Why was Kansas City a significant place for the Italian mafia? Local expert explains
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear “Kansas City”?
Chiefs? BBQ? Hundreds of fountains scattered throughout the city?
Maybe it’s all of the above. But for many history buffs around the world, the initial thought may be a little more twisted, a little more corrupt, and a little more fascinating; That’s the story we’re about to unpack.
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You may have heard of the Italian mafia, a notorious group that dominated the political, economic and cultural life of cities in America in the 20th century.
Many people associate the mafia with New York City’s five crime families (Genovese, Gambino, Lucchese, Colombo and Bonanno) or the Las Vegas gambling scene. But others may know the true history of Heartland, especially its ties to organized crime in Kansas City.
Those ties stretch back to the early 20th century and halfway around the world, says mob expert Gary Jenkins, a documentary filmmaker and host of the “Gangland Wire” podcast.
Once known as a small island at the tip of the Italian shoe, Sicily is now credited as the birthplace of the “Cosa Nostra” or “Sicilian Mafia” and has since been popularized in mainstream culture by films such as: “Cosa Nostra” or “Sicilian Mafia”.friends“”Casino,” And “Godfather.“
Jenkins told FOX4 that the mafia emerged as a protective mechanism to combat an unstable northern Italian government. However, it developed later after the “Great Sicilian Migration”. 4 million Italian immigrants came to the USA in 1920.
From there, newcomers landed in different American cities and, over the years, expanded westward to seek greater economic opportunities.
But each city, including Kansas City, brought challenges that forced many of these newcomers to take matters into their own hands.
“When you have a large group of immigrants like this, they’re looking for opportunity, they don’t speak the language, they’re a little darker and they come to Kansas City, they’re jockeying for jobs, and the Irish and the British — my people and your people — we’ve got all the work done and we’re not letting these newcomers in,” Jenkins said.
“So they start fighting, they have a swirl joint, they own a restaurant, and the whole family works there. The same thing happens today. And they bring this group called the mafia with them.”
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Jenkins also explained how Italian-owned brick-and-mortar businesses in places like River Quay (now known as River Market) eventually changed their business models when they began recruiting outside members, often from other Sicilians. From this point on, power would become more attractive and underground deals would emerge as equally successful tools of trade.
Prohibition was one of the catalysts for organized crime in Kansas City, and some of the metro’s most well-known mobsters originated from it, including one of the city’s first mob bosses. John Lazia (born Lazzio).
From there, with the help of Lazia’s political connections, Tom Pendergast came onto the scene and delivered his famous “Pendergast’s political machine“It is an era full of corruption, collusion and conspiracies.
“[Lazia] We agreed with Pendergast; Pendergast ruled the entire city,” Jenkins said. “And they took over their own political destiny and became a political powerhouse as well. They were able to influence who would be a judge, who would be on the city council, and things like that. So he kept rolling.
But after many years of being the puppet master of Kansas City’s political strings, Lazia was assassinated. This led to one of Kansas City’s most well-known mob eras; a time when organized crime ties extended beyond the borders of the metro and transformed itself into a nationwide gambling scheme that would eventually lead to his demise.
The period in question was the 1970s and 1980s. An era when longtime mob boss Nick Civella ran the metro’s local and national mob affairs.
His reign included numerous illegal and corrupt activities, including the infiltration and influence of the Teamsters Union, which had control over the Central States Pension Fund (CSPF). This fund would later be called “the most abused, misused retirement fund in America.” According to an article published in Forbes in 1980.
CSPF was often handed over to and used by mafia families; It offered its members a direct source of illicit income and power in Midwestern cities, particularly Kansas City.
Jenkins,”[Mafyanın]”Depending on how many votes they could bring in and who they could intimidate, they had a say in what was going on and they got involved in the Teamsters Union and, you know, union racketeering,” he said.[Themafia}hadasaysointhingsthatwerehappeningdependingonhowmanyvotestheycouldbringandwhotheycouldintimidateandtheygotinwiththeTeamstersUnionandyouknowunionracketeering”Jenkinssaid
“But Roy Lee Williams got into bed with Nick Civella, and you know, he’s got one hand watching the other, and if the mob guys need some heavy lifting to do, Roy Lee Williams can go ’em.”
Jenkins said the Teamsters Union is “a powerful political animal in every city” because it has a top-down approach to corruption. This means that the boss can issue an order and tell his men and their families to vote a certain way, and they will do it.
“They had their own niche,” Jenkins concluded. “Probably the relationship between Roy Lee Williams and Nick Civella was the biggest thing that gave them the most power.”
Despite the Mafia’s influence on Kansas City’s infrastructure in the early to late 1900s, Jenkins said they never “fully got their finger on the scale.”
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And after years of Civella’s illegal gambling schemes and union racketeering, his crimes were uncovered through the famous FBI-led operation.Strawman.” From there, Civella was arrested, charged, convicted, and imprisoned, beginning the collapse of the subway’s organized crime connections.
In the early 2000s, the words “Italian mafia” and “Kansas City” held less fear and more intrigue, luring true crime junkies with riveting pieces of local and national history that shaped the landscape of politics, public services, public figures and public consciousness.
All that’s left now is the stories people shared and creators like Jenkins doing their best to preserve that history.
Local filmmaker is preparing to release his latest film: “Gangland Wire” at the Glenwood Arts Theater for the KC Mafia and True Crime Film Festival.
The festival runs December 4-13, and Jenkins’ 82-minute documentary is scheduled to air on Friday, December 5 at 7 p.m.
For detailed information about the film festival; Click here. To learn more about Jenkins and his Kansas City mob history, go to: ganglandwire.com.
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