John Lazia
Encyclopedia
John Lazia, also known as "Brother John" (1896 – July 10, 1934), was an American organized crime
figure in Kansas City, Missouri
, during the prohibition period in the United States
.
. Lazia ignored this parole condition and instead started working for the political machine controlled by Tom Pendergast
. Lazia, on his draft card, claimed to be the supporter of his mother and father and to have some additional difficulties. (Draft card illegible.)
, Carollo accepted the blame and a prison sentence for him.
By the late 1920s, Lazia had become the supreme gang boss in Kansas City. In 1928, Lazia was appointed head of the Northside's Democratic
Club. Lazia owned a soft drink
company, several upscale gambling resorts in the city, a profitable loanshark operation, and even a bail bond company.
Lazia enjoyed considerable political power within both the Kansas City Police Department and the city administration. In 1929, after failing to file a $82,000 federal tax return
, Lazia was convicted of tax evasion
and sentenced to one year in prison. However, thanks in part to the influence of ward boss Tom Pendergast, the government released Lazia pending appeal. Many civic reformers decried Lazia's influence and power, but were unable to effect any changes.
, where he maintained several speedboats. Lazia also owned several thoroughbred
race horses, whom he raced at tracks around the United States. Lazia was a constant presence at sporting and civic events, and donated regularly to charities. Despite all of his criminal activities, Lazia was able to maintain a generally positive public profile.
, a notorious bank robber. The Union Station massacre
resulted in five deaths, four of them law enforcement officers.
The tremendous public outrage over the shootout convinced the Pendergast machine that Lazia had become a liability that needed to be eliminated. Without his political protection, Lazia was indicted for bootlegging, illegal gambling and tax evasion
. Lazia eventually pleaded guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to one year in prison.
The Pendergast politicians also started funding a competitor, former Lazia lieutenant Michael LaCapra, to set competing gambling dens and distribution networks for alcohol and narcotics.
On August 12, 1933, Lazia associate Charles Gargotta
and other gunmen ambushed Ferris Anthon, a gunman allied with LaCapra, on a city street. However, a sheriff and his deputy coincidentally arrived during the attack and after a shootout Gargotta was captured. The guns used in the attack were eventually traced back to the armory, and Gargotta went to prison.
and a sawed-off shotgun
emerged from the bushes. Lazia pushed his wife back into the car and told Carolla to drive off. The gun sprayed Lazia with bullets and left him on the sidewalk.
Lazia later died at St. Joseph's hospital in Kansas City. Speaking to his doctor before expiring, Lazia said:
Lazia associates immediately blamed LaCapra for Lazia's murder and tried to assassinate him several times, succeeding in August 1935 in New Paltz, New York
. However, law enforcement traced some of the bullets in Lazia's body to bullets found in the Union Station massacre, creating suspicions that it was a Lazia ally who murdered him.
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
figure 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...
, during the prohibition period in the United States
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
.
Early years
According to his draft card for World War I, Lazia (spelled Lazio on the card, in the 1910 census, and on his tombstone) was born in New York in 1895. He dropped out of high school in the eighth grade. By 1915, Lazia was an office clerk during the day and a robber at night. In 1916, after robbing a man on the street, Lazia was confronted by a police officer. After an exchange of gunfire, the officer arrested him. Lazia was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to 12 years in prison. However, nine months later in 1917, the lieutenant governor of Missouri paroled Lazia on the condition that he join the United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. Lazia ignored this parole condition and instead started working for the political machine controlled by Tom Pendergast
Tom 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...
. Lazia, on his draft card, claimed to be the supporter of his mother and father and to have some additional difficulties. (Draft card illegible.)
Rise to power
By the early 1920s, Lazia had graduated from street crime to organizing voters for the Pendergast machine and supplying bars with bootleg whiskey. His closest associate and bodyguard was Charles Carollo. At one point when Lazia was arrested for bootleggingRum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
, Carollo accepted the blame and a prison sentence for him.
By the late 1920s, Lazia had become the supreme gang boss in Kansas City. In 1928, Lazia was appointed head of the Northside's Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Club. Lazia owned a soft drink
Soft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
company, several upscale gambling resorts in the city, a profitable loanshark operation, and even a bail bond company.
Lazia enjoyed considerable political power within both the Kansas City Police Department and the city administration. In 1929, after failing to file a $82,000 federal tax return
Tax return (United States)
Tax returns in the United States are reports filed with the Internal Revenue Service or with the state or local tax collection agency containing information used to calculate income tax or other taxes...
, Lazia was convicted of tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
and sentenced to one year in prison. However, thanks in part to the influence of ward boss Tom Pendergast, the government released Lazia pending appeal. Many civic reformers decried Lazia's influence and power, but were unable to effect any changes.
Personal life
Lazia's criminal activities translated into a comfortable and pleasant life. He and his wife lived in a luxury apartment in Kansas City. Lazia vacationed at his resort on Lake Lotawana in Western MissouriMissouri
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...
, where he maintained several speedboats. Lazia also owned several thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
race horses, whom he raced at tracks around the United States. Lazia was a constant presence at sporting and civic events, and donated regularly to charities. Despite all of his criminal activities, Lazia was able to maintain a generally positive public profile.
Decline in power
As the 1930s began, Lazia began experiencing more competition from other gangsters. In October 1932, Lazia's men broke into the Army armory in Kansas City to obtain more guns to fight these competitors. In June 1933, a local gang leader, Vernon Miller, requested several gunmen to free two bank robbers who were being transported by train through Kansas City on June 17. The plan was to ambush the law enforcement escort at Union Station in Kansas City and free their prisoners. Lazia reportedly provided Miller with Adam "Eddie" Richetti and Charles "Pretty Boy" FloydPretty Boy Floyd
Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd was an American bank robber. He operated in the West South Central States, and his criminal exploits gained heavy press coverage in the 1930s. Like most other prominent outlaws of that era, he was killed by law enforcement officers...
, a notorious bank robber. The Union Station massacre
Kansas City Massacre
The Kansas City massacre was the shootout and murder of four law enforcement officers and a criminal fugitive at the Union Station railroad depot in Kansas City, Missouri, on the morning of June 17, 1933. It occurred as part of the attempt by a gang led by Vernon Miller to free Frank "Jelly" Nash,...
resulted in five deaths, four of them law enforcement officers.
The tremendous public outrage over the shootout convinced the Pendergast machine that Lazia had become a liability that needed to be eliminated. Without his political protection, Lazia was indicted for bootlegging, illegal gambling and tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
. Lazia eventually pleaded guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to one year in prison.
The Pendergast politicians also started funding a competitor, former Lazia lieutenant Michael LaCapra, to set competing gambling dens and distribution networks for alcohol and narcotics.
On August 12, 1933, Lazia associate Charles Gargotta
Charles 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...
and other gunmen ambushed Ferris Anthon, a gunman allied with LaCapra, on a city street. However, a sheriff and his deputy coincidentally arrived during the attack and after a shootout Gargotta was captured. The guns used in the attack were eventually traced back to the armory, and Gargotta went to prison.
Assassination
On July 10, 1934, at 3:00 a.m., Lazia arrived at his hotel residence after spending the night touring his nightclubs and gambling dens with his wife and Carolla. As Lazia was exiting from the car, gunmen armed with a submachine gunSubmachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
and a sawed-off shotgun
Sawed-off shotgun
A sawed-off shotgun also called a sawn-off shotgun and a short-barreled shotgun , is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel and often a shorter or absent stock....
emerged from the bushes. Lazia pushed his wife back into the car and told Carolla to drive off. The gun sprayed Lazia with bullets and left him on the sidewalk.
Lazia later died at St. Joseph's hospital in Kansas City. Speaking to his doctor before expiring, Lazia said:
- "Doc, what I can't understand is why anybody would do this to me? Why to me, to Johnny Lazia, who has been the friend of everybody?"
Lazia associates immediately blamed LaCapra for Lazia's murder and tried to assassinate him several times, succeeding in August 1935 in New Paltz, New York
New Paltz, New York
New Paltz is a town in Ulster County, New York, USA. The population was 14,003 at the 2010 census. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Kingston, New York. New Paltz contains a village also with the name New Paltz...
. However, law enforcement traced some of the bullets in Lazia's body to bullets found in the Union Station massacre, creating suspicions that it was a Lazia ally who murdered him.
In popular culture
- Lazia is portrayed by Harris YulinHarris YulinHarris Yulin is an American actor who has appeared in dozens of Hollywood and television films.-Life and career:Yulin was born in...
in the 1975 television movie The Kansas City Massacre. - Lazia is played by Joe DiGirolamo in the 1996 film Kansas CityKansas City (1996 film)Kansas City is a 1996 film, directed by Robert Altman, and featuring numerous jazz tracks. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, and Steve Buscemi starred. The film was entered into the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:...
.
Further reading
- Messick, Hank. Lansky. London: Robert Hale & Company, 1973. ISBN 0-7091-3966-7
External links
- John Lazia at Find-A-Grave
- TIME.com: Obituaries (July 23, 1934)