Kansas city soldier Charles Cacioppo

Kansas City member Charles "Chucky Morgan" Cacioppo Sr(1922-2010)


1957 mugshot

Born May 22nd, 1922, to parents Mario Cacioppo and Marie Leonti from Sicily, Charles was one of three Cacioppo brothers involved in organised crime, along with Thomas “Tommy Morgan” Cacioppo (1913-2011) and Frank “Hobo” Cacioppo (1927-2004). Fathers background was from Sambuca, Agrigento, and the mother's background was from the Chiusa Sclafani commune of Palermo.
Frank "Hobo" Cacioppo and Thomas "Tommy Morgan" Cacioppo

Of the three brothers, only Thomas Cacioppo and Charles would be made. Frank Cacioppo would remain an associate of the family for many years. Identified early on as a hoodlum, Charles Cacioppo first surfaced in police documents around 1950, described as a burglar and enforcer for the syndicate in Kansas City. Charles is also referenced to have been involved in the policy racket. Alongside Carl Gurera, Joseph DiGiovanni, Sam Palma and many others, Charles would be questioned as part of a wider investigation into the recently deceased KC boss Charles Binaggios' gambling operations. The 1950 consensus lists Charles as being a bookkeeper in Kansas City and living with his wife, Maria Marino.
1959 newspaper excerpt.

Likely made by the late 1950s, Charles Cacioppo would be in and out of court facing various legal troubles throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s. Picked up alongside a host of fellow KC members and associates for a brawl with law enforcement figures on Twelfth Street and Grand Avenue, Charles would be acquitted the following year at trial. 
Left to right of some of the figures involved in the brawl, Sam Palma, Felix Ferina, Carl Deluna, John Caldrone and Mike Palma.


Given the lack of info on crew structures in the Kansas city family during this time. It can be presumed that Charles Cacioppo was likely with his brother Thomas Cacioppo, who was identified as a caporegime and higher-ranking member in the Kansas City family throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

1962 photo of Nicholas Civella and Charles Cacioppo at court.

Charles would be convicted of fencing stolen property in 1962 and would serve a short six-month sentence and a fine of $500, which, adjusted for inflation, would be $5,410. He’d remain somewhat active in LCN affairs going into the 1970s, predominantly focusing on his salvage and wrecking business with his son Charles Cacioppo Jr, an LCN associate and strip club owner in the 1990s.

1962 newspaper excerpt.

Criminally inactive following Operation Strawman, Charles Cacioppo would remain legitimate for the rest of his life, ultimately passing away in 2010 at the age of 88. His brother Frank would be the first to pass in 2004, with Charles preceding Thomas in death who'd ultimately pass away in 2011.

2010 Obituary photo from the Kansas City Star newspaper.

 

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