Gaetano Lococo (1895-1993)
AKA "Tano" or "Thomas"
Lococo was a mobster identified as one of the "Five Iron Men of Kansas City." In his early years he was known as an enforcer with the Kansas City crime family. Later on, he controlled an interest in several illegal gambling establishments.
In March 1950 Lococo was identified at a meeting of U.S. and Sicilian mobsters at a Tiajuana, Mexico hotel. When local Mexican police found out about the meeting, they ended it prematurely. Less than a month after the conference, Kansas City boss Charles Binaggio and underboss Charlie Gargotta were assassinated. It was speculated during the Kefauver hearings on organized crime a few years later that the decision to whack Binaggio had been made at the Tiajuana meeting.
Gaetano Lococo died of natural causes at the age of 98.
