Kansas City Missouri – Page 24 – Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!

History of mob influence in River Quay detailed in speech

Views

Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

How warring factions of Kansas City mob families destroyed a popular venue with the hip crowd was the subject that a former Kansas City, Missouri, police officer told at a meeting Sept. 10 of the Fairfax Industrial Association.

Gary Jenkins, the policeman, spent 13 years as an undercover officer gathering information about the Mafia. He told the history of the River Quay (pronounced key). Marion Trozzolo, a former college instructor from Chicago who owned a plastics company, developed the River Quay in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was a great place to bring the family. There were various artisan and boutique shops. Trozzolo patterned the area after the Old Town area of Chicago.

Jenkins said the mob operated bars on Twelfth Street, but were being pushed out to make way for a hotel which is now the Kansas City Marriott Downtown. The mob wanted to move into River Quay.

Trozzolo had difficulty in obtaining capital and sold his interest of some 20 parcels of real estate to a New Orleans developer, Joseph Canizaro. An article in The New York Times referred Trozzolo‘s dream as Canizaro’s nightmare. Jenkins said what happened in the next few years was a violent gangland war.

Jenkins said one faction of the mob wanted strip joints and prostitution in River Quay. However, another faction, led by Fred Bonadonna, owner of Poor Freddie’s restaurant, opposed that type of business. Bonadonna’s father was murdered in gangland style. Jenkins said there were several other criminal incidents including execution-style homicides and bombings.

Today River Quay is now known as River Market. It is a mix of offices, restaurants and apartments and shops. The strip joints are gone. It is perceived as a place that is safe for families.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is the executive director of Business West.

KCK man charged after standoff at Arrowhead Stadium Saturday

Joshua D. Newton, 33, of Kansas City, Kansas, has been charged with unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and making a terrorist threat first degree after a standoff Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

Newton is being held in the Jackson County Detention Center, according to a spokesman for the Jackson County prosecutor’s office. Newton’s bond was requested at $40,000.

Arrowhead Stadium was closed down for several hours Saturday during a standoff, according to court documents.

A groundskeeper for the Kansas City Royals told police, according to a probable cause statement, that a man with a gun fired four gunshots that did not hit him.

The suspect was walking through the parking lot and was about 100 yards away from the employee when the suspect pulled out two black handguns from behind his back, then raised them and pointed them at the groundskeeper, the victim told police.

The groundskeeper left a utility vehicle and ran for cover behind some portable restrooms, according to the probable cause statement.

Police stated in the probable cause statement that a Facebook account was found where Joshua Newton posted a message that he would go to the stadium on Sept. 12 and murder some “Pro Bowl,” “Luxury Taxing,” and “Y’All Forbes List.”

When he was taken into custody, he had a loaded Beretta semi-automatic handgun and a loaded Glock 17 semi-automatic handgun, according to the probable cause statement.

Newton told police he was at the stadium conducting business, and alleged that a man pointed a gun at him, so Newton pointed a gun back at the man. He denied firing his gun, according to the probable cause statement.

Police have reviewed video of the incident.

Bonner wrestler places 2nd at nationwide tourney in KC

Bonner Springs youth wrestler Olivia Stean tossed Gardner-Edgerton’s Shelby Davis in their first-round bout. The match was part of the Rocky Mountain Nationals tournament in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo copyright 2020 by Brian Turrel)

by Brian Turrel

Bonner Springs freshman Olivia Stean was one of over 2,000 youth wrestlers from 40 states who descended on HyVee Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, for the Rocky Mountain Nationals wrestling tournament. She placed second in her division.

Stean, who is in her third year with the Bonner Springs Youth Wrestling Club, won her first two bouts convincingly, pinning Gardner-Edgerton’s Shelby Davis in the first round and getting a major decision over her second-round opponent. She lost to two Utah wrestlers in the third and fourth rounds, by fall in the third round and by a 3-0 decision in the fourth.

Stean got her interest in wrestling from her father Greg, taking up the sport when her brother showed little interest in it. Her mother Laura says the whole family has “got the wrestling bug,” and that Olivia has “found her niche” in the sport.

Stean wants to get in as much competition as she can and will also be taking part on Sunday in the freestyle section of the tournament. Freestyle wrestling has different rules than the folkstyle wrestling that is most common in interscholastic competition.

Olivia looks forward to competing for the Bonner Springs High School wrestling team in the upcoming season, although she may be one of very few female wrestlers on the squad.

Covid-19 precautions were abundant at the tournament. Temperatures were taken at the door. Spectators, coaches, referees and event staff were wearing masks. The number of attendees at one time was strictly capped to allow distancing.

Woody Carter, sales and events manager for the HyVee Arena, took pride in the care and planning that went into the event, which included splitting the event on two floors of the facility to further spread out the wrestlers and spectators.

Carter said that health inspectors had been over the event’s procedures in detail on Friday to ensure the event met all the regulations established by the city and Mayor Quinton Lucas, who had previously criticized the event.

Carter also emphasized the economic benefits to the area of hosting events with a national draw, and mentioned that even hotels from Kansas City, Kansas, had called to thank him for the increased business and being able to rehire laid off staff.

The Rocky Mountain Nationals wrestling tournament concludes Sunday. Olivia Stean’s matches start at 8:30 a.m. Results can be followed at http://arena.flowrestling.org/event/106cf8d8-48f8-43bb-9607-5c77d177f435.