Little Caesar: The Mafia Killing of Teamster John Acropolis
Did the New York mob assassinate a famed Yonkers union leader?
John “Little Caesar” Acropolis had led a hard life. The son of Greek immigrants, he had been orphaned at the age of just three and was subsequently sent to the Woodycrest Home in New York before being moved on to be raised in a Leake & Watts Home home in Yonkers, the agency providing foster and adoption services. A teacher at Woodycreast couldn’t pronounce his full Greek name and shortened it to “Acropolis,” meaning that he never even knew what his real family name had been.
Despite the tragedy of his childhood and growing up enjoying street fights, he was a top student and athlete at Yonkers High. After being adopted by two local school teachers, Acropolis successfully attended Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, where he was an All-American basketball player, captaining the team. Handsome, charismatic, and athletic, Acropolis needed to make no effort to be popular with most people he met.
Seeking to earn extra money for himself, Acropolis worked as a truck driver during the summer breaks from college and soon became interested in union issues amongst the city’s working class. He joined Local 456, part of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters founded in 1903. He showed his dedication to work, learning, and bettering himself during this period, taking night classes at New York University and teaching gym classes at Roosevelt High School.
In the late 1930s, he began to internally campaign against the regime running Local 456, believing they had become corrupt. Likely in part thanks to his efforts to clean up the union on a reform ticket, he was elected secretary-treasurer in 1941. The election was tempestuous and mean-spirited, with a fight breaking out with his defeated opponent, for which Acropolis ended up on assault charges.
The outbreak of the Second World War momentarily curtailed his union ambitions, with Acropolis serving in the US Navy. After his service, he returned to his union activities, being elected president of Local 456 in 1946 and quickly building his union into a significant force in Westchester County with over 2,500 members from a starting point of just 400. Overall, Teamsters Local 456 became one of the most powerful unions in the country, overseeing 30,000 workers all over New York in various trades. His ambition earners him the nickname “Little Caesar.”