Lazia, Carollo or Binaggio � the enforcement end of the gang fell to Gizzo, Gargotta, and Lococo, with "Lococo serving as the engineer or quarterback." While working for the bosses these men were said to be in constant communication with James Balestrere who, if not in name, functioned similar to a family consigliere.
Gaetano Lococo, also known as Thomas or Tano, claimed to have been born in America prior to the turn of the 20th century. Ed Reid described Lococo as follows:
"Known as a Mafia enforcer in Kansas City, he was one of the key group of young Italian storm troopers who fronted for John Lazia in the early days. With Tony Gizzo and the late Charley Gargotta he served on the mob enforcement squad."
Senator Kefauver had another description of Lococo:
"Lococo was a mousy, insignificant, bespectacled little man whose appearance belied his reputation as another of Binaggio�s �enforcers.�"
Reid claimed Lococo�s police record was removed from the files of the Kansas City Police Department because "he was virtually in control of the police department in the 1930s." Reid states that Lococo "wriggled out of the clutches of the law" in 1933 in connection with one gang killing. Which leaves one to wonder if Lococo was the fourth man involved in the ill-fated getaway after the murder of Ferris Anthon.
In 1946, Lococo was one of four gang members under Binaggio who muscled in and took over the race-wire service in Kansas City. In 1948, he traveled to Nogales, Ariz., where he posed as a retired businessman. Hiring the local mayor as his attorney, he purchased a hotel for $50,000. When he approached the county sheriff with a proposal to start a gambling operation there, he was rebuffed. He quickly sold the hotel and left town.
Reid claims that a meeting took place in Tia Juana, Mexico to plan the murder of Binaggio and that Lococo may have "helped arrange things." Lococo had a family tie to the boss. He was the uncle of Binaggio�s wife.
In addition to his involvement in gambling, Lococo owned several drug stores in the Kansas City area. He and his wife spent large blocks of time in Arizona and Mexico due to Lococo�s bouts with arthritis.
When Lococo was called to testify before the Kefauver Committee, Sen. Charles W. Tobey asked him about his "ugly reputation," which, according to Reid, was that he was "probably the most skillful and experienced killer in the city."
Lococo replied, "You can�t give me a single man in Kansas City who could ever say that I threatened him or said anything wrong to him or anywhere else."
During the time the Kefauver hearings were in session, Lococo was also on trial for income-tax evasion. He was convicted and sentenced to two years in Leavenworth.
And now to Gargotta. According to Sen. Estes Kefauver, "If ever a human being deserved the title of �Mad Dog� it was Gargotta."
Born in Kansas City, Gargotta was arrested more than 40 times over a 30-year period. Those charges included murder, gambling, liquor law violations, carrying a concealed weapon, robbery, auto theft, extortion, attempted burglary and vagrancy. Incredibly, all of the charges were dismissed with the exception of an assault to kill charge for his attempted murder of Sheriff Bash.
While attempting to flee after the killing of Ferris Anthon and the attempted murder of Bash in 1934, Gargotta was charged with murder, attempted murder, and the theft of two revolvers from the Army, which were used during the crimes. When he was tried on the stolen revolvers charge, Leonard L. Claiborne, a Kansas City detective, switched tags on a gun found on Gargotta and another recovered near the murder scene. He then lied on the witness stand having been promised a promotion. Instead Claiborne was sentenced to four years in prison.
The prosecutor selected to handle the murder trial, W. W. Graves, asked for and received 27 continuances over a five-year period before he dismissed the charges against Gargotta all together. Graves was later removed from office by the Missouri Supreme Court for "neglect of duty" for his handling of the case.
Gargotta was eventually re-indicted for the attempted murder of Sheriff Bash as part of Gov. Lloyd Stark�s cleanup drive. Gargotta pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison. However, the Missouri Pardon Board recommended his parole after just 19 months and he was released in January 1941.
Gargotta became Binaggio�s bodyguard and would be murdered with him in April 1950 at the North End�s Democratic headquarters.
Anthony Robert "Fat Tony" Gizzo seemed to be associated with everyone in the Kansas City underworld. In the early 1920s, when he was arrested on a narcotics charge, he offered a federal officer $10,000 to let it go. He was convicted and in 1924 served two years in prison.
Gizzo was involved in gambling operations with Lazia, Carollo, and Binaggio. He was also rumored to be Balestrere�s "personal representation" in Wichita, Kan., where he was considered the Mafia boss.
"Fat Tony" could be called a character. During his testimony before the Kefauver Committee it was revealed that Gizzo was an acquaintance of numerous top mobsters throughout the country. Kefauver described Gizzo as, "a boastful, noisy, beer barrel of a man" and, in apparently an opinion Kefauver developed from interrogating an abundance of underworld figures, "was the only one whose performance was a reasonable facsimile of how a gangster is supposed to act."
When Sen. Alexander Wiley asked him about his rumored habit of carrying large sums of money, Gizzo replied, "Do you want to see it?" From his pocket the overweight gangster pulled out a roll of bills and counted off 25 $100 bills.
Gizzo had one of the more interesting exchanges with the committee when he was asked,
"Do you belong to the Mafia?"
"What is the Mafia?" he responded. "I don�t even know what the Mafia is."
Apparently Gizzo forgot this exchange and was later asked if he knew James Balestrere.
"Yes, sir," Gizzo replied.
"He is rather widely known as a prominent man in the Mafia, isn�t he?" asked the committee.
"That�s what you hear," said Gizzo.
"What did you hear?" questioned the committee.
"The same thing that you just said there," answered Gizzo.
Reminded of this conversation during public hearings held later, Gizzo cried out, "I wish to hell I knew what the Mafia is!"
After the murders of Binaggio and Gargotta, and the imprisonment of Lococo, Gizzo would assume the leadership of the Kansas City underworld. His rule would be short lived, but it wouldn�t be a violent ending. On April 1, 1953, Gizzo died of a massive heart attack in a hotel room in Dallas. The 52-year-old and his wife had gone to Texas to visit their son who was serving time for a narcotics offense.