Description
Book Synopsis Charles Binaggio and his underboss, Charles Gargotta, rose through poverty in Missouri to eventually lead the Kansas City mob. In the 1930s and 40s, their control extended from local police and businessmen all the way to the White House. The two men died together in an unsolved 1950 double murder in downtown Kansas City.
This work offers a unique take on the stories of the two Charlies, with first-hand accounts from those who worked for the gangsters as well as those who felt their wrath. The book also reveals the two mobsters'' private lives with their wives and children, and describes their inner political connections both within Kansas City and inside Harry S. Truman''s administration.
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Preface: My Take on the Two Charlies
- Introduction
- Chapter One. Murder
- Chapter Two. Coming to America
- Chapter Three. Rising Stars
- Chapter Four. "Mad Dog"
- Chapter Five. Family Life
- Chapter Six. The Five Iron Men
- Chapter Seven. Businesses
- Chapter Eight. Iowa Connections
- Chapter Nine. The Democrat Machine
- Chapter Ten. Harry Truman and the Kansas City Mob
- Chapter Eleven. The 1949 Grand Juries
- Chapter Twelve. Party Fight
- Chapter Thirteen. The Interview
- Chapter Fourteen. Two Sides of LIFE
- Chapter Fifteen. Collared by Collier's
- Chapter Sixteen. Binaggio's Past, Present, and Future Plans Posted
- Chapter Seventeen. Kefauver
- Chapter Eighteen. J. Edgar Hoover
- Chapter Nineteen. Death and Taxes
- Chapter Twenty. The Mob Doctor, the Sarnos, and Blanche
- Chapter Twenty-One. One Week Late
- Chapter Twenty-Two. Through Rose-Colored Glasses
- Chapter Twenty-Three. Who Dunnit?
- Epilogue
- Chapter Notes
- Sources
- Index
