Synova interviews ex-Kansas City Intelligence Officer, Gary Jenkins. Gary has produced 4 documentary films, created the Kansas City Mob Tour app, authored 3 books, and currently produces and produces and hosts his own true-crime podcast, titled Gangland Wire Crime Stories. In this popular true-crime podcast Gary Jenkins tells many stories about the Kansas City mafia, interviews experts on mafia families in many other cities, and has found many former mafia members to tell their stories.
Kansas City is in the spotlight this week with a look at Tom J. Pendergast. When Pendergast was born on July 22, 1872, he was the youngest in a family of nine children. His parents were Irish immigrants and worked hard to provide for their large family.
Controversy surrounds his educational background, and despite claims of a college career, it is believed he only held a sixth-grade education. Despite this detriment, he learned much about politics and other civic duties from his older brother, James, who owned a tavern by the Missouri River. James held the position of alderman on the city council in Kansas City, and when he retired, Tom was named his successor.
Tom was married and had three children. He was active in his faith, which included being a Knight of Columbus in the Catholic Church. With this new position, he gained control of the city and began his reign of corruption. The tavern he owned with his brother enabled him to mingle with the underworld. Guns, prostitutes, gambling, and liquor all became commodities in his rise to power. Within these influential groups, politics also became fair game. Voter fraud and intimidation were used to ensure certain politicians were elected. Under these conditions, Tom and his brother were able to manipulate the system by providing care in the form of food and money to needy families in the area. These charitable contributions made them very powerful with voters and in political circles.
James died in 1911, and Tom married the same year. He and his wife Caroline had three children. His family life did not preclude him from corruption, however. He appointed Henry McElroy to City Manager, and this bolstered his political power. Throughout the next few years, Pendergast rose to the top of a very organized criminal organization. Among these shady individuals was Johnny Lazia, an Italian American with connections, whose reputation for kidnapping was known. Pendergast’s association with Lazia gave him infinite power in the mob world. In return, he gave Lazia the task of hiring police, which resulted in unchecked gambling and bootlegged liquor sales. By 1927, the city was called “Tom’s Town.”
During this same time, Pendergast began to clean up his image. Portraying himself as a religious family man, he became friendly with Harry S. Truman. The Pendergast party heavily influenced the election of Franklin Roosevelt, who conveniently did not rally to investigate such corrupt enterprises. Things began to change, however, in 1934. It was found that several voter ballots were fraudulent, and many people were threatened and murdered at voting polls.
By 1936, things were coming to an end for Pendergast and his powerful posse. He suffered a heart attack and seemed to take stock of his losses. He realized he was close to being prosecuted and began to defend himself by using his health as an excuse. In truth, this health crisis did nothing to squelch Pendergast’s love of gambling. He had a special wire installed in his office, which allowed him to gamble freely from afar. He lost hundreds of thousands in the process, bringing his financial and political world to a standstill.
In January of 1939, a grand jury was held, which resulted in an investigation of the “Pendergast Machine.” During this time, his bookkeeper Edward Schneider was found dead in what was deemed a “suicide.” Schneider had already rolled on him, however, and Pendergast was indicted on tax evasion. He was sentenced to fifteen months but served only twelve. After his release, Pendergast was a social outcast. After his wife, Carolyn, left him, his health deteriorated. After several heart attacks, he passed away from heart failure on January 26, 1945. He was seventy-two years old.
Pendergast’s corrupt politics began to fade after his death. However, much of what he built still stands. Many of his concrete business endeavors created the infrastructure seen in Kansas City today.
THIS LIST OF LINKS IS NOT AN ALL-ENCOMPASSING SOURCE CITING. ALL OF THE INFORMATION USED IN THIS ARTICLE CAN BE EASILY FOUND ONLINE. LINKS BELOW WERE USED AS SOURCES AND ARE RECOMMENDED READING FOR SYNOVA’S READERS. SYNOVA STRIVES TO CITE ALL THE SOURCES USED DURING HER CASE STUDY, BUT OCCASIONALLY A SOURCE MAY BE MISSED BY MISTAKE. IT IS NOT INTENTIONAL, AND NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED.
Synova Ink would like to welcome our newest guest blogger. Karen Reep is a new true crime writer learning to spread her wings on our Mobster Monday posts. Look for more of her writing in the near future.
Support Synova’s Cause:
EACH WEEK SYNOVA HIGHLIGHTS OBSCURE COLD CASES ON HER BLOG AS A VICTIMS’ ADVOCATE WITH MISSOURI MISSING ORGANIZATION. SHE NEVER CHARGES FOR HER SERVICES. IF YOU’D LIKE TO SUPPORT HER IN THIS WORTHY CAUSE, PLEASE CHECK OUT THE AFFILIATE LINKS ON THIS PAGE. BY PURCHASING ONE OF HER BOOKS, OR USING THESE LINKS YOU WILL BE SUPPORTING SYNOVA’S WORK ON COLD CASES AND WILL ENSURE HER ABILITY TO CONTINUE TO GIVE A VOICE TO THE VICTIM’S FAMILY.
If you enjoy this content don’t forget to sign up for Synova’s Weekly True Crime Newsletter. You will receive exclusive content directly in your inbox. As a gift for joining you will also receive the Grim Justice ebook free.
After shooting down a prominent businessman, the killer looked up and gazed at the people in the factory windows. Why would a hitman do this? Was he confident, arrogant, or was he backed by the Mafia and knew he was untouchable? Whatever the case, Wolf Rimann lay dying in his car, and the killer got away. Seventy years later we have a full description of the killer, but no arrests.
Wolf Rimann, 43 was a marked man. He had been warned. Perhaps he thought he was too powerful in Kansas City to be taken out so easily. Rimann was a Deputy Sherriff in Jackson County. He was neck deep in corruption and thrived. Rimann was a golf professional and the manager of the Hillcrest Country Club. He also owned the Western Speciality Company which supplied jukeboxes and pinball machines to area businesses. Rimann was known to slip a few strategically placed slot machines in as well. It was a well-known fact that Rimann would use his badge to force tavern owners to install his slot machines. If the bar owner refused, Rimann would decide to enforce the county’s “dry” laws and shut the bar down. At one point there were four other officers on Rimann’s payroll for this sole purpose.
The local Mafia kingpin, John Blando had exclusive rights to the Schenley Liquor products and was making a boat-load of money on the deal. Rimann decided he wanted a piece of the action and bypassed Blando. He went directly to New York and was given permission to sell Schenley liquor. This obviously upset Blando, so he sent word for Rimann to back off, but Rimann refused and continued to stock a warehouse full of the product.
On March 24, 1949, Wolf Rimann was walking towards his car on the corner of 14th & Chestnut when a black Ford peeled around the corner. One man stepped out and stood as a century. Another man stepped out firing a pistol. Rimann was riddled with bullets as he opened the car door. He slumped across the front seat of his car as the shooter approached. The hitman’s final bullet met its mark in Rimann’s skull. Then the killer did something very odd. He turned and looked at the factory windows full of witnesses exposing his face to the crowd. If this were a Hollywood film, he probably would have tipped his hat. After the strange moment passed, the two men jumped back into the Ford and raced away.
The sketch above says the Ford was parked, but early reporting of this case say the Ford never stopped and the two men who exited the car had to jog to catch back up to it. The getaway car was found ten blocks north of the crime scene. The vehicle was traced back to a St. Louis car dealership. It was recently purchased by an Italian man claiming to be from Denver. He paid with cash and asked to borrow a couple of license plates. He never picked up the car title. He apparently had other plans for the car. The mysterious Italian was never found.
After his death, Rimann’s illegal business dealings came to light and exposed how deep the corruption had become in Kansas City. Although the case was never solved, the Kansas City Crime Commission was formed because of the murder of Wolf Rimann. Everyone knows the mob killed Rimann, but the triggerman was never found, and the crime boss of K.C. was never convicted of hiring the hit.
All photos used in this article are from the Kansas City archives. I do not own the copyright on any of these and no infringement is intended. This article is for informational purposes only,All photos used in this article are from the Kansas City archives. I do not own the copyright on any of these and no infringement is intended. This article is for informational purposes only,
EACH WEEK SYNOVA HIGHLIGHTS OBSCURE COLD CASES ON HER BLOG AS A VICTIMS’ ADVOCATE WITH MISSOURI MISSING ORGANIZATION. SHE NEVER CHARGES FOR HER SERVICES. IF YOU’D LIKE TO SUPPORT HER IN THIS WORTHY CAUSE, PLEASE CHECK OUT THE AFFILIATE LINKS ON THIS PAGE. BY PURCHASING ONE OF HER BOOKS, OR USING THESE LINKS YOU WILL BE SUPPORTING SYNOVA’S WORK ON COLD CASES AND WILL ENSURE HER ABILITY TO CONTINUE TO GIVE A VOICE TO THE VICTIM’S FAMILY.
If you enjoy this content don’t forget to sign up for Synova’s Weekly True Crime Newsletter. You will receive exclusive content directly in your inbox. As a gift for joining you will also receive the Grim Justice ebook free.
Every year Synova compiles the most popular blog post from the previous year into a case files book. In 2018, Synova Ink was filled with serial killer cases, cold cases, famous cases, and many obscure unsolved missing persons’ cases. Don’t miss this one.
Order your copy of Synova’s New Casefiles book HERE!
Synova’s Swag Store is now open check out her new merchandise by clicking on the Shop! link at the top of this page!
