Milwaukee Mafia and Kansas City
At the request of Milwaukee Mafia boss Frank Balistrieri, Joseph Gurera (“Joey G”) was temporarily transferred from the mafia in Kansas City to Milwaukee. Joey G was joined by his brother-in-law through marriage, Buster Balestrere, for the purpose of putting pressure on Milwaukee-area bookies who weren’t paying enough “street tax” on their earnings to Balistrieri.
[Joey G was a suspect in the murder of Tony Biernat, who was a jukebox distributor operating on Milwaukee’s turf.]
Why Kansas City?
Why was Kansas City chosen instead of Detroit, or the significantly closer Chicago? The answer is simple. In the world of the Milwaukee Mafia whose members were from Sicily, nothing was stronger or more trusted than the bond of family. Frank Balistrieri became boss around 1961, and he had a network of criminals related to him through both blood and marriage, and many happened to be in Kansas City. The chart below shows those links.
Note: The chart below is not meant to include all family members, but it’s purpose is to illustrate Milwaukee and Kansas City blood and marriage connections.
Thomas Hunt has excellent information on his site written by Edward Valin about the Kansas City mafia, and the people on this chart.