- John Acropolis
John ("Little Caesar") Acropolis (
1909 -August 26 ,1952 ), was an American labor leader. He served as president of Local 456 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters inWestchester County, NY from1946 until his death.Acropolis was orphaned at age three and raised in a series of charitable institutions. He attended
Colgate University where he played on the basketball team.Acropolis became interested in union issues while working as a truck driver during summer break from college. He joined Local 456 and was first elected as a union officer in the early
1940s .After becoming president of Local 456, Acropolis challenged the
Genovese crime family over its control of certain garbage carting contracts in the suburbs ofNew York City . He expanded the size of his local to more than 2,000 members.Acropolis was killed in
1952 by an unknown assailant who fired two bullets into his head. The case has not been solved.In
October ,2008 , theNew York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against theYonkers, NY Police Department, demanding access to the department's file on the investigation into the death of Acropolis. The City of Yonkers said it would fight the lawsuit, claiming that because the investigation was still technically active, the case file was not subject to Freedom of Information laws.External links
* [http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008810060379 NY Journal News report on NYCLU lawsuit]
* [http://nyclu.org/node/2015 NYCLU Press Release and link to lawsuit]
* [http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=118428@wcbs.dayport.com WCBS-TV report on lawsuit and Acropolis killing]
* [http://www.jasperjottings.com/2002/jasperjottings20020901.htm#News4 NY Journal News report on 50th anniversary of Acropolis murder]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.