Search results

Title: Dictionary of Missouri Biography
Description: Biographical information about John Lazia (1896-1934), an organized crime figure in the "Little Italy" section of Kansas City and an occasional liaison between the Kansas City Police Department and the "underworld."
Date: 1999
Object Type: Book

Title: Ten Thousand Public Enemies
Description: Photos and descriptions of crime in early 20th century Kansas City, highlighting some of its more sensational outlaws such as Frank Nash and Johnny Lazia, et al. Many details of infamous criminals operating in and around Kansas City and hunted by the early Federal Bureau of Investigations (especially at the time of the Kansas City Massacre), such as Pinky Blitz, Charles Clinton, Verne Miller, Pretty Boy Floyd, Adam Richetti, Juanita Baird, Rose Baird, Jimmy Keating, Thomas Holden, Herb Farmer, Fred Barker, Ma Barker, John Lazia, Earl Christman, Baby Face Nelson, Alvin Karpis, and Charles Gargotta, et al.
Date: 1935
Object Type: Book

Title: Chronicle of an American Crusader: Alumni Lectures Delivered at the Hebrew Union College
Description: Description of a "Walkathon" Depression-era dance craze (pages 117-118) and other activities dealing with organized crime figure "John Lazia [1896-1934], gangster and thug" in Kansas City from 1928 until his death by machine gun fire in 1934. Description of Rabbi Samuel Mayerberg's efforts to expose and oust the Kansas City political machine of Tom Pendergast, Henry McElroy, et al.
Date: 1944
Object Type: Book

Title: Open City: True Story of the KC Crime Family 1900-1950
Description: 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.
Date: 2008
Object Type: Book

Title: The Mafia and the Machine: The Story of the Kansas City Mob
Description: Book jacket reads: The alliance between organized crime and politics was never stronger than it was in Kansas City, where the local Mob boss controlled the police department and terrorized elections...From the streets and strip clubs to the nation's capitol, events unfolding in Kansas City would shape the history of the entire underworld. Book covers the Pendergast era, Johnny Lazia, the Binaggio era, the River Quay saga, connections to Las Vegas, and much more. Back of the book includes a cast of characters arranged alphabetically by last name as well as a selected bibliography.
Date: 2007
Object Type: Book

Pages