Charles "Charlie the Wop" Gargotta, a feared enforcer for Kansas City's Mafia, met a violent end on January 20, 1946, in a calculated hit at the Last Chance Saloon. Gargotta had risen through the ranks of the Mafia under boss John Lazia and later became a loyal lieutenant to Charles Binaggio, whose political ambitions threatened the delicate balance of power within the Kansas City underworld. As tensions grew between Binaggio's faction and the old guard, led by Joseph DiGiovanni, Gargotta found himself in the crosshairs. On that fateful night, he and his associate, Louis Ratner, were gunned down in a swift, ruthless attack. The murders shocked the city and signaled the beginning of the end for Binaggio’s reign, which collapsed four years later when he too was assassinated. Gargotta's death remains unsolved, a chilling reminder of the violent power struggles that defined organized crime in Kansas City.
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