KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When you hear “Kansas City,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
Are they the bosses? The grill? The hundreds of fountains scattered around the city?
Maybe it’s all of the above. But for many history buffs around the world, the first thought would have been a little more crooked, a little more corrupt, and a little more captivating — 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 once dominated the political, economic and cultural life of America’s cities during the 20th century.
Many associate the mafia with the five crime families of New York – Genovese, Gambino, Lucchese, Colombo and Bonanno – or the gambling scene in Las Vegas. But others may know the true history of the Heartland’s ties to organized crime, particularly in Kansas City.
Mob expert Gary Jenkins, a documentary filmmaker and host of the “Gangland Wire” podcast, says these ties go back as far as the early 20th century and halfway around the world.
What was once known as just a small island at the tip of Italy’s boot, Sicily is now referred to as the birthplace of the ‘Cosa Nostra’ or ‘Sicilian Mafia’, which has since been popularized in mainstream culture by films such as ‘dears,” “Casino“, and “The godfather.“
Jenkins told FOX4 that the mafia emerged as a protection mechanism to combat an unstable government in northern Italy. However, it evolved later after the “Great Sicilian Immigration”, when at least 4 million Italian immigrants landed in the US by 1920.
From there, the new arrivals planted their feet in various American cities, expanding westward as the years passed for 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 that, they’re looking for opportunities, they don’t speak the languages, they’re a little darker and they come to Kansas City and they’re fighting for jobs, and the Irish and the English — my people and your people — we’ve got all the jobs sewn up and we’re not letting these newcomers in,” Jenkin said.
“So they start fighting and they have eddy joints, and they have restaurants and the whole family works there. The same thing happens today. And they bring with them this group called the mob.”
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Jenkins went on to explain how these Italian-owned brick-and-mortar businesses in places like River Quay (now known as River Market) eventually changed their business models once they began recruiting outside members, usually other Sicilians. From there, power would become more attractive and underground dealings would emerge as equally successful means of commerce.
Prohibition was one of the catalysts for organized crime in Kansas City, and from it emerged some of the metro area’s most notorious mobsters, including one of the city’s first mob bosses. John Lazia (born Lazzio).
From there, and with the help of Lazia’s political connections, Tom Pendergast entered the picture, starting the infamous “The Pendergast Political Machine” era full of corruption, collusion and conspiracy.
“[Lazia] got along with Pendergast; Pendergast ran the whole town,” Jenkins said. “And they took over their own political destiny and became a political power as well. They were able to influence who was going to be a judge and who was on the city council and things like that. So it just kept running.”
However, after many years of being the political puppeteer in Kansas City, Lazia was assassinated. This led to one of the most notorious eras of the Kansas City mob, an era in which its ties to organized crime extended beyond the metro’s borders and settled into a nationwide gambling scheme that would eventually lead to its demise.
The era in question was the 1970s and 1980s. A time when longtime mob boss Nick Civella ran the local and national underground mob business.
His reign involved numerous illegal and corrupt activities, including the infiltration and influence of the Teamsters Union, which held control of the Central States Pension Fund (CSPF). This fund would later be called “America’s most abused and misused pension fund.” according to an article published in Forbes in 1980.
The CSPF was often delegated to and used by mob families, providing its members with a direct source of illegal income and power in Midwestern cities, especially Kansas City.
“[The mafia} had a say so in things that were happening, depending on how many votes they could bring and who they could intimidate, and they got in with the Teamsters Union, and you know, union racketeering,” Jenkins said.
“But Roy Lee Wiliams got in bed with Nick Civella and, you know, one hand watches the other, and if they needed some heavy lifting done by mafia guys, Roy Lee Williams could go to them.”
Jenkins went on to say that the Teamsters Union was a “powerful political animal in any city” because it carried a top-down approach to corruption. This means, the boss could issue an order and tell his guys to vote a certain way, as well as their families, and they would do just that.
“They had their niche,” Jenkins concluded. “Probably the relationship between Roy Lee Williams and Nick Civella was the most important thing that gave them the most power.”
Despite the mob’s influence on Kansas City’s infrastructure over the early-to-late 1900s, Jenkins said they never entirely had their “thumb on the scales.”
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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, kickstarting the demise of the metro’s organized crime ties.
By the early 2000s, the words “Italian mob” and “Kansas City” were less of a fear and more of a fascination, reeling in true crime junkies with pieces of gripping local and national history that shaped the landscape of politics, public services, public figures and public consciousness.
Now, all that’s left are the stories people share and the creators, like Jenkins, who do what they can to uphold said history.
The local filmmaker is set to debut his latest film, “Gangland Wire” at the Glenwood Arts Theater for the KC Mafia and True Crime Film Festival.
The festival runs from Dec. 4-13, and Jenkins’ 82-minute documentary is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m.
For more information about the film festival, click here. To learn more about Jenkins and Kansas City mafia history, go to ganglandwire.com.
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