From the Kansas City Public Library via Google Arts & Culture:
Boss Tom Pendergast: The Rise and Fall of Kansas City’s Corrupt Machine
Between the years 1926 and 1939, political machine boss Thomas J. Pendergast, or “Boss Tom,” exerted tremendous influence over almost every facet of political, business, and cultural life in Kansas City.
Tom Pendergast took over the political machine when his older brother, James Pendergast, died of natural causes in 1911. James had built the machine out of the revenue from saloons, gambling, and prostitution. These vices fueled a political machine that offered patronage—chiefly jobs and government contracts—to its strongest supporters.
Pendergast constituents were diverse and more likely to be working class, Catholic, first- or second-generation immigrants of Italian, Irish, or Mexican descent, or African American. The Pendergast family itself was Irish-American. The image shows part of the Columbus Park neighborhood—an Italian-American part of town—and the Catholic Holy Rosary Church.
In 1915, Tom gave up his seat on the city council and focused on his unelected role as leader of the Jackson Democratic Club, the party organization of the Pendergast machine. From then on, he did not hold formal office, but was nonetheless the most powerful political figure in Kansas City.
By 1926, the Pendergast faction of the Kansas City Democrats had consolidated power by co-opting followers of rivals Joseph B. Shannon, Casimir (or “Cas”) Welch, and others.
In 1928, Tom moved with his wife Carolyn and three children to their new mansion at 5650 Ward Parkway, an expensive proposition even for someone with Boss Tom’s burgeoning wealth.
Pendergast encountered more financial difficulties as his addiction to gambling, specifically horseracing, grew out of control. This led to a potentially profitable ownership, through surrogates, of a Platte County racetrack called the “Riverside Jockey Club” and a Clay County farm he outfitted as a stud horse breeding facility. However, at one time in the late summer of 1935, it was reported that Pendergast wagered over $2,000,000 and lost the tremendous sum of $600,000.
It would take many years of profits from all his companies to cover such liabilities. In expanding the machine, Tom Pendergast had developed a large array of business connections, beginning with the T.J. Pendergast Wholesale Liquor Co. and continuing with the Atlas Beverage Company, City Beverage, Ready-Mixed Concrete, and W. A. Ross Construction. At least ten more prominent businesses appear to have been operated by Pendergast surrogates and allies.
Still, Pendergast needed other sources of income that might be generated through his control of the city government by way of his right-hand man, Henry McElroy, the city manager from 1926 to 1939. The two concocted a scheme to leverage proceeds from a huge bond issue called the 10 Year Plan, as well as federal funds via the Works Progress Administration to award lucrative contracts and appoint loyal city employees, who in turn kicked back to Pendergast’s bookkeeper.....
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