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Title
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Kansas City Crime Central
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Description
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This 232-page book details crimes and criminals in Kansas City area from Union Station Massacre and Bonnie and Clyde to the more recent Ali Kemp and Erica Gree (Precious Doe).
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Date
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2010
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Object Type
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Book
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Title
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John Lazia
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Description
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Information on John Lazia (1896-1934), called a "North Side political chieftain and power in the underworld" connected to the Union Station Massacre and "boss Tom Pendergast's lieutenant in the Kansas City Democratic organization."
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Object Type
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Vertical File
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Title
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T. J. and W. T.
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Description
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Biographical article about patching up of differences between William Kemper, Sr. ("Democratic national committeeman for Missouri") and Tom Pendergast (Democratic No. 1 man in Missouri"), "concerning an outgrowth of the Lazia case here."
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Date
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1935-07-12
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Object Type
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Magazine Article
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Title
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10,000 Public Enemies
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Description
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Book review of "Ten Thousand Public Enemies" by Courtney Ryley Cooper about crime and prominent criminals (such as John Lazia, et al.) in Kansas City tracked by "the United States government, Division of Investigation," led by J. Edgar Hoover. Information on Lazia's crimes from 1908 to 1917 before his rise to organized crime fame.
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Date
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1935-05-24
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Object Type
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Magazine Article
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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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SC205 Organized Crime Files - Series 5: Records and General Data
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Description
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This series contains miscellaneous police records, newspaper clippings, Kansas City Star staff correspondence, and information on various mafia members, including Charles Gargotta and several others listed in Series 2, all suspected of having ties to organized crime, mafia, and mob activity in Kansas City. Loose mug shots were removed and interfiled with Series1-3.
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Date
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1947/1959
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Object Type
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Archival Material
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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
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1935-01-11
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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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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 J. C. Nichols and his city planning projects in Kansas City with the Country Club residential district and Country Club Plaza shopping center, etc., including a photo of Nichols. Other featured articles include: “To Better Serve His Clients” (p. 2), about Michael Konomos retiring as assistant county prosecutor after "'los[ing] the records' in one of the most infamous murder cases in court history here last March" involving a murder by John Mangiaricina, "alleged killer, ward politician in well with an organization power"; “Bye Bye Adam (p. 2), photo and article about Adam Richetti, "associate of Charles (Pretty Boy) Floyd, in the circuit court … being tried on a charge of murder in connection with the Union Station massacre"; and “May We Present Jimmy Maroon” (p. 5), profile of Jimmy Maroon, or James Maroon, "hoodlum, city employee, and man-about-Twelth-Street," starting out as a criminal in Kansas City in 1927 as a car thief and kidnapper and arrested as part of a criminal gang in Kansas City in 1935; 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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1935-06-21
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Object Type
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Newspaper
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Title
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Union Station Massacre Revisited
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Description
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Part one in a two-part series of articles about the Union Station Massacre in 1933, with photos and "Thumbnail Sketches of Union Station Massacre Cast," including Adam Richetti, Frank Nash, Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, or Pretty Boy Floyd, et al.
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Date
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1970-12
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Object Type
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Magazine Article
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Title
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Dictionary of Missouri Biography
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Description
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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."
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Date
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1999
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Object Type
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Book
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Title
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Ten Thousand Public Enemies
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Description
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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.
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Date
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1935
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Object Type
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Book
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Title
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Chronicle of an American Crusader: Alumni Lectures Delivered at the Hebrew Union College
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Description
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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.
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Date
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1944
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Object Type
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Book
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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 Mafia and the Machine: The Story of the Kansas City Mob
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Description
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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.
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Date
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2007
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Object Type
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Book
