John Paul Spica

Sonny

John Paul "Sonny" Spica was walking on the edge. By late October, 1979, it was inevitable that his life would end violently. It just was a question of when, how and by whom.

Spica was wedged between two inexorable forces of death. On one side was the Kansas City Mafia, which demanded his execution for violating sacred mob protocol. On the other was the most dangerous, devious labor racketeer in St. Louis and a gang of cutthroat hoodlums who settled their disputes with bullets, bombs and mayhem. Spica stood in their way and he had made unpardonable threats.

The underworld waited and watched to see who would kill him first.

Spica was no stranger to murder. At the age of 25, he was charged in 1962 with arranging the contract killing of a husband whose wife wanted him dead. The victim, John J. Myszak, a real estate agent, was shot and killed in front of his home. It was one of the most sensational murders in St. Louis in decades. Myszak's wife, who said she had paid Spica $5,000, admitted plotting the killing, but said she had tried unsuccessfully to cancel the contract. She was acquitted, but Spica was convicted a year later and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Spica had a streak of recklessness in him and at times he was arrogant and rebellious. During his early days in prison, he attempted to muscle in on the narcotics traffic. Other convicts quickly put him in Iine.

Spica came to prominence again 10 years later. He had befriended James Earl Ray. The FBI said it had developed information indicating that Spica had brokered the contract to kill Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Spica admitted knowing Ray, but denied any implication in King's assassination.

Spica's closest friend in prison was Carl Spero, a young, upstart Kansas City gangster. It was a relationship that would have tragic consequences.

After he was paroled in 1973, Spica appeared to live a quiet, repentant life. He opened a produce stand in south St. Louis where he worked every day during the summer. He became known as a soft-spoken gentleman and a shrewd businessman. He liked stylish clothes and expensive, flashy cars. Physical fitness was an obsession and he worked out regularly.

But Spica led a double life and the low profile he maintained concealed a different man. In reality Spica was a rising star in the underworld.

Anthony "Tony G." Giordano, the respected St. Louis Mafia boss, took a liking to him and was preparing him for bigger and better things. Spica had not yet been "made" – formally inducted into the Mafia – but it was considered only a matter of time. In the meantime, he would make his bones by being an aggressive moneymaker.

Some intelligence sources believed Giordano looked upon Spica as a surrogate son. He had one son, Bill, who had shunned the mob. Giordano and Spica often were seen together. The boss made him a part owner of a cigarette and amusement machine company he owned across the Mississippi River in Fairmont City, Ill. It was evidence of Giordano's trust in him and of Spica's increasing stature. No other young hood would have been given such an opportunity.