Ralph A Monaco II

Ralph A. Monaco, II, is a lifelong resident of Raytown, Jackson County, Missouri. He graduated from Rockhurst College in 1978, summa cum laude, with degrees in history and political science. He earned his juris doctorate degree from UMKC Law School in 1981 and has been a practicing attorney for nearly forty-five years and charter Member of Monaco, Sanders, Racine, Powell & Reidy, L.C. Monaco has a long-standing record of public service. He served six years on the Raytown School Board, which included service as Board President. He then served four (4) terms in the Missouri House of Representatives, serving as the House Judiciary Chairman and receiving multiple outstanding legislative awards. He currently serves on the Elected Officials Compensation Committee for the City of Raytown, the Jackson County Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustment, and Trustee of the Raytown Police Pension Board.

He also has a long-standing record of community service. He serves as Board of Director of the Jackson County Historical Society (“JCHS”), where he is Past President. He is a well-known living historian and public speaker, earning several awards for his historical portrayals and presentations. These have included the Outstanding Service Award from Jackson County Heritage Programs & Museums; JCHS Making History Come Alive Award; Lifetime Membership in the Raytown Historical Society; Pioneer of Harrodsburg, Kentucky Award; Outstanding Service Award from Jackson County Parks + Rec; 2012 John Edward Newman’s Literary Award from the Friends of the James Farm; Kentucky Colonel, and recipient of the 2013 JCHS Book of the Year. In 2022, he was named to the Raytown Quality Schools Alumni Hall of Fame.

Monaco has written and published six non-fiction books: The Strange Story of Col. Swope & Dr. Hyde (2010); Son of a Bandit: Jesse James & The Leeds Gang (2012); Blood on the Street, The Civil War Comes to Jackson County, Missouri, August 1862 (2012); Scattered to the Four Winds, General Order No. 11 (2013); Last Hand at Park Manor (2015), and, The Bandit Rides Again, Jesse James, Whiskeyhead Ryan and the Glendale Train Robbery (2017). A Mansion Veiled in Tragedies: The Strange Cases of Col. Swope and Dr. Hyde, Their Times, Trials, and Tribulations is a complete overhaul, re-write, and publication of Monaco’s 2010 book on Col. Swope and Dr. Hyde. From his research, Monaco has produced several living history programs, mock trials and first-person portrayals of historic figures. The living history programs have included the Murder of Marshal Bugler at the 1859 Jail (2009); 1866 election of George Caleb Bingham (2011); First Battle of Independence Living History Program (2012); Order Number 11, a living history trilogy (2013); Battle of Westport historic lecture series (2014). The mock trials he has written and directed are State v. Frank James for the Winston Train Robbery (1999); arraignment of Frank James (2006); State v. Bennett Clark Hyde, for the alleged murder of Kansas City philanthropist, Col. Thomas H. Swope (2000 & 2010) and to be redone this year; State v. Jesse James, Jr., for the alleged train robbery at Leeds Junction (2012); State v. Myrtle Bennett, for the alleged murder of her husband John (2015); and State v. Bill Ryan (2017), for the 1879 Glendale train robbery.

His first-person portrayals have included attorney, Abram Comingo; Manuel de Lisa, the Spanish fur trader; Col. Thomas Hunton Swope; George Caleb Bingham, artist and politician; Father Bernard Donnelly; attorney Alexander Doniphan; politician/attorney James A. Reed; and Edgar Allan Poe, the master of the macabre.

Monaco and his wife Karen live in Raytown and have two daughters: Lindsay and husband Keith Fangman, and Lisa and husband Paul Anderson. They are also the proud grandparents of Noah Douglas Anderson, Alexander Anthony Anderson, Quinn Noel Fangman, and Ivy Rose Fangman.