Mobsters In Our Midst: The Kansas City Crime Family

by William Ouseley

This is the story of the rise and fall of Kansas City's longest-reigning mob boss, Nick Civella, and his powerful crime family, as told by the FBI agent who helped bring down Civella and his cronies. The book includes never-before-published detail of the

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, History, Crime

260 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2011

Reviews

[Mila Pool · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where is the in depth information. Way too many gaps in years and events for this crime family. I liked the book but I couldn't love it. I was so excited to get this book at Barnes and Noble because it is about the only modern Kansas City mafia book but disappointed because I thought being written by a former law enforcement agent that worked on the case would have so much information. Don't get me wrong, its a good book but didn't make my list of the great ones.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being from the KC area, I was intrigued by this book, considering I had no idea most of this was happening in my area. I remember when David Bonadonna was murdered. I also remember the initial excitement of the River Quay area, as well as the little shops there, including a great place to buy unique candles.
How sad it was that the mob destroyed this place, and the details are all in this book. There’s a lot of info packed into this little book, at times being confusing with so many names. For me, though, it brought back a lot of memories.

[Katie Hilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting discussion of the Civella era in the Kansas City mob's history, written by a retired FBI agent who often spearheaded key investigations. This edition is better written and edited than Mr. Ouseley's previous book. Both are filled with fascinating data.

[Rob Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read that chronicles the history of the Kansas City Outfit during its heyday from the 1950s through the 1980s. The author - William Ousley - was a FBI agent and leaden who was involved in bringing the family down, so the stories that are told are quite engaging. My primary concern with the book lies with the structure and writing style. While informative, the story could've been told in a much more compelling way and could've focused more on the characters who drove the strength of the family. Overall, this is a nice read for anyone who's interested in the stories of KC - and anyone interested in the stories of organized crime.

[Caleb Sommerville · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slow start and pretty dry, this book was illuminating in the best/worst possible ways. It's slow and dry because it's written by the FBI agent who investigated The Outfit, so I can't fault him for the many Wikipedia/police blotter-esque passages in here. But under the dry recitation lays a harrowing tale of two words that were used to describe Boston's Whitey Bulger: strictly criminal. The only difference between this and Black Mass (aside from the better writing Mass had, owing to a journalist co-author) is that I recognized landmarks and street names.

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a bit of a dry, statistical "news" report style of writing but the author makes it clear he's just reporting facts, not writing a novel. Personally I found it extremely interesting because I grew up in Kansa City in the 60-70s so several of the names and places were familiar to me - but not the violent context of which they were actually occuring. I was just a kid then. But my dad was born in the northeast side of KC in 1938. I heard him tell many tales about "gangsters" in their neighborhood but thought he was just exaggerating. Turns out he wasn't !

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mobsters in our midst is a great book about the Kansas City underground where nick civella and his crew make his way into town and take over, if you are from Kansas City or just like realistic violence this is definitely the book for you. I rate this book 4/5 only because the book was kind of short to me but there was nothing else bad to it.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the Read

As a lifelong resident of the Northland in Kansas City, Missouri, this book provided an in depth look into the lives of family's of which I've known the names and the importance of but, not much about their history in our area. It was before I was of the age to be aware. This book was definitely worth the read.

[Michael Kruse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting information but the presentation is disjointed, jumping back and forth across time and people. Still, invaluable information that is worth the effort.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad but if you are only going to read one book on the KC mob it should be The Mafia and the Machine.

[Alyssa Bauer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book difficult to follow and un-engaging. Would not recommend. You could get the gist of the information from a Wikipedia page..

[Carolyn Ehlers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of stats. Lots of characters to follow. Interesting read.

[Mike Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me it was a good read. Had the pleasure of growing up in Northeast Kansas City.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good but could've used a better editor. Well researched and fascinating but the writing style was sometimes awkward.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading The Mafia and the Machine by Frank Hayde, I was anxious to continue learning about the Kansas City mafia and found this title to be a good follow-up. Mobsters in Our Midst provides a more in-depth look at a particular era within the Kansas City mob, giving detailed information about the Civella crime family's reign from the middle to end of the 20th century. Like The Mafia and the Machine, this book's inclusion of photos and street addresses was a highlight for me, really bringing the history to life. But the chronology and vast cast of characters of Mobsters in Our Midst was at times hard to keep straight. Nevertheless, for someone with an interest in local history, this book provides a great deal of insight about the dealings, violence, legal surveillance, and surprising "everyday-ness" of organized crime in the Midwest.

[Sean Asbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like other reviews that I have read I agree that finally a book has been written that shows that KC isn't a slow, boring, cow town. Although many references in popular culture (Casino) have shown the impact of KC on organized crime, this incredibly well written book gets in to the home grown details.

This story could read like a great play....families, stresses, business, cover ups, cops, etc. The ebbs and flows are fun to follow.

The only complaint is that it could have had an org chart or family tree as a way to show the long lines of "family".

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a former FBI division chief, the book chronicles organized crime in Kansas City from the turn of the century until the last boss, Nick Civella, died in 1983. Truly amazing how the mob infiltrated the unions, the courts, the police, and the elected officials, getting off with virtually hand slaps through decades of murder and mayhem. Lots of detail provided, including addresses if you want to do a 'mob tour'. Al went to school with one of Nick's daughters.

[Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book covers the Outfit from late 1950s to early 1980s.
River Quay, Teamsters, North End, Politics, Village of Oakwood, Murders, Bombings, Vegas, Gambling, etc. The mob had their hand in it all, and I played little league football with some of their sons and nephews.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having lived in KC most of my life and during the time many of the events in the book take place, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mr. Ouseley's account of the families and occurrences. I do feel the book needed editing for clarity.

[Roy Farchmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who grew up in Kansas City and actually met some of the principals in this story, the book was very interesting. The Cosa Nostra in Kansas City was very real. Probably not the best prose. But, factually, fascinating.

[Eric Huettenmueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about organized crime in Kansas City from a former FBI agent.

[Mary Landis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not an easy read but very informative.

[Kathy Meinert]

Great read for Kansas City people.

[Kirk Duckers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look into the Kansas City Mafia from the late '50s through the 1980s.