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10 Facts About Thomas Licavoli

1.

Thomas "Yonnie" Licavoli was an American gangster and bootlegger during Prohibition.

2.

The second of four children of Sicilian immigrants, Thomas Licavoli grew up in the Jewish slums of St Louis.

3.

Thomas Licavoli's parents wanted him to become a Catholic priest, so he enrolled in Christian Brothers College High School in St Louis to study for the priesthood.

4.

When he was 19, Thomas Licavoli was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon, and decided to join the US Navy rather than go to prison.

5.

Rather than face the legal and gang-related problems facing him in St Louis, Thomas Licavoli followed his brother Peter Joseph to Detroit, Michigan.

6.

Thomas Licavoli married Zena Moceri and had two daughters, Grace and Concetti.

7.

Thomas Licavoli quickly rose through the ranks of the criminal world and by the mid-1920s was one of the most powerful gangsters in Detroit.

8.

Thomas Licavoli was arrested for conspiracy to commit murder in the slayings of Kennedy and three others.

9.

In 1971, Thomas Licavoli was granted parole due to poor health.

10.

Thomas Licavoli retired to private life, living with his wife and daughter in the Columbus, Ohio suburb of Gahanna until his death on September 17,1973.