Last Brother Standing

This is a possible title for my upcoming documentary about the Kansas City mob war of the 1970s. This is the story of the ruling Civella brothers, Nick and Cork Civella and the upstart young Turks, Nick Spero and his brothers, Mike, Joe and Carl Spero. A quick overview if you don’t remember the multi-episode podcast I did on this conflict. Basically it is the generation gap played out in a mob war. The old school Nick and his brother Cork Civella were born in the early 1900s and the young Turk Speros were born during WW II. Just like the Baby Boomers resisted the previous generation’s conservative values and influence on society, the Spero brothers resisted the conservative mafia leadership of the Civellas. A quick overview begins with the eldest brother Nick Spero coming of age as a career criminal who joins a mob robbery crew traveling around the country robbing grocery stores. They always kick a piece of this action up to Nick and Cork Civella after a successful score.  One of these crew members is a blood relative of other mob members named Sam Palma. He is arrested for a Texas supermarket robbery and the night before he is scheduled to plead guilty, someone murders him. Unknown persons set up this murder to look like a suicide and mob informants implicate Nick Spero. This must have been the desire of Nick Civella because Spero graduates to set up a scheme to hijacking trailers of merchandise from trucking companies. I have one story that lets you know how sharp this guy was. The mob dominated Teamster’s Union makes sure he get a job working for a national truck line, Yellow Freight. He sets up a trailer load of liquor to be stolen. Nick goes to management and Yellow Freight security, claiming he can get this trailer back. Quickly he located the entire trailer minus a few cases of booze. probably for his trouble. A grateful Yellow Freight management team promoted Nick to a position of authority. He was access to all truck schedules and cargo manifest and given a voice in whether or not an employee will be prosecuted.  Yellow Freight notices that more and more trailers of merchandise like electric knives, perfume, batteries, film, and booze are missing and presumed stolen. Nick is hard to fire with his mob connections though the Teamster’s Union but finally, Yellow Freight pays him a cash settlement to resign. Nick moves on to running traveling jewelry theft gangs of which his youngest brother, Carl Spero is the team leader. He gets another Teamster job and is so popular that he is elected a union steward. Nick Spero has a part-time job for a mob-connected c=vending company and he successfully intimidates many stores and bars into installing these companies’ vending machines. He seems to be a young mobster on a management track Remember, this is the 1960s and by 1970, Nick Spero has effected the look and dress of other young people. In other words, he grows his hair out and sports a large Fu Man Chu mustache. He is seen wearing flowery bell-bottom pants and colorful shirts. The conservative Nick Civella has always dictated that none of his men shall have facial hair and they all dress in dress shirts and slacks with a snap-brim hat or fedora, exactly like Nick and Cork Civella.  Informants start reporting that Nick Civella does not like or trust Nick Spero because of his dress but more importantly his demeanor. He is loud, flamboyant and is seen as a leader among his peers in the criminal underworld. These attributes are all great for the boss if he can control the man, but in this case Nick Spero once made the following statement when asked about joining the Civella organization rather than operating on his own and paying a tribute. “I ain’t no jockstrap, they use you up until the stretch is all gone and then they throw you away. I have always been my own man. i don’t listen to anybody but my father and he is dead.”