered alongside local crime boss Charles Binaggio in the spring of 1950.

Gargotta was known to be a part of the local rackets from the days of boss John Lazia. He served as pallbearer for Lazia after the boss was shot down in 1934.

A veteran of the penitentiary (he served 19 months after being convicted of assault with intent to kill), Gargotta was a key man in the Binaggio criminal organization. In addition to running a gambling empire, Binaggio was also a political leader in the First Ward of Kansas City (North Side). Binaggio was closely allied to Pendergast before breaking off from that organization and openly challenging the declining political machine in 1948.

On the evening of April 5, 1950, Binaggio and Gargotta borrowed a car and drove to meet someone they trusted (Binaggio's usual bodyguard was told he did not need to come along) at the Jackson County Democratic Club on Truman Road. The two men were shot to death within the political headquarters.

A taxi driver later discovered the bodies. Both men were found with four bullet wounds to the head. Binaggio's body lay in a chair at the rear of the club. Gargotta was found sprawled on the floor near the door, where he had apparently grabbed at Venetian blinds after being shot.

The elimination of Binaggio and Gargotta was followed by an apparent return to power of the old Sicilian Mafia organization of Joseph DiGiovanni and James Balestrere.

After the murders, authorities revealed that Gargotta had been supplying the government with information on a large-scale gambling ring operating in the Kansas City area.

DiGiovanni, Joseph (1888-1971)

Born Chiusa Sclafani, Sicily, April 23, 1888.

Died Kansas City, Aug. 5, 1971.

"Joe Church" DiGiovanni is among the earliest known Mafia bosses of Kansas City, MO. His family roots extend back to Chiusa Sclafani in Sicily. He entered the United States in 1903.

Once settled in Kansas City, Joseph and his brothers Paul and Pietro/Peter (known as "Sugarhouse Pete") reportedly engaged in Black Hand extortion and kidnapping within the local Italian communities. Paul DiGiovanni appears to have served as boss of the operation in its early stages and into the Prohibition Era (Paul died in 1929). According to legend, an attempt to firebomb a building in order to collect on its insurance resulted in an unexpected explosion that left Joseph permanently scarred on his face and hands.

Black market opportunities presented themselves during the First World War, and the DiGiovannis - who ran a wholesale grocery - took full advantage. Joseph DiGiovanni became partners with James Balestrere in a Prohibition Era bootlegging operation.

The U.S. Senate's Kefauver Committee interviewed the sixty-two-year-old DiGiovanni in the summer of 1950. At that time, he and his brother Peter ran a wholesale liquor distributorship affiliated with the Seagram's company. DiGiovanni denied any knowledge of the Mafia. He denied ever even hearing of the word "Mafia." He insisted that he had never been arrested or questioned by police.

Peter DiGiovanni, then sixty-four (born June 28, 1886), also appeared before the Kefauver Committee. He acknowledged being arrested repeatedly for bootlegging during the Prohibition Era. He said he was never convicted.

The Kefauver Committee concluded that Joseph DiGiovanni and James Balestrere still served as the top men in the Kansas City underworld.

Related Links:

Crime boss listing - Mafiahistory.us

Civella, Nick (1912-1983)

Born Kansas City, MO, March 19, 1912.

Died Kansas City, MO, March 12, 1983.

During Nick Civella's reign, from the late 1950s to the early 1980s, the KC mob moved aggressively into Las Vegas casinos and reportedly had large interests in the Stardust (opened in 1955), the Fremont (opened in 1956) and later the Landmark Hotel (opened in 1969). The move west was done in concert with Mafia families from Cleveland and Chicago.

Kansas City-born Civella was closely tied to the Teamsters Union during Jimmy Hoffa's presidency and the later presidency of Roy Williams (1915-1988) and appears to have had access to the Teamster pension fund. (After the mob boss's death, Roy Williams told authorities that he was intimidated into doing Civella's bidding.)

Civella is believed to have been an attendee at the 1957 Apalachin, NY, crime convention, though he was able to escape Joseph Barbara's estate without being noticed by authorities. Police found Civella and KC Mafia big shot Joseph Filardo in a taxi at the train station in nearby Binghamton, New York. Civella probably was not yet official boss of the KC crime family at the time, but his underworld faction - including relatives Carl and Anthony Civella and Carl "Tuffy" DeLuna - had become the most powerful in the local mob.

Thanks to his skimming from the Stardust, Civella earned an early place on the Nevada Gaming Commission's Exclusion List. He, his brother Carl and nine others were the first to be named on the list in 1960. In the 1970s, FBI wiretaps revealed the extent of the organized crime conspiracy to skim from the casinos.

Civella spent the later years of his life in prisons. He was released in failing health in 1980 and passed away in March 1983.

Related Links:

Crime boss listing

Civella, Carl "Cork" (1910-1994)

Born Kansas City, MO, Jan. 28, 1910.

Died Fort Worth, TX, Oct. 2, 1994.

Nick Civella's brother and Anthony Civella's father, Carl "the Cork" took over day to day activities of the Kansas City underworld as his brother Nick faced increased scrutiny from law enforcement in the mid-1970s. Carl became full boss upon his brother Nick's death.

The federal "Strawman" investigation of mob skimming operations in Las Vegas casinos occurred during Carl Civella's reign. Civella, his underboss Carl "Tuffy" DeLuna and other KC mobsters, along with underworld figures from Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Las Vegas were caught up in the case.

The Cork did not last long in the top underworld post, as he was sent off to a 10- to 30-year sentence in prison in September of 1984. Another 10-year sentence was immediately added through another matter.

His son Anthony might have succeeded him as boss, but he was serving his own prison term for racketeering. Successful prosecutions so depleted the Civella faction in the Kansas City underworld that a semi-independent wing of the Mafia run by William Cammisano came to power in 1984. Anthony did eventually rise to the boss position by the end of the decade.

Carl died in prison in 1994, while Anthony was serving another prison sentence.

Civella, Anthony "Ripe Tony" (1930-2006)

Born Kansas City, MO, Feb. 17, 1930.

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.

Related Links:

Crime boss listing

Balestrere, James (1891-c1959)

Born Bagheria, Sicily, June 24, 1891.

Died Kansas City, MO, Oct. 19, 1959.

Born near Palermo, Sicily, Balestrere initially settled with his family in Milwaukee(1), in spring 1903(2). When he was a teenager, his family moved to the Kansas City area.
Balestrere became a big shot in the Kansas City outfit during Prohibition. Though a stone mason(3) by trade, he is believed to have teamed with the DiGiovanni brothers - Joseph and Pietro - in a bootlegging-related venture, supplying sugar to moonshine operations.(4)

After Prohibition the K.C. mob appeared to be under the control of Charles Binaggio, connected to the Pendergast political machine. Binaggio might also have had a hand in St. Louis-area gambling(5). Some believe Binaggio was merely a front man, while underworld orders continued to come from Joseph DiGiovanni(6).

At that time, Balestrere put his mason skills to use constructing a local restaurant/casino. (He previously worked operating a grocery store and a drug store.) The gambling establishment became known as "the White House." In the late 1930s, Balestrere also managed a keno game for Pendergast.(7)

Binaggio and his chief lieutenant Charles "Mad Dog" Gargotta were murdered on April 5, 1950, at a political headquarters(8). At the time, Missouri Senator James P. Kem called the murders an outgrowth of "the unholy alliance between politics and the underworld in Kansas City."(9).

Balestrere reportedly was a senior partner in the leadership group that followed Binaggio (or one which existed for some time under cover of Binaggio). Control of the K.C. mob looks to have been shared by Balestrere, Thomas "Tano" Lococo, Charles Carollo and former Binaggio ally Anthony Gizzo(10).

Some pronounce Gizzo the supreme boss in the city's underworld from 1950 until his death of natural causes(11). However, the Kefauver Committee, after hearing Balestrere's testimony in September 1950, decided that Balestrere was the big man(12).

Related Links:

Notes:

. Fox, Blood and Power, p. 37. A Mafia clan in Milwaukee had a similar-sounding name spelled "Balestrieri" or "Balestreri."
. Passport application dated Feb. 21, 1923; U.S Census Records, 1930.
. Ibid. World War I Draft Records, 1917.
. Fox, op. cit. In testimony before the Kefauver Committee, Sept. 30, 1950, Balestrere admitted only to supplying sugar to those engaged in the manufacture of "moonshine": "Kefauver clears Kansas City police," New York Times, Oct. 1, 1950, p. 81. Roots of the sugar business were traced back to a black market enterprise during World War I: May, Allan. "The History of the Kansas City Family," ItalKC.com.
. Kefauver Committee Report #3.
. "Organized Crime Syndicates" website - Kansas City
. "Kefauver clears...," op. cit.
. "Binaggio, Kansas City political figure...," Sedalia (Mo) Democrat, Apr. 6, 1950, p. 1.
. "President asked to halt Kansas City crime wave," Sikeston (Mo) Herald, Apr. 20, 1950, p. 10.
. Kefauver Committee, op. cit. Virgil Peterson testimony to Kefauver panel.
. "Organized Crime Syndicates," op. cit.
. Kefauver Committee, op. cit.
. Hayde, Frank R., The Mafia and the Machine, Fort Lee NJ: Barricade, 2007; "James G. Balestrere," Find-a-Grave ( http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=16782970 ).