OKAY BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND ITS TIME TO PLAY "NAME THAT MOBSTER"

My Avitar is a picture of a local or nation member of the Mafia. Can you name that mobster. Here is a hint, he is a known member of our local chapter of the mob, known as "the outfit".

Just a suggestion DD. It might be good to also put the pic in the message. Otherwise when you switch to the next pic in your avatar, people looking back through the thread won't be able to see who is being discussed. This is fun though!

Good idea, it as been done, thanks O

I don't have any guesses on the photo.

To be clear, "The Outfit" is based in Chicago, not KC.

Johnny Lazio was the local boss under Pendergast back on the 30's. His was succeeded by Anthony Gizzo, Charles Binaggio, and James Balestrere with Charles "Mad Dog" Gargotta in the 50's. The Civellas (Nick, Carl "the Cork", and Anthony "Ripe Tony") ran things locally from the 50s through the 90s. William "Willie the Rat" Cammisano, was the acting boss for "Ripe Tony" while he was in prison.

There are a lot more names in this source from the 1950's (about page 186 or so, search for "Kansas City"):

http://www.nevadaobserver.com/Organi...201950%203.htm

Because the kansas city mafia worked under the umbrella of the Chicago mob until 1985 when the Chicago mob disassociated itself from the KC mob, after the Strawman 2 trials, the KC mob also called itself the outfit because it was a branch of the Chicago mob.

Actually you have forgotten Correlo, who replace Lazia after he was murdered, Binnagio took over after Corrello, with The Balastere brothers working in the back ground. When Binaggio was murdered GIzzo took over, he died 3 years later from a heart attack. He was then replaced with a combination of Nick Civella and the Balastere brothers again, and then finally nick took it over until his death in 1981.

Did you reply to this post to only try and correct me?

"The film shines a light on Kansas City’s less glorious past when it was a major distribution hub for heroin in the 1930s and 1940s. The somewhat forgotten era of Charles Binaggio as the reigning mob boss in the 1940s is also documented, including the election purge of Congressman Roger Slaughter ordered by then-president Harry S Truman.
Black Hand Strawman explains how Kansas City’s Mafia exercised control over the Teamsters Union Local 41 from the 1950s into the 1980s. Included in the surveillance recordings is the conversation between Nick Civella and bookmaker Frank Tousa two hours before the 1970 Chiefs-Vikings Super Bowl, when the Outfit was about to suffer great financial loss because nobody in Kansas City would bet against the Chiefs.
In the 1970s, the Outfit was waging two gangland wars, the infamous River Quay war and the systematic extermination of the Speros, a family of tough Italian Northside brothers who directly challenged Nick Civella and the rest of the Outfit.
In 1972, as a protest against what it called “cultural prejudices,” the Italian American Unification Council in Kansas City spent $2,500 to purchase all the seats of the premier showing of Francis Ford Coppola’s film The Godfather at the Empire Theatre in downtown Kansas City"

http://blackhandstrawman.com/story.html

If you need me to I can try and find the trial transcripts in which the FBI refers to the KC mob as the outfit.

The link you have sited is actually part of the transcript from the Kevhauffer senate hearings.

Did you reply to this post to only try and correct me? Originally Posted by dirty dog

I just find the topic interesting. I didn't know that the Chicago group split from the KC group (who kept the name).

DD, you've probably forgotten more about the KC mob than I ever knew.

I think its better to look at the KC mob as a subsiderary of the Chicago mob, the KC mob did a lot of buisness with the Capone group. They operated under the authority of the Chicago group which you are right was refered to as the outfit. The KC mob and the FBI refered to the KC mob as the outfit or the "little" outfit, over the years the "little" disappeared especially after the KC groups power reached a level of power which could almost rival Chicago, was bigger and more powerful than Milkwakee and Cleveland, the were the power players in the Vegas skimming operation because of their control of the teamsters and the pension fund through Roy Williams. When the Feds busted the KC outfit in the Strawman trials they did not stop there, they also got the top guys in Milwakee, Cleveland and Chicago in the Strawman two trials. By this time, Nick was dead, Cork was in Prison, Tony was in Prison so Willie "the Rat" became acting boss and because they were no longer reigned in by Chicago Willie was able to expand the KC operation into California, Arizona, Colorado, Miami and Washington DC. In fact Willie returned the mob to power after the trials. Its this association with Denver which gives us Bazooka's. Tony Civella and Willie traded the head spot again when Tony went back to Prison, in 91. William remained in charge until his death in 1995. Tony ran the show from North KC until his death in Arizona on valentines day 2006, the current boss is Johnny Joe Sirentino, his underboss is Peter "las Vegas Pete" Simone.

But hey lets get back to trying to name the mobster. I will give you a hint, born in Kansas City.

This photo might be an older version your avatar, but I'm not sure:

No but they know each other real well. Thats "the Rat" William D Cammisano, given the nickname the rat by the KCPD because of his habit of leaving former mob associates in the sewer in the West bottoms where the river rats would eat them.

DD here is something I found that you might find interesting. I have always heard that Dennison was much more tied to the KC mob than this article states but...

Tom Dennison, aka Pickhandle, Old Grey Wolf, (October 1858 - February 1934) was the early-20th century political boss of Omaha, Nebraska. A politically savvy, culturally astute gambler, Dennison was in charge of the city's wide crime rings, including prostitution, gambling and bootlegging in the 1920s. Dennison is credited with electing "Cowboy" James Dahlman mayor of Omaha eight times, and when losing an election, inciting the Omaha Race Riot of 1919 in retribution against the candidate who won.

Tom Dennison was thirty-four when he arrived in Omaha with $75,000 in cash. Upon surveying the city, he found Omaha to be a "wide open town", meaning there was little legal control over gambling, liquor, prostitution and other criminal interests. Dennison soon became known as the city’s "King Gambler" and first entered the political arena around 1900 as a way of protecting his interests. Dennison never actually held public office, instead buying influence through lavish campaign contributions and his ability to get out the vote.

Dennison acted as a power broker between the business community and the local vice lords. His gambling operations were mainly located in Omaha’s third ward. He actively worked with local temperance groups to eliminate half of the saloons in Omaha - reputedly, the half he didn’t control. Dennison operated a private bank at 1409 Douglas Street, the site of the current Union Pacific Center, loaning money and providing a discreet repository for those who shunned traditional banks. For more than 25 years, his power was such that no crime occurred in the city without his blessing, the police reported to him daily, and the mayor himself answered directly to him. Dennison once explained his law theory to the Omaha Bee, saying, "There are so many laws that people are either law breakers or hypocrites. For my part, I hate a damn hypocrite."

Early in 1918 Dennison was the subject of a sensational trial. During the proceedings, Dennison himself admitted that one of his "roadhouses" operated for more than 10 years without a license. He explained he was making side payments to a county commissioner for "protection from the law."

Dennison controlled Omaha politics throughout his reign. His approval to run for office was gained through payment of bribes and by supporting the rest of Dennison’s political slate. In 1906, Omaha Republicans supporting the Progressive Movement nominated a reformer named Erastus Benson for Mayor, and Dennison was afraid that Benson would come out in favor of prohibition. Omaha Democrats nominated James C. "Cowboy Jim" Dahlman, a popular, first-time candidate. Dahlman seemed to be more tolerant of Dennison's "Sporting District", so Dennison supported him. Dahlman was elected mayor that year, and in eight out of nine subsequent campaigns for mayor between 1906 and 1930; Dahlman's losing the election in 1918 was part of the background to racial violence in Omaha.

During the 1920s, the Eighteenth Amendment and the Volstead Act effectively ended the mainstream distribution of alcohol in Omaha and across the United States. Early in this period Dennison formed the Omaha Liquor Syndicate to monopolize the bootleg liquor trade in Omaha. Dennison also developed alliances with Al Capone in Chicago and Tom Pendergast in Kansas City. This led to violence among the city’s bootleggers, culminating in the 1931 murder of Harry Lapidus, a local businessman and outspoken opponent of the Dennison machine. Police never solved the murder of Lapidus; however, in the wake of the murder public opinion turned against Dennison.

It was during this time that Dennison most strongly exerted his influence in state politics. After vigorously opposing a plan to have a single election commissioner law for Omaha, in the 1920s Dennison also fought against statewide plan, leading state legislators to back off from their plan until after his death. Dennison was also strongly in control of the city's political element; a survey in 1929 found more than 1,500 outlets in the city selling alcohol. A campaign by state officials, including several raids, drove several establishments underground; however, Dennison encouraged the transformation of the industry, leading saloons to become cocktail lounges and taverns. Because of him, Omaha remained a "boisterous town."

During this period it was said that there was no crime that happened in the city without Dennison knowing about it beforehand. Dennison maintained several offices around downtown Omaha, connecting them by tunnels. His influence over the mayor helped Dennison install family members in city jobs all over Omaha. In this same time frame Dennison also ran Omaha's Flatiron Building at 1722 St. Mary's Avenue as a refuge for mobsters running from the law in Kansas City, Chicago and St. Louis.

In June 1932 Dennison suffered, and recovered from, a paralytic stroke. In August of that year Dennison and 58 of his associates went on trial for conspiracy to violate the Volstead Act. Tom Dennison was indicted in the liquor conspiracy case; however, the trial resulted in a hung jury and was declared a mistrial. That December he nearly died from pneumonia.

In August 1933, Dennison was divorced by his 20-year-old wife, Nevajo Truman Dennison. The political ticket Dennison was running was defeated in elections throughout Omaha later that year. Dennison and his associates were acquitted of conspiracy in January 1934. The following month, while visiting associates near Chula Vista, California in February, 1934, he was fatally injured in an auto accident. Dennison was 75.

His funeral on February 20, 1934 at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Omaha was attended by more than a thousand people, reportedly representing Omaha's business, official and sporting interests. One hundred eight cars made up the procession to Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Throughout his life Dennison maintained he had no control over city politics, and repeatedly pronounced that he never hurt anyone.

Boss Dennison's thirty-year reign over Omaha politics is seen today as a hallmark in the city's history, causing Omaha to resemble Eastern cities more than other Midwestern cities, including Omaha's neighbor, Lincoln. His death ended the reign of his political machine, causing Omaha to have "formless politics" for the following 50 years.

Dennison, was an Irish mobster/political boss, like Pendergast, he would provide the political protection and help with elections, the mob would provide the muscle if Dennison ran into some stubborn problems. Very similar to Pendergast, with connections to Chicago, MIlwakee and KC. Omaha has always been a territory that the mob as wanted. Civella tried to move into that area sending "little" Jimmie Duardi and some muscle up there to take over the small but existing rackets and then expand them. They were succesful early on and had an operation going that was netting about 300,000.00 a year (remember this was the late 50's and early sixty's) but local law enforcement was pretty stubborn and made it to difficult to continue operations. Last I heard there was no major family involvement in Omaha, just a little local muscle operation.

DD what a great thread!

I am learning a lot that I never knew.

I don't know who the guy is but kinda handsome.

Thanks

Is the avatar William Cammisano Jr.?

Kisses,

- Jackie

(I love this game, and I'm scary good at it . . .)

Jackie you winning is not fair LOL YES WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER.

The picture is of William D. "little Willie" Cammisano Jr. Son of Willie "the rat" Cammisano. A made member of LCN, suspected in the murder bombing of Carl Spero among other things. One time Underboss, current Capo.

I'll voluntarily sit out the next round (unless it is really too good to pass up).

Kisses,

- Jackie