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Title
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Missouri: Murder on Truman Road
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Description
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Photos and biographical article about Charles Binaggio, Jackson County political boss, killed in his "First District Democratic Club on Truman Road in Kansas City" in 1950 along with Charles Gargotta, "a gunman who was his chief 'enforcer.'" Description of Binaggio's career and rise to power after coming to Kansas City from Chicago, being tutored by Tom Pendergast in the 1930s before succeeding him over Tom's nephew, James Pendergast.
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Date
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1950-04-17
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Object Type
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Magazine Article
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Title
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Another Shocker for Kansas City
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Description
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Many photos of court appearances and buildings of organized crime members involved with the murdered men, Binaggio and Gargotta.
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Date
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1950-05-15
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Object Type
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Magazine Article
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Title
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He Beats the Rap but You Take It
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Description
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Photo and article about the murder trail of Charles Gargotta, "rat-faced Pendergast political lieutenant and gangster" reportedly interrupted by Sheriff Thomas Bash in "a killing party on Armour boulevard and Forest avenue" on August 12, 1933. Details about the case and information about other Kansas Citians involved, including the following: "Ferris Anthon, a rival Fifteenth street bootlegger" allegedly killed in the shooting by Gargotta; Sammy Scola and Gus Fasone, "friends of Gargotta and fellow workers in the North Side Democratic club" killed by Bash; John Lazia, "North Side gangster king" and owner of the Gargotta Buick; and presiding judge Merrill Ots, et al.
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Date
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1935-05-17
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Object Type
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Magazine Article
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Title
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Charles Gargotta Being Escorted by Officers
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Description
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Mobster Charles Gargotta (center) being escorted to his arraignment to face charges of murdering bootlegger Ferris Anthon and the attempted murder of Sheriff Thomas Bash on August 12, 1933. He is being escorted by Chief Deputy William Schickhardt (left) and Deputy Al Finkelstine.
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Date
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1933-08-16
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Object Type
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Negative
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Title
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3203-3211 Southwest Boulevard - Last Chance Tavern (Saloon)
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Description
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View looking east of the buildings that once stood at 3203-3211 Southwest Boulevard. The Last Chance Tavern (or Saloon) at 3205 Southwest Boulevard, Goulding's, and the Last Chance Cafe are in view. Cars parked on the street can be seen.
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Date
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1950-04
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Object Type
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Photograph
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Title
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SC205 Organized Crime Files Finding Aid
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Description
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This collection contains files relating to organized crime in Kansas City from the 1930s to the 1970s. Contents include records from the Kansas City Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation, reporter’s notes, newspaper clippings, and photographs of local mafia members.
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Date
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1934~/1972~
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Object Type
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Finding Aid
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Title
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Charles Gargotta
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Description
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Newspaper clippings from the Kansas City Star and Times on Charles Gargotta, the organized crime leader in Kansas City shot to death in 1950, with photos.
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Object Type
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Archival Material
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Title
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SC205 Organized Crime Files - Series 1: Mugshots
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Description
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This series contains miscellaneous Kansas City Police Department mug shots from various dates showing individuals suspected of having ties to organized crime, mafia, and mob activity in Kansas City. Some include a physical description and record of previous arrests on the back side of the photograph. Please note that the individuals in these mug shots do not have a corresponding police file in this collection. Mug shots of those listed in Series 2 and 3 were kept with their corresponding file. This series is arranged alphabetically by surname.
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Date
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1934~/1972~
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Object Type
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Archival Material
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Title
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SC205 Organized Crime Files - Series 4: Unione Sicilione
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Description
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This series contains photographs, miscellaneous documents,and newspaper clippings pertaining to the Sicilian-American criminal brotherhood known as the Unione Sicilione, or Unione Siciliana, and individuals suspected of having ties to organized crime, mafia, and mob activity in Kansas City.
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Date
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1950/1961
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Object Type
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Archival Material
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Title
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The Binaggio and Gargotta Murders
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Description
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A collection of 111 pages of photocopied newspaper articles from the Kansas City Star and Kansas City Times detailing the murders of Charles Binaggio and Charles Gargotta and the subsequent investigation of those killings. The victims were associated with the First District Democratic Club, located on Kansas City's north side, and both had ties to organized crime. The clippings cover a four-month period in 1950, from April until August. Each article is annotated with its source and date of publication. Charles Binaggio was a Democratic faction leader and Charles Gargotta was a north side underworld character. Both were shot on April 6, 1950, in the club rooms of the First District Democratic Club at 716-718 Truman Road. According to the newspaper clipping on page 37 of the compilation, both Binaggio and Gargotta are buried in Mount St. Mary's Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri.
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Date
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1950-04-06/1950-08-06
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Object Type
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Newspaper Article
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Title
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Crime's Grip on Politics: Reported from Kansas City
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Description
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Crime and gambling--and their ties with politics in President Truman's home county--are starting to come into the open. [G]ambling a 34.5-million-dollar deal in Kansas City.
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Date
-
1950-05-12
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Object Type
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Magazine Article
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Title
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Future: The Newsweekly for Today
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Description
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Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes an article, continued on page 8, about the escape from federal police in Kansas City of Sam Randazzo, "a St. Louis gangster" being released from Leavenworth, with the help of police officials Otto Higgins and Jeff Rayen. Other featured articles include: “Patriots Go to Riverside” (p. 2), about the gambling on horse racing in Riverside, Missouri, "(owned by Pendergast associates)" and its effects on gambling salons or saloons in Kansas City such as "the Bowery and the King Kong"; “The Eagle Hovers” (p. 2), about the meeting of the Fraternal Order of Eagles (led by Conrad Mann) in honor of Thomas J. Pendergast to initiate 1,000 new members affiliated with the local Democratic Party including Charles Carrollo ("companion of John Lazia when the North End Democratic leader was machine-gunned to death"), Dominick Binaggio ("political gambling king here"), et al.; “New Pussys” (p. 3), about the "Pusateris" operating gambling machines, prostitutes, bootleg liquors, and "juicy steak dinners" "about a block east of police headquarters" during the Prohibition era, moving in 1935 to a new building near 79th and Holmes Streets "outside the city limits" and projected to be "one of the swankiest night clubs and casinos in the Middle West"; “Pathetic Case of Leonard Claiborne” (p. 3), photo and article about Leonard Claiborne, "for fifteen years a city detective" for the Kansas City Police Department and sentenced to "a four-year term for a lie he told to save the neck of Charles Gargotta, North Side gangster" under John Lazia in 1933; and “May We Present Mrs. George H. Hoxie” (p. 5), photo and profile of Ida S. Hoxie, who worked with the Consumers’ League to ensure that local dairies were hygienic and was also active with the Red Cross and League of Women Voters; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on fashion, finance, cooking, music, art, and national and international news.
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Date
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1935-05-24
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Object Type
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Newspaper
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Title
-
Future: The Newsweekly for Today
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Description
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Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes an article, continued on page 8, describing the inequality of property tax assessments throughout Jackson County and other costs of homeownership. Other featured articles include: “He Beats the Rap but You Take It” (p. 3), photo and article about the murder trial of Charles Gargotta, "rat-faced Pendergast political lieutenant and gangster" reportedly interrupted by Sheriff Thomas Bash in "a killing party on Armour boulevard and Forest avenue" on August 12, 1933, including details about the case and information about other Kansas Citians involved, including the following: "Ferris Anthon, a rival Fifteenth street bootlegger" allegedly killed in the shooting by Gargotta; Sammy Scola and Gus Fasone, "friends of Gargotta and fellow workers in the North Side Democratic club" killed by Bash; John Lazia, "North Side gangster king" and owner of the Gargotta Buick; and presiding judge Merrill Otis, et al; “His Country Needs Him” (p. 4), article about Matthew Murray, "director of public works and a city hall protegee of Henry McElroy," recommended "to direct the expenditure of Missouri's share of the president's $4,880,000, 000 work relief fund" by "Senators Truman (Pendergast) and Clark of St. Louis"; and “May We Present George O. Pratt” (p. 5), photo and article about Pratt, local lawyer and associate director of the Regional Labor Relations Board; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on fashion, finance, cooking, music, art, and national and international news.
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Date
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1935-05-17
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Object Type
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Newspaper
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Title
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Future: The Newsweekly for Today
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Description
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First issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes a statement on the newspaper's objective, maintaining that the newspaper is not against any certain political party or vice, but that it is simply for "good government." Featured articles include: “Council Passes Cab Ordinance” (pp. 2 & 4) discussing councilman Frank H. Backstrom’s reaction to the ordinance and detailing other ordinances appropriating bond funds.; "Adult Education--A Fine Work" (pp. 2 & 6) concerning "the program of adult education going forward under the FERA, with the hearty co-operation of the city's Board of Education" and supervised by Roy Gallemore. It describes courses offered at Lincoln High School and its "sixty-three colored teachers employed, a goodly number as compared with the hundred and sixteen white teachers."; “Trivia” (pp. 2 & 6) and "Borderline Businesses Pay Most Sugar" (pp. 3 & 8) on the bombing of the Harlem Nightclub as an example of the vulnerability of semi-legitimate ("borderline") nightclubs and other businesses in Kansas City to its strong-arm tactics of organized crime through the police department. A photo of the Harlem Nightclub bombing is included.; "What, Precisely, Is a Machine?" (pp. 3 & 5) on the definition of political machines and the Pendergast machine in Kansas City fitting this definition through unofficial financing, voting fraud, etc.; "A New Administration for the County" (pp. 3-5) detailing the new administrative officials, new budget laws, and efforts to reduce the city deficit. A picture of J. W. Hostetter, Eugene I. Purcell, and Battle McCardle is included.; “NYM” (p. 4) on the National Youth Movement began in Kansas City in May 1932 with a portrait of Joseph C. Fennelly.; "May We Present Mrs. Charles N. Seidlitz" (p. 5) on Alice Richards Seidlitz "one of the founders of the Junior League of Kansas City," wife of Charles Seidlitz ("president of the Seidlitz Paint and Varnish Company"), and daughter of George Richards ("son of the founder of Richards and Conover Hardware Company"). A photo of Alice is included.; "Be Proud, Citizens!" (pp. 5 & 8) on the ironic description of Kansas City by Judge Brown Harris "as 'probably the most law-abiding city in the United States.'" Irony due to the judge's association with the Pendergast machine and "federal indictments" in relation to the Union Station massacre of Eugene Reppert ("former director of police"), Thomas Higgins ("chief of detectives"), George Rayen ("of the police motor theft bureau"), Tom Bash (sheriff), etc.; Book review (p. 7) of "Heaven's My Destination" by Thornton Wilder (author of "Our Town" and "The Bridge of San Luis Rey"), describing a scene in the book with the main character (a devoutly religious man) unknowingly eating at one of Kansas City's "bawdy houses" and experiencing other misadventures.; Also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on sports, fashion, finance, cooking, music, and national and international news.
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Date
-
1935-01-11
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Object Type
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Newspaper
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-
Title
-
Future: The Newsweekly for Today
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Description
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Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes an article, continued on page 8, about crime in Kansas City, the lack of accurate, trustworthy records about its frequency and location, and the city’s “inefficient, politically-controlled police department.” Other featured articles include: “Mister Welching” (p. 3), a photo and article about "Judge Casimir John Joseph Aloysius Welch," or Casimir Welch, "the florid Fifteenth street political boss" fighting "his way up from a journeyman plumber to the judgeship of a justice court and the baronage of Fifteenth street”; and “May We Present Paul Gardner” (p. 5), a photo and profile of Paul Gardner, "director of the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery and Atkins Museum" and an architect "in Kansas City advising with the architects and contractors during the building of the Nelson Gallery," born in Boston and raised in San Francisco; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on fashion, finance, cooking, music, art, and national and international news.
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Date
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1935-07-05
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Object Type
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Newspaper
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-
Title
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Open City: True Story of the KC Crime Family 1900-1950
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Description
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Open City is an historical work detailing and analyzing the birth and growth of an organized crime family in Kansas City during the first 50 yars of the 20th Century. It includes names as Charles Binaggio, Nick Civella, Joe DiGiovanni, Charles Gargotta, John Lazia, and Tom Pendergast. Covers topics like prohibition, gambling, political machines, labor rackets, etc. The author was supervisor of the Organized Crime Squad, Kansas City Field Division after a long career with the FBI when he retired.
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Date
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2008
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Object Type
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Book
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Title
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The Crime-Ridden Summer of 1933
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Description
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Article reviews the events of the 1933 summer when Mary McElroy was kidnapped, eleven prisoners escaped from the Kansas penitentiary in Lansing, The Union Station Massacre took place, Bonnie and Clyde engaged in a shoot out with officers in Platte County, and Jackson County sheriff Thomas B. Bash interrupted a shooting and ended up killing two mafia figures.
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Date
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1963-09-08
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Object Type
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Newspaper Article
