Born in Beaumont, Texas, Binaggio moved with his family to Kansas City, Missouri, at an early age.

Binaggio grew up in the city's North Side, which was then heavily populated by Sicilian and Italian immigrants.

The police raided a Denver apartment that Binaggio shared with Anthony Gizzo and Tony Casciola, two well-known Kansas City Mafiosi.

Prohibition agents and local police had raided the mob-run Lusco-Noto Flower Shop at 1039 E. Independence Avenue looking for evidence in a recent "spot" killing.

It started back to the turn of the 20th century when the Black Hand version of the Mafia terrorized the city's North Side.

The violence had reached a peak during and immediately following the Lazia years (1928–1934), but things had remained relatively quiet under Carollo's rule.

In November 1941, Binaggio was speeding down Broadway near his Armour Boulevard apartment when he struck and killed a 50-year-old man while crossing the street.

However, one of his main lieutenants, Joseph Deluca, was sent to prison when a low-level member of the ring, Carl Caramusa, turned state's evidence.

Binaggio had approached the National Commission of La Cosa Nostra for a loan between $200,000 and $2,000,000 for Smith's election campaign.

Binaggio reportedly received the money at the home of Charles Fischetti, a major Chicago Mafioso.

[a] To celebrate this victory, Binaggio chartered a private railroad car for transportation to the inauguration ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Smith made initial appointments to each Police Board, but refused to give a consensus to Binaggio's candidates.

Binaggio left his driver/bodyguard, Nick Penna, at the Last Chance saloon, at a tavern owned by the mob, saying that he would return in a few minutes.

Eight hours later, a cab driver going to a nearby cafe noticed that the club door was open; he also heard water running inside.

However, it is most likely that the two mob bosses were killed by members of their own crime family under orders from the Mafia Commission in New York.

The probable organizer of the hit was Gizzo, who no doubt received the leadership of the Kansas City family as a reward.