Charles Binaggio
Encyclopedia
Charles Binaggio was a Missouri
gangster who became the boss of the Kansas City crime family
and concocted a bold plan to control the police forces in Kansas City, Missouri
and St. Louis, Missouri
.
and Italian immigrants. It isn't known when first Binaggio fell in with the mob; when he did join them, he rose quietly to prominence.
In December 1930, in Denver, Colorado, Binaggio was arrested for the first time at age 21. The police raided a Denver apartment that Binaggio shared with Anthony Gizzo
and Tony Casciola, two well-known Kansas City Mafiosi. Searching the apartment, police found a mini-cache of firearms and charged the three with weapons violations. The charges were later reduced to vagrancy and Binaggio was released on bond. As it turns out, Binaggio had been part of a team sent to Denver by then Kansas City boss John Lazia
to aid the Denver crime family in a "war" with the crime family from Pueblo, Colorado
. In 1931, Binaggio was again arrested in Denver for some unknown crime.
Binaggio earned his prominence in the Kansas City family by earning a lot of money from liquor and gambling. On July 20, 1931 Binaggio was arrested in Kansas City following a shootout that killed a Bureau of Prohibition
agent and two others. Prohibition agents and local police had raided the mob-run Lusco-Noto Flower Shop at 1039 E. Independence Avenue looking for evidence in a recent "spot" killing. The building was also the headquarters of Joe Lusco, a lieutenant of Lazia. During the raid, a shootout started, followed by a fire. Binaggio, who was in the flower shop during the raid, was arrested and taken in for questioning. However, the police determined that he hadn't taken part in the shootout and released him with a vagrancy
charge.
In 1934, Lazia was assassinated and his underboss Charles "Charley the Wop" Carollo ascended to the crime throne. At some point, Binaggio became Carollo's underboss. In 1939, Carollo was caught up in a citywide clean-up campaign and was sent to prison for income tax evasion. This opened the way for Binaggio to become the Kansas City mob's boss in October 1939.
The Kansas City crime family had always enjoyed a violent reputation. It started back to the turn of the century when the Black Hand
version of the Mafia
terrorized the city's North Side. The violence had reached a peak during and immediately following the Lazia years(1928–1934), but things had remained relatively quiet under Carollo's rule. This would change under Binaggio as
several unsolved mob slayings occurred on his watch.
In November 1941, Binaggio was speeding down Broadway near his Armour Boulevard apartment when he struck and killed a 50 year old man while crossing the street. Binaggio was arrested and charged with manslaughter, but the charges were quickly dropped. Following this incident, Binaggio was always accompanied by his driver, Nick Penna.
Binaggio and the local mob continued to get rich through their gambling and liquor interests. From the 1930s on, the mob had also been making money through a nationwide narcotics ring. However, this ring was broken up by a major Bureau of Narcotics investigation that netted mafiosi in Kansas City, St. Louis, Tampa, Florida
, and other cities. Binaggio himself escaped being linked to this drug ring. However, one of his main lieutenants, Joe DeLuca
, was sent to prison when a low-level member of the ring, Carl Caramusa, turned state's evidence. In 1945, Caramusa was found murdered on a Chicago street.
, and his Democratic faction. Binaggio's goal was to elect his candidate to the Missouri Governorship.
In 1944, Binaggio's first candidate was defeated in the primary election
by the Pendergast candidate. In 1948, Binaggio was more successful. He backed the Democratic nominee Forrest Smith
and used his mob connections to help Smith win the election. Binaggio had approached the National Commission of La Cosa Nostra for a loan between $200,000 and $2,000,000 for Smith's election campaign. If he won, the payback would be Smith helping the mob open Missouri to gambling. Binaggio reportedly received the money at the home of Charles Fischetti
, a major Chicago Mafioso. At that time, Kansas City was subservient to Chicago in the mob hierarchy. Using mob money and manpower, Binaggio managed to get Smith elected Governor.
However, to Binaggio's chagrin, Smith pulled the rug out from under him. Smith made initial appointments to each Police Board, but refused to give a consensus to Binaggio's candidates. Binaggio was denied a majority on both boards. Unable to control the police forces in Kansas City or St. Louis, the syndicate was forced to fold up their new gambling establishments. The crime bosses in Chicago were not happy with the developments in Missouri and they blamed Binaggio for it. They warned Binaggio to fix it, or else. Binaggio desperately tried to bribe one of the Kansas City police commissioners and threatened others, but with no effect. At some point, the Commission decided to make Binaggio pay for his failure to deliver.
(a notorious enforcer within the Kansas City family), were called to meet some unknown persons at the First Ward Democratic Club near downtown Kansas City. Binaggio left his driver/bodyguard, Nick Penna, at a tavern owned by the mob, saying that he would return in a few minutes. Binaggio and Gargotta then borrowed a car and drove off to the Democratic Club.
Shortly after 8 P.M., residents in apartments above the Democratic Club heard several shots. Eight hours later, a cab driver going to a nearby cafe noticed that the club door was open; he also heard water running inside. The police were called and they found the bodies of Charles Binaggio and Charles Gargotta inside the club. Binaggio was seated at a desk and Gargotta was lying inside the front door. Both men had been shot in the head four times with separate .32 caliber revolvers. The police theorized that Gargotta had been trying to escape the club when he was shot in the back of the head. As for the running water heard by the cabbie, it came from a broken toilet and was unrelated to the hit.
Some people theorized that Binaggio and Gargotta were murdered by St. Louis gunmen; others said the hitmen came from Chicago. However, it is most likely that the two mob bosses were killed by members of their own crime family under orders from the Mafia Commission
in New York. The probable organizer of the hit was Gizzo, who no doubt received the leadership of the Kansas City family as a reward. In any case, the murderers were never found.
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
gangster who became the boss of the Kansas City crime family
Kansas City crime family
The Kansas City crime family, also known as the Civella crime family, is a Mafia family based in Kansas City, Missouri.-Early history:...
and concocted a bold plan to control the police forces in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
and St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
.
Early life
Moving to Kansas City with his family at an early age, Binaggio grew up in the city's North Side, which was then heavily populated by SicilianSicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
and Italian immigrants. It isn't known when first Binaggio fell in with the mob; when he did join them, he rose quietly to prominence.
In December 1930, in Denver, Colorado, Binaggio was arrested for the first time at age 21. The police raided a Denver apartment that Binaggio shared with Anthony Gizzo
Anthony Gizzo
Anthony Robert Gizzo , was born in New York City and was known as "Tony". He was a Kansas City, Missouri mobster with the Cosa Nostra and a boss of the Kansas City crime family....
and Tony Casciola, two well-known Kansas City Mafiosi. Searching the apartment, police found a mini-cache of firearms and charged the three with weapons violations. The charges were later reduced to vagrancy and Binaggio was released on bond. As it turns out, Binaggio had been part of a team sent to Denver by then Kansas City boss John Lazia
John Lazia
John Lazia, also known as "Brother John" , was an American organized crime figure in Kansas City, Missouri, during the prohibition period in the United States.-Early years:...
to aid the Denver crime family in a "war" with the crime family from Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....
. In 1931, Binaggio was again arrested in Denver for some unknown crime.
Binaggio earned his prominence in the Kansas City family by earning a lot of money from liquor and gambling. On July 20, 1931 Binaggio was arrested in Kansas City following a shootout that killed a Bureau of Prohibition
Bureau of Prohibition
The Bureau of Prohibition was the federal law enforcement agency formed to enforce the National Prohibition Act of 1919, commonly known as the Volstead Act, which backed up the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution regarding the prohibition of the manufacture, sale, and transportation...
agent and two others. Prohibition agents and local police had raided the mob-run Lusco-Noto Flower Shop at 1039 E. Independence Avenue looking for evidence in a recent "spot" killing. The building was also the headquarters of Joe Lusco, a lieutenant of Lazia. During the raid, a shootout started, followed by a fire. Binaggio, who was in the flower shop during the raid, was arrested and taken in for questioning. However, the police determined that he hadn't taken part in the shootout and released him with a vagrancy
Vagrancy (people)
A vagrant is a person in poverty, who wanders from place to place without a home or regular employment or income.-Definition:A vagrant is "a person without a settled home or regular work who wanders from place to place and lives by begging;" vagrancy is the condition of such persons.-History:In...
charge.
Rise to power
After the Lusco-Noto shootout, Lazia took Binaggio under his wing. Lazia had established a political club, the North Side Democratic Club, in order to increase his mob's power in Kansas City. This led to Binaggio's involvement with the local and State political scene that would last until his death in 1950.In 1934, Lazia was assassinated and his underboss Charles "Charley the Wop" Carollo ascended to the crime throne. At some point, Binaggio became Carollo's underboss. In 1939, Carollo was caught up in a citywide clean-up campaign and was sent to prison for income tax evasion. This opened the way for Binaggio to become the Kansas City mob's boss in October 1939.
The Kansas City crime family had always enjoyed a violent reputation. It started back to the turn of the century when the Black Hand
Black Hand
Unification or Death , unofficially known as the Black Hand , was a secret military society formed by members of the Serbian army in the Kingdom of Serbia, which was founded on September 6, 1901. It was intent on uniting all of the territories containing significant Serb populations annexed by...
version of the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
terrorized the city's North Side. The violence had reached a peak during and immediately following the Lazia years(1928–1934), but things had remained relatively quiet under Carollo's rule. This would change under Binaggio as
several unsolved mob slayings occurred on his watch.
In November 1941, Binaggio was speeding down Broadway near his Armour Boulevard apartment when he struck and killed a 50 year old man while crossing the street. Binaggio was arrested and charged with manslaughter, but the charges were quickly dropped. Following this incident, Binaggio was always accompanied by his driver, Nick Penna.
Binaggio and the local mob continued to get rich through their gambling and liquor interests. From the 1930s on, the mob had also been making money through a nationwide narcotics ring. However, this ring was broken up by a major Bureau of Narcotics investigation that netted mafiosi in Kansas City, St. Louis, Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, and other cities. Binaggio himself escaped being linked to this drug ring. However, one of his main lieutenants, Joe DeLuca
Joseph Deluca
Joseph DeLuca was an Italian-American mobster who controlled the smuggling and distribution of narcotics with his brother Frank Deluca in Kansas City, Missouri for almost four decades....
, was sent to prison when a low-level member of the ring, Carl Caramusa, turned state's evidence. In 1945, Caramusa was found murdered on a Chicago street.
Binaggio and the Pendergast Machine
In the early 1940s, Binaggio turned his attention to politics. He formed his own political club, the First Ward Democratic Club and slowly began taking over wards in and near Kansas City's North Side. In the process, Binaggio became a major rival of Jim Pendergast, the nephew of former Kansas City political boss Tom PendergastTom Pendergast
Thomas Joseph Pendergast controlled Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri as a political boss. "Boss Tom" Pendergast gave workers jobs and helped elect politicians during the Great Depression, becoming wealthy in the process.-Early years:Thomas Joseph Pendergast, also known to close friends as...
, and his Democratic faction. Binaggio's goal was to elect his candidate to the Missouri Governorship.
In 1944, Binaggio's first candidate was defeated in the primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
by the Pendergast candidate. In 1948, Binaggio was more successful. He backed the Democratic nominee Forrest Smith
Forrest Smith
Forrest Smith was the 42nd Governor of Missouri. He was a Democrat.-Personal:Forrest Smith was born February 14, 1886 near Hardin in Ray County, Missouri. After receiving his secondary education at Woodson Institute in Richmond, Missouri, Smith attended Westminster College...
and used his mob connections to help Smith win the election. Binaggio had approached the National Commission of La Cosa Nostra for a loan between $200,000 and $2,000,000 for Smith's election campaign. If he won, the payback would be Smith helping the mob open Missouri to gambling. Binaggio reportedly received the money at the home of Charles Fischetti
Charles Fischetti
Charles "Trigger Happy" Fischetti was a Chicago mobster, former Capone bodyguard and Mafia leader.Fischetti was called a notorious Chicago gangster in the FBI files. He was the mob's political fixer in Chicago. He was also Al Capone's cousin and his reputed consigliere. Fischetti and his brother...
, a major Chicago Mafioso. At that time, Kansas City was subservient to Chicago in the mob hierarchy. Using mob money and manpower, Binaggio managed to get Smith elected Governor.
Doublecross
Despite the election of Binaggio's candidate as government, his gambling plan was doomed to failure. Binaggio's strategy had been to take control over both the Kansas City and St. Louis police departments. Once that control was achieved, mob gambling operations would be safe in both cities. In the late 1930s, both departments had been taken over by the State due to mass corruption within the ranks. Both departments were ruled by separate Boards of Police Commissioners that were appointed by the Governor. By controlling the Governor, Binaggio hoped to get candidates of his choosing appointed to the Police Boards. With Smith's election, every part of the plan seemed in place.However, to Binaggio's chagrin, Smith pulled the rug out from under him. Smith made initial appointments to each Police Board, but refused to give a consensus to Binaggio's candidates. Binaggio was denied a majority on both boards. Unable to control the police forces in Kansas City or St. Louis, the syndicate was forced to fold up their new gambling establishments. The crime bosses in Chicago were not happy with the developments in Missouri and they blamed Binaggio for it. They warned Binaggio to fix it, or else. Binaggio desperately tried to bribe one of the Kansas City police commissioners and threatened others, but with no effect. At some point, the Commission decided to make Binaggio pay for his failure to deliver.
The reward for failure
On the night of April 6, 1950, Binaggio and his underboss, Charles "Mad Dog" GargottaCharles Gargotta
Charles Gargotta, also known as "Mad Dog", was a Kansas City, Missouri gangster who became a top enforcer for the Kansas City crime family.Born in Kansas City, Gargotta joined the criminal organization of boss John Lazia as a young man...
(a notorious enforcer within the Kansas City family), were called to meet some unknown persons at the First Ward Democratic Club near downtown Kansas City. Binaggio left his driver/bodyguard, Nick Penna, at a tavern owned by the mob, saying that he would return in a few minutes. Binaggio and Gargotta then borrowed a car and drove off to the Democratic Club.
Shortly after 8 P.M., residents in apartments above the Democratic Club heard several shots. Eight hours later, a cab driver going to a nearby cafe noticed that the club door was open; he also heard water running inside. The police were called and they found the bodies of Charles Binaggio and Charles Gargotta inside the club. Binaggio was seated at a desk and Gargotta was lying inside the front door. Both men had been shot in the head four times with separate .32 caliber revolvers. The police theorized that Gargotta had been trying to escape the club when he was shot in the back of the head. As for the running water heard by the cabbie, it came from a broken toilet and was unrelated to the hit.
Some people theorized that Binaggio and Gargotta were murdered by St. Louis gunmen; others said the hitmen came from Chicago. However, it is most likely that the two mob bosses were killed by members of their own crime family under orders from the Mafia Commission
The Commission (mafia)
The Commission is the governing body of the American Mafia. Formed in 1931, the Commission replaced the "Boss of all Bosses" title, with a ruling committee, consisting of the New York Five Families bosses and the boss of the Chicago Outfit...
in New York. The probable organizer of the hit was Gizzo, who no doubt received the leadership of the Kansas City family as a reward. In any case, the murderers were never found.
External links
- AmericanMafia.com - Charles Binaggio: A Promise Un-Kept by Allan May
- The New Criminologist: The murder of Charles Binaggio by John William Tuohy
- Charles Binaggio at Find-A-Grave