William "Willie the Rat" Dominick Cammisano Sr. (April 26, 1914 – January 26, 1995) was an American mobster and enforcer for

Nicholas Civella Nicholas Civella (born Giuseppe Nicoli Civella; March 19, 1912 – March 12, 1983) was an American mobster who became a prominent leader of the Kansas City crime family. Early life Civella was born to Italian immigrants in Kansas City. He was the ...

Kansas City crime family The Kansas City crime family, also known as the Civella crime family or Kansas City Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia family based in Kansas City, Missouri. History Early history The Italian-American organized crime family began when two Si ...

Biography

Cammisano began his criminal activity in his youth and had an extensive

rap sheet A criminal record, police record, or colloquially RAP sheet (Record of Arrests and Prosecutions) is a record of a person's criminal history. The information included in a criminal record and the existence of a criminal record varies between coun ...

by the age of 15 in 1929. His arrest record continued to grow into early adulthood, including citations for carrying a concealed weapon, bootlegging,

pistol whipping Pistol-whipping or buffaloing is the act of using a handgun as a blunt weapon, wielding it as an improvised club. Such a practice dates to the time of muzzle loaders, which were brandished in such fashion in close-quarters combat once the weapo ...

a robbery victim, running an alcohol

still A still is an apparatus used to distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic distillation apparatus, but on a much larger scale. Stills have been use ...

, being

AWOL Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

from the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

, disturbing the peace, and gambling. Convicted of a felony in federal court, he served a sentence at

Federal Correctional Institution, El Reno Federal Correctional Institution, El Reno (FCI El Reno) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Oklahoma. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), a division of the United States Department of Justice. Th ...

which became the namesake of a tavern he operated, the El Reno Bar, in the 1940s. Cammisano was an enforcer of

's organization in the Kansas City branch of

La Cosa Nostra The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian American criminal society and organized crime group. The organization is often referred to by its membe ...

. The two men met in the 1940s through Democrat political circles; as the mafia in Kansas City was closely tied to politics. Both William Cammisano and his brother, Joseph, were indicted for "conspiracy to extort the property of Fred Bonadonna" on June 16, 1978. Fred Bonadonna, a former associate of Camissano who turned government witness, described how Cammisano's used strong arm tactics in the River Quay neighborhood to forward their interests in establish adult entertainment businesses in that neighborhood. Bondanna and his father David opposed the Camissano's and David Bonadonna's was killed by gunfire in June 1976 with his body discovered in the trunk of his car on June 22. Rather than go to trial, the Cammisano brothers entered into plea agreements and were sentenced on November 22, 1978 with William was sentenced to 5 years in prison for

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

. The case was later summarized in a report to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in 1988. In 1980 Cammisano was ordered to appear before a

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

Subcommittee investigating organized crime activity in Kansas City. Cammisano refused to cooperate with the committee; he was cited for Contempt of Congress on May 14, 1981 and received added prison time. With Civella's conviction in 1983, Cammisano became the new leader of the Kansas City organization. In January 1988 Civella was released from prison and resumed his leadership of the Kansas City organization. In 1990 Cammisano was convicted and lived his final years in prison. On January 26, 1995, William Cammisano died of multiple organ failure related to lung disease.

Family

William Cammisano is the father and namesake of William "Willie" Dominick Cammisano Jr. born May 8, 1949, in Kansas City, Missouri. Willie, Jr is listed in the infamous "Black Book", the Nevada Gaming Control Board list of excluded persons. It is believed Willie, Jr owned a share of the Argent Casino in Las Vegas and met with Chicago mafia members to discuss retrieving his portion of the sale price and skim monies from that casino. William's other son Gerlarmo "Jerry" Cammisano pleaded guilty in 2011 to federal charges he ran a $3.5 million illegal sports betting ring. Jerry was sentenced to 14 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $201,137, according to records. Jerry's son, Vito Cammisano is a swimmer that attended the University of Missouri. Vito became well known when he was filmed kissing his boyfriend

Michael Sam Michael Alan Sam Jr. (born January 7, 1990) is an American professional football defensive lineman for the Barcelona Dragons in the European League of Football. A defensive end, Sam played college football for the Missouri Tigers and was d ...

right after it was announced that Sam would be the first openly gay NFL football player to be drafted, when the St. Louis Rams picked him in the seventh round of the 2014 draft.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cammisano, William 1914 births 1995 deaths American gangsters of Italian descent Kansas City crime family Mafia hitmen Deaths from multiple organ failure Deaths from lung disease