Kansas City crime family

Early history The Italian-American organized crime family began when two Sicilian mafiosi known as the DiGiovanni brothers fled Sicily to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1912. Joseph "Joe Church" DiGiovanni and Peter "Sugarhouse Pete" DiGiovanni began making money from a variety of criminal operations or rackets shortly after their arrival. Their fortunes greatly improved with the introduction of Prohibition, when they became the only group bootlegging alcohol in Kansas City. The DiGiovanni family directly benefited from this lack of enforcement of prohibition laws. In January 1992, James Moretina pleaded guilty to a federal money laundering charge and was sentenced to 37 months. Moretina served as president of a firm that distributed illegal video gambling machines. He and his business partner, purported mob underboss Peter J. Simone, operated the Be Amused Vending and Amusement Co. Moretina is the son of Charles Moretina, who was convicted in the 1980s for skimming Las Vegas casino gambling receipts. 21st century William "Willie the Rat" Cammisano, Sr., became the family's next boss until his death in 1995. Anthony Civella then became the new boss. He died in 2006. The Kansas City family had an estimated 25 made members as of the late 1990s, according to the FBI. The current boss of the family is believed to be John Joseph Sciortino, also known as "Johnny Joe", godson of Anthony Civella. A recent underboss was believed to be Peter Simone. On July 21, 2008, Carl "Tuffy" DeLuna, former underboss to Nick Civella and brother-in-law to Anthony Civella, died. In the early hours of October 20, 2008, the historic Hereford House restaurant in downtown Kansas City was destroyed in a calculated arson attack orchestrated by Rodney J. Anderson, a co-owner of the establishment. The crime was carried out with the assistance of Vincent Pisciotta, a known soldier in the Kansas City Crime Family, and Mark Sorrentino, a long-time criminal associate with ties to the local underworld. The plot was intended to secure over $2.4 million in insurance payouts amid Anderson’s looming bankruptcy. According to federal prosecutors, Anderson hired Pisciotta—reportedly a loyal enforcer in the remnants of the Kansas City Crime Family to execute the arson in exchange for a portion of the payout. Using security access provided by Anderson, Pisciotta, Sorrentino, and a still-unidentified co-conspirator entered the premises with 14 five-gallon containers of gasoline, strategically placing them throughout the bar to maximize the explosion. The crew disabled the fire suppression systems and used a delayed ignition device, resulting in a violent blast that rocked downtown but miraculously caused no injuries. The arson was meticulously planned, with surveillance footage later showing a walkthrough of the premises and the actual placement of accelerants. After the fire, Anderson attempted to collect an advance on the insurance claim, which later served as the basis for a federal mail fraud charge. In 2012, all three were convicted on federal charges, including conspiracy, arson, use of fire in a federal felony, and in Anderson’s case, mail fraud. Pisciotta received a 20-year sentence, while Anderson and Sorrentino were each sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. On March 9, 2010, the FBI indicted Gerlarmo "Jerry" Cammisano, James Moretina, Michael Lombardo, and James DiCapo for allegedly operating a "multi-million-dollar internet gambling scheme". Jerry Cammisano, son of William "Willie the Rat" Cammisano, served as the "master agent" of the sports bookmaking operation, which was based in the Kansas City area. Prior to the indictment, six individuals pleaded guilty in connection with the investigation, including three – Vincent Civella and brothers Michael and Anthony Sansone – who are the son and grandsons of former Kansas City boss Anthony "Tony Ripe" Civella. Jerry Cammisano's brother, William D. Cammisano, Jr., also pleaded guilty for his role in the sports bookmaking operation. According to the crime reporter Scott Burnstein in 2015, the Kansas City family is "probably on its last legs" with twelve or fewer "made" members. The family still has some gambling and loansharking with some extortion involving drugs and the strip club industry. On June 12, 2025, underboss Peter "Las Vegas Pete" Simone died at the age of 79. ==Historical leadership==

Boss (official and acting) • 1912–1931 — Joseph "Joe Church" DiGiovanni • 1931–1934 — John "Brother John" Lazia — murdered on July 10, 1934 • 1934–1939 — Charles "Charlie the Wop" Carrollo — convicted in 1939 • 1939–1950 — Charles Binaggio — murdered on April 6, 1950 • 1950–1953 — Anthony Gizzo — died on April 1, 1953 • 1953–1983 — Nicholas Civella — convicted in 1977 and 1980; died on March 12, 1983 • Acting 1977–1979 — Carl "Tuffy" DeLuna — imprisoned in 1979 • Acting 1979–1983 — Carl "Cork" Civella — became official boss • 1983–1984 — Carl "Cork" Civella — convicted in 1984 • 1984–1995 — William "Willie the Rat" Cammisano — died on January 26, 1995 • 1995–2006 — Anthony "Tony Ripe" Civella — arrested in 1992, released 1997; died on February 16, 2006 • Acting 1995–2006 — John "Johnny Joe" Sciortino — became official boss • 2006–present — John "Johnny Joe" Sciortino == Current members ==

Administration • Boss — John "Johnny Joe" Sciortino — current boss of the family; Sciortino was formerly a capo and the godson and protégé of former boss Anthony Civella. He was named acting boss by Civella after Civella’s 1995 imprisonment, and Sciortino became the official boss after Civella’s 2006 death. He was released from prison on September 23, 2011. • Consigliere — Frank DeLuna — the FBI in Missouri believes he is the aide to Sciortino. • James Moretina — soldier. In 2010, Moretina pleaded guilty to conducting an illegal gambling business alongside Vincent Civella. He was released from prison on April 27, 2012. • Vincent Pisciotta — soldier. A career criminal, Pisciotta was charged with second-degree murder in 1980 for a 1978 killing, but a mistrial was declared when a key witness vanished. The witness later reappeared and claimed that he was beaten out of testifying. In 1988, he was indicted for another murder, but charges were reduced to manslaughter and he served 120 days in jail. In 2013, Pisciotta was convicted of arson in an incident where he helped burn down a restaurant for insurance money. He has a projected release date of December 9, 2029. • John Termini (born December 1939) — soldier. In mid-1968, Termini spent three months in a jail in Missouri for refusing to testify before a grand jury. In July 1991, Termini was indicted for illegal gambling and money laundering. According to prosecutors, Termini placed cigarette machines, jukeboxes, pool tables, and electronic amusement machines, video poker and slot machines inside of bars and restaurants. In 1993, Termini was convicted of money laundering and conducting an illegal gambling business, and sentenced to over two years in prison with supervised release and a fine of $6000. Associates • Vincent C. Abbott • Michael Albanese • Michael V. Badalucco • Joseph Balano (born March 1961) — associate. In January 2014, Balano was indicted for a scheme to defraud the government by failing to pay the IRS more than $493,000. In January 2016, Balano was sentenced to over two years in prison. • Charles "Little Chuckie Morgan" Caciacopo Jr. • Carlo Cammisano — son of William Cammisano • Gerlamo P. Cammisano — brother of William Cammisano • Vincent Civella (born January 1957) — associate. In March 2010, Civella pled guilty to operating an illegal gambling business from between 2006 and 2009, and was fined $40,000 in forfeiture. • Anthony Civella Jr. (born July 1967) — associate. In November 2014, Civella was sentenced by former U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to two years in prison with $70,000 in restitution for the theft of over $330,000 retrieved from ATM machines from between 2011 and 2013. • Nick J. Labruzzo • '''Nicholas Lafranca In September 1993, Mandacina was convicted of using a firearm, murder for hire, and conspiracy, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was granted compassionate release in January 2023. • Anthony "Tony Mike" Nigro — grandson of William Cammisano • Leonard Occhipinto • Michael Occhipinto • Anthony Sansone • Joseph "Joe Pete" Simone — son of former underboss Peter Simone ==Former members==

• Randy "Junior" Badolato He died in June 2011. • William "Little Willie" Cammisano Jr. — former capo. Cammisano Jr. was the son of former Kansas City mob boss William "Willie the Rat" Cammisano Sr. His first conviction was in 1989 for obstruction of justice after he intimidated a witness involved in a murder trial; he was released three years later. He had been the suspect of numerous gangland executions during the 1980s. Cammisano is also blacklisted from every casino in Kansas City and Las Vegas. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to running a massive illegal gambling operation which amounted to $3.5 million over the course of three years; he received one year. Cammisano died of COVID-19 on January 17, 2023. • Anthony Chiavola — former soldier. Chiavola was born in 1918. Chiavola previously served as a former Chicago police officer. In January 1986, Chiavola and his son were sentenced to a five year prison sentence for their involvement in skimming from Las Vegas casinos. He died in 2000. • Carl "Tuffy" DeLuna — former underboss and acting boss. DeLuna was born in April 1927. In March 1986, DeLuna was sentenced by former U.S. District Judge Joseph Edward Stevens Jr. to 16 years in prison with over $200,000 in fines after he had pled guilty to charges of a $2 million skimming conspiracy involving four casinos in Las Vegas, from between January 1974 and September 1983, in particular the skimming of the Stardust, Fremont, Hacienda and Marina casinos, he was released in 1998. He died in July 2008. • James Duardi — former soldier. Duardi was born in March 1921. In May 1985, Duardi was indicted for conspiracy to torch a Kansas City tavern and a bingo hall to collect insurance money. He died in December 2010. • Charles Moretina — former soldier. Moretina was born in June 1928. In October 1983, Moretina was sentenced to 20 years in prison for participating in a skimming conspiracy scheme from between June 1978 and February 1979 targeted at the Tropicana casino in Las Vegas. He died in August 2005. • Peter Joseph "Las Vegas Pete" Simone — former underboss. Simone died on June 12, 2025. • Peter J. "Pete" Tamburello — Tamburello was born in January 1932. In July 1980, Tamburello was sentenced to two years in prison for attempting to bribe warden Louis Gengler of the Fort Worth, Texas, federal prison, for a sum of $5000 in order to have Nicholas Civella transferred to a different prison. In November 1981, Tamburello was indicted for skimming over $280,000 from the Tropicana hotel and casino from between June 1978 and February 1979. However, in July 1983, he was acquitted. In September 1983, Tamburello pleaded guilty to skimming gambling profits from the Stardust and Fremont hotel casinos in Las Vegas from around $1.6 million from between March 1974 and 1980, and also for filing false tax returns in 1977 and 1978. He died in April 2015, aged 83. == Former associates ==

• James Bradley Jr. — former associate. Bradley was born in June 1926. In May 1975, Bradley was released from prison after serving a seven-year sentence for post office burglary, conspiracy, receiving stolen property, smuggling contraband into a United States penitentiary, and bribery. In Juny 1979, Bradley was acquitted of armed robbery and firearm charges. He died in November 2015. • James DiCapo — former associate. DiCapo was born in August 1952. In July 2010, DiCapo pled guilty to conspiracy to traffic more than $400,000 worth of counterfeit designer purses and clothes, and money laundering conspiracy, DiCapo also admitted of operating a $1.2 million illegal sports betting ring. He died in September 2018. == List of murders committed by the Kansas City crime family ==

In August 2008, retired FBI agent William Ouseley published his history of the KC crime family from 1900 to 1950 in a book titled Open City. On March 20, 2009, Blackhand Strawman, a documentary of Kansas City's organized crime history, was released in theaters in Kansas City. On March 1, 2011, retired FBI agent William Ouseley published his history of the KC crime family from 1950 to 2000 in a book titled Mobsters in Our Midst. On November 25, 2013, the documentary film Gangland Wire was released. This film uses audio clips from FBI wiretaps to tell the story of law enforcement uncovering a massive conspiracy to control Las Vegas casinos. The FX crime drama anthology series Fargo portrays a fictional Kansas City Italian mafia both in season 2 and season 4, but which has no resemblance to real-life Kansas city crime syndicates. ==See also==