Charles Binaggio

Charles Binaggio (January 12, 1909 – April 6, 1950) was an American 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.

Early life Born on January 12, 1909, in Beaumont, Texas, Binaggio moved with his family to Kansas City, Missouri, at an early age. Binaggio grew up in the city's North Side, which was then heavily populated by Sicilian 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 vagrancy.

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.

Death On the night of April 6, 1950, Binaggio—aged 41—and his underboss, Charles Gargotta (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 the Last Chance saloon, 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.

Over 1,200 mourners attended Binaggio's funeral service at Holy Rosary Church and 10,000 people watched the funeral procession to the cemetery. Binaggio was buried in Mount Saint Mary's Cemetery, in Kansas City, Missouri.