John Lazia - Decline in Power

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" Floyd, 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.