colorado crime family
Outside the club, Ricci and Parlato on the one hand and the deceased on the other hand engaged in a fight. After this final resolution of the case, the pair would do their second stints at USP Leavenworth. Just 3 months later, Roma would have Carlino murdered. On direction from Governor Polis, the Department of Public Safety will soon announce a Statewide Task Force to work with the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority to better understand the underlying causes of increases in Motor Vehicle Theft and to develop a statewide strategy to reduce motor vehicle thefts. That wasnt just a random thing, it was a hit. This is the point where the cash really begins to accumulate for the Smaldone brothers and theyd become rich. However, his reign would be relatively short. According to Clydes sons, theyd often observe their father digging through his pockets and extracting fat rolls of money at the end of each workday. According to a report in the Fort Collins Coloradoan: The Smaldones, Spinelli and Brindisi told Clark they visited Roma from 10 a.m. until afternoon Saturday in an effort to borrow money. Canadian bonded whiskey would end up being such a success that the brothers would find themselves on the road for weeks at a time. Please note: the data set for 2020 may contain incomplete information due to the fact not all law enforcement agencies may have submitted crime statistics for this reporting period. A photo of the staff at Gaetanos kitchen with Smaldone family patrich, Mamie Smaldone (far right), cooking. As Clyde would relate in his later years, hed make a lot of important connections during this time and even formed a partnership with the Capone mob in Chicago. The body of Giuseppe "Joe" Roma, Denver gang leader. Over time, Clyde realized that in order to make real money, he needed to focus on selling the good stuff, aka bonded whiskey, which patrons were willing to pay top price for. That did not seem to be the case with the Smaldone family. [The Pueblo mobs] was always arguing and fighting amongst themselves about the business, and they werent capable of handling business, to tell you the truth. At the time, Smiling Charlie Stephens was running a popular restaurant and casino with a local gambler named Leo Barnes. From what I can tell, the lines here were very much blurred and the Smaldones certainly did hold true to some core values such as keeping their mouths shut (which they did almost until the end of their lives), as well as operating in a lot of the same rackets as traditional Cosa Nostra families, and even using the same tacticsup to and including being allegedly involved in several murders throughout their time running the Denver underworld. So in May of 1933 following their guilty pleas, Clyde and Checkers would be sentenced to serve 18 months in federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas and fined $1,000 apiece (roughly $22,000 in todays money). Well only charge you $2 a case [for gasoline and other expenses].. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the trio (Checkers, Chauncey, and Paulie Villano) would continue to rack up dozens of gambling arrests, and the heat from law enforcement would stay pretty much with them through the remainder of their lives. Our ongoing accessibility effort works towards being in line with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1, level AA criteria. If you think about it, it makes sense. The total cost of crime in Colorado exceeded $27 billion in 2020. Pete Carlino (left) and Giuseppe "Joe" Roma shake hands outside a Denver Police Station answering reporters' questions after Roma posted Carlino's $5,000 bond in June of 1931. And unfortunately, Clyde was in prison in 1938 when his father Raffaele would pass away, and the real gut-shot was that the warden (with whom Clyde had a very poor relationship) would not grant him a release to attend his fathers funeral. 2010. There were a The Kianis hosted a fundraiser for Biden at their Irvine, California home in January 2020, bundled more than $1 million for Biden and gave another $1 million to his inaugural committee. Photo Credit: Smaldone: The Untold Story of an American Crime Family. Clarence "Chauncey" Smaldone hanging out at Gaetano's Restaurant in 1965. Statistics. There were powder burns on the deceaseds hand where the bullet had gone through. We welcome comments on how to improve this websites accessibility for users with disabilities and for requests for accommodations to any State of Colorado services. Hes not a guy you wanted to piss off. As the story goes, Checkers faced down a prisoner who during the breakout had pointed a gun directly in his face uttering the words, Take that thing outta my face, and then locking himself in a room and (of course) played checkers with the two kids in turn until the danger was over. Then in 1951, the Smaldones would draw the attention of two crusading law-and-order attorneys whod just been elevated to key positions in the Colorado law enforcement space. They would be charged with vagrancy. or debate this issue live on our message boards. And a lot of the description I just provided makes Checkers seem like kind of a bad dude, but dont forget that he also had a big part in taking care of the local community, and there was even an infamous story of him saving a little girl (the wardens niece from when he did time in prison) and another child from being kidnapped as part of a planned a prison break by other inmates. Clarence "Chauncey" Smaldone looking cool as a ice during a jury probe in 1963. Colleagues and arresting officers alike described Clyde as a gentleman. From the 1920s well into the 1960s, Checkers would work closely with Clyde, though eventually through a series of events the brothers would have a falling out. And considering how competitive and volatile the Colorado underworld would be in the 1920s, anyone who chose this as a profession did so at risk of great personal harm and even death. Barlock is explaining why Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone was jailed for contempt after he refused to answer questions at investigation into gambling and prostitution in the county. They would get their first victory in 1951 when Smaldone associates Frank Blackie Mazza and Paul Enrichi were convicted of evasion of state income taxes. But as an Italian family, it was only natural to rely on your sons, and the money to be made was significant even with the obvious risks involved. The assassin would leave the gun beside the body (and the weapon was found to have the serial number filed off), which left the police investigating the murder to call it a professional job, going on to say the following: Lets put it this way. In the end, in this case the government wasnt able to pin anything major on them, but theyd ultimately plead out to the simple charge of gambling, with each man paying a $150 fine and $8.81 in court costs. Clyde and Mildred Smaldone (left) pose for a photo in 1973. They would scout their rivals to find out where they kept their liquor, and when the opportunity was right theyd swoop in. The dining room looks the same as the last time the Smaldones remodeled in 1973, and you can sit at Clydes favorite barstool. The Chauncey Burger is still on the menu. Occasionally, Chauncey would work the bar at Gaetanos, and his nephew Paulie would eventually find his forte, running the restaurant for the family. Mom Accused of Hosting Alcohol-Fueled Sex Parties for Teens 'Tore My Life Apart,' Alleged Victim Says. Now the last thing Ill say about Clyde is that he was known to have a big heart. They would begin making good money, and gambling would go on to be the Smaldones primary source of revenue for the next several decades. Now, its around this timeframe that he got the nickname Flip Flop which was created by the local press whom hed historically disdained. The bullet traveled in an upward direction from its entrance in the deceaseds hand to its final resting place in his brain.. That statement would prove to be prophetic in later years when most states began to legalize many forms of gambling. Clyde Smaldone and his defense attorney shake hands with jurors in courtroom celebration which followed the acquittal verdict in 1953. They were separated by one Watson and the fight terminated. Charles S. Vigil (left), U. S. district attorney, and Max Melville (right), assistant Denver district attorney, who famously prosecuted the Smaldone brothers during the early 1950's. Our media is totally corrupt. Clyde Smaldone and his brothers gave thousands of dollars to the local Catholic churches over the years, and paid a handsome sum for the priviledge of carrying the statue of St. Rocco through the streets of Denver each year. Clyde was never able to forgive his younger brother, whose fault it was that they wound up in prison. He first came to national prominence when mentioned as a mob figure in the Kefauver Hearings in the early 1950s. They returned to the Roma home after word got around that Mrs. Roma had found her husbands body at 1:45 p.m. and then voluntarily went to police headquarters. Clyde Smaldone was the oldest brother and veritable leader of the Smaldone organization. Scotty was a mean devil. 'After years of pursuing political dirt against the Biden family, today's statement by Chairman Comer once again proves that he has failed to uncover evidence of any wrongdoing by President Biden,' said a spokesperson for Oversight Democrats. Unfortunately for Clyde, that very same day hed also be sentenced to 4 to 6 years for his part in (of all things) a $450 robbery of a cigarette, candy, and popcorn truck in Caon City, Colorado. There were two alleged witnesses to the bombing. There were also other Italian groups including the emergence of Giuseppe Joe Roma beginning in the mid-20s, as well as Irish contingents butting heads and shooting it out as well. I shouldnt have even tried to help him because hes a no good S.O.B.. In fact, the beginning of their era would start with a relative thud as for the first time in their lives they would spend significant time behind bars. On January 14, 1953, Clyde and Checkers Smaldone along with Blackie Mazza and Paul Enrichi would be indicted on charges of selling gambling apparatus without notifying the government, a charge which carries a two-year prison sentence and a $5,000 fine. Spinuzzi was on top of him as he was falling. It was nepotism at its finest. If this kind of information came out in the past, writers would be getting Pulitzer prizes when Pulitzer prizes meant something. As mentioned, the Smaldones would be in and out of court, cited for contempt, but would skate free of any charges related to the Walkie Talkie homicide. So on July 26, 1973, LaGuardia was driving home from the Alpine Inn, a hangout for gamblers and other underworld figures at 3551 Tejon Street. A mafia history podcast that digs deep into the true-crime biographies of real-life mobsters with focus on the plots, sub-plots, and real facts behind Cosa Nostra, as well as movies and televison. Back In The Day, This Quiet Colorado Town Was A Mafia Mecca Hopefully that will be of interest to viewers since other families arent talked about nearly as often. Eugene Smaldone thereupon jerked Falbos hat from his head, threw it on the floor, and stated, Fats, you have just signed your death warrant.. It had just 15 property crimes and 2 violent crimes over the course of year. An icon of a paper envelope. Chicago Review Press Fulcrum. Clarence was sentenced to 90 days while Clydes charges were dismissed. Ralph A. Smaldone, Pauline Smaldone, and Clarence "Chauncey" Smaldone some time in the 1940's. He and his brother Tony would be swept up in 1951 on charges ofyou guessed itfederal income tax evasion for failing to pay $10,140 in income tax in 1945. It looks like, if there wasn't legitimate business dealing in any of these LLCs, it was influence peddling. 4. Other accounts have speculated that there actually may have even been a confrontation in which LaGuardia slapped Smaldone, a big mistake. Thats not the attention that you want. After getting out of prison back in 1991, Paulie returned to Denver and kept a low profile, dying in 2003 at the age of seventy-six. With Clyde and Checkers away, the family needed someone to step up in order for them to maintain their grip over Denvers underworld. In fact, based on my research, I actually believed this number to be most likely understated. Not a good look. The family of a Colorado man who was seen on security video being struck by a squad car before he was fatally shot by police is demanding answers about the WebUnder Colorado CRS 18-4-202, a person commits first-degree burglary by knowingly entering someone elses property with the intent to commit a crime, and committing an assault on someone or having explosives or a deadly weapon. In pronouncing sentences Judge Ritter charged that the U.S. attorney general and Federal Bureau of Investigation had refused to assist in the jury tampering investigation which smashed the Smaldone gang. Clyde and his younger brother Eugene, who went by Checkers, often would visit with the patrons at Gaetanos, inquiring about the food that was in the early days prepared by their mother in the restaurants kitchen. Leo Barnes testifies after his car was blown up and he was injured in a murder attempt for which Clyde Smaldone, Checkers Smaldone, and Smiling Charlie Stephens were sent to prison in the mid-1930's. In October of 1967, Clyde and several of his associates, including Eugenes son, were arrested on gambling charges for running a $100,000-a-week bookmaking operation (that is a whopping $1.1MM in todays which means the operation was taking $52-53MM in revenue annually). They had been convicted of a charge of jury tampering. Of course hindsight is 20:20, but I bet he really wished hed just paid his tax given all the trouble it caused. Checkers rang up his first arrest at the age of fifteen in 1925 when he was caught stealing automobile accessories. Eugene "Young Gene" Smaldone, son of Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone. Additional arrests for bootlegging, reckless driving, more burglaries, impersonation of police officers, receiving stolen goods, hijacking, and brawling would follow. [He] was a good sized man. The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Colorado For 2022 1. Over the years the Smaldones as a family and an organization were known to have helped out many families in need, they gave coal and groceries to many North Denver neighbors, went to bat with police when neighborhood kids ran afoul of the law, donated large sums of money specifically to the local Catholic Church and other community projects, and even raised money to help build a local high school. Raffaele landed a job as a laborer with the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad making $30 per month, and when he became a foreman his salary increased to $40 per month which allowed him to replace the familys outhouse with an in-home toilet and bathtub, a relative luxury at the time for a large Italian family. Thank you! If thats not showing toughness, heart, and courage, I dont know what does. When Coletti retired, the title of Boss went to Spinuzzi. Chauncey, as his friends and family called him, was born on February 8, 1924, and was the youngest of the eleven children born to Raffaele and Mamie Smaldone. The government would attempt to seek conviction on charges of being habitual criminals. And through all of these activities, literal rivers of cash flowed into the organization. This shift in the availability of the statistics not only ensures Colorado is more aligned with the FBIs quarterly reporting practices, but more importantly it provides increased transparency involving statewide crime data, and eliminates the lag that occurred in the past, said CBI Director John Camper. This would prove to be the organizations number one ongoing source of income. Checkers was clearly the most pugnacious and probably the biggest gangster of the three brothers, but by this time he was no longer the dominating figure hed once been before going away to prison. Like most other mobsters of their era, they did what they had to do early on to survive and prosper, and grew their empire in the American way, just not on the right side of the law. His passion for history, his interest in the mob, and his need to be creative and produce content led him to create this podcast where he provides his listeners with deeply-researched content on the plots, sub-plots, and real facts behind the American Cosa Nostra. According to the book Smaldone: The Untold Story of an American Crime Family written by Dick Kreck, Clyde Smaldone would say the following in a tape-recorded family interview some sixty years after the fact: [Somebody] shot him in his house. He would immigrate to New York City and ring up several arrests in the New York and New Jersey area before moving west and settling in Pueblo, Colorado, though hed become a naturalized citizen in February of 1920 while still residing in New York. The dominant players were the Carlino brothers, but they had many rivals and went to war with their own kin in the Danna family for almost the entire decade. As I mentioned in the first episode of this series, nobody really knows for sure except those involved who killed Roma, but it certainly looked very suspicious from a law enforcement perspective to be seen at the victims house less than two hours before he was shot and killed. In July of 1950, the United States Senate would identify the Smaldones as well as their contemporaries as the men in control over the underworld in Colorado, shining a major national spotlight on the two gangs operating in Northern and Southern Colorado. Most notably, Carlo Gambino made his first millions selling ration stamps during the war. The pair would do around 9 of their 12 year sentence and would be released in 1962. He said these decisions and moves are likely related to payments made to LLCs from legitimate businesses as a way to launder money to Biden's family members. Similar to construction companies having to do business with the Mafia in New York City in the 70s and 80s in order to essentially get anything done, in Denver in the 20s and 30s, you pretty much had to deal with the unsavory figures of the KKK. Now you would think that the brothers story would end there, but it seems they had a bit of luck on their sides. Before you go, please dont forget to Subscribe so that you can continue to enjoy my content as its released and if you have any thoughts please leave them in the comments on YouTube or write us a review on Apple. Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone (right) and Clarence "Chauncey" Smaldone walking on a Denver sidewalk in 1982. At this point the decedent fell backward with his head back and his hand in front of his face. The autopsy revealed a bullet hole in the palm of the hand of the deceased and another in the left nostril with the bullet lodged in the brain. Seeing as though I am really in touch with the times, I recently discovered the HBO hit The Sopranos and have been watching an episode or two every night after my husband and sons fall asleep. Oversight members have been combing through tips known as SARs - Suspicious Activity Reports - following a subpoena of the Treasury Department to look into business dealings of the president and his family members mainly his son Hunter Biden. This is where things get very bad for the brothers. Depending on who you talk to, they were either modern-day Robin Hoods or shoot-em-up Mafiosi straight out of a gangster flick. Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone in court after being investigated in a 1963 homicide. 'There are six specific decisions that Joe Biden made either as vice president or president that are very concerning to us,' Comer told Fox. Yes. John Skip LaGuardia, murdered in 1973, allegedly due to issues he had with the Smaldone family. In addition to my other sources, I leveraged these books heavily and they are both pretty good reads about a family that is largely unknown to many around the country. They did do some bad things. ABC11 Neighborhood Safety and Crime Tracker If anyone has information about this incident, they are encouraged to contact the Clinton Police Department at 910-592-3105. A gun like this can only be used to kill someone.. Web353,528 total crimes reported in Colorado in 2020, reflecting a 3.9% increase from last year. In April of 1970, Checkers Smaldone and Joe The Ram Salardino would be arrested and indicted by a grand jury and charged with assault to murder, assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy. And while the Smaldone family certainly was not destitute, they still had a lot of mouths to feed, and as was normal of the times, the boys would put in work to help support the family. And with the deaths of Coletti and Spinuzzi, the influence of the Cosa Nostra in Pueblo faded, and that faction of the national LCN went defunct as well. Spinuzzi was very close with Eugine Checkers Smaldone, and the two would reportedly attend various gambling events together (along with Charley Blanda) to make shylock loans to participants whod been on the losing end. In time, he also got a job selling newspapers all over town (often from dusk until dawn), and he and his brothers would also find more creative ways to support the family. Comer (pictured) claims the DOJ is in a 'pickle' over 'what do you do with this many family members of the president? He would be the sixth boy in the family, and was almost a full two decades younger than his oldest brother and family leader, Clyde. 2020 Statewide Crime Statistics Available, Biometric Identification and Records Unit, Biometric Identification and Records Unit FAQs, Resources for Non-Criminal Justice Agencies, Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) and Colorado Crime Statistics, Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) Reciprocity, Federal Firearm Licensee (FFL) Information, LEA Disposition of Firearms/Evidence Returns, Sex Offender Registration Training - Law Enforcement, CBI honors Columbine anniversary with donation drive, Body of missing Archuleta County man found, CBI helps to capture No. That would have saved the government the expense of bothering with you.. While the group was doing 6 months in jail for the charges, there were reports that came out in the Rocky Mountain News before the Smaldones were released on bond claiming their prison time was hardly hard time: various reports claimed they were being allowed the run of the jail, had a deputy sheriff preparing hot sandwiches for them on request and were using a jail telephone to make calls.. Clyde and Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone in court in 1953. As West entered his automobile parked in downtown Denver, Smaldone enforcers Frank Mazza, Porky Routta, and Paul Enrichi, who long had been known as bodyguards and strong-arm men for the Smaldones, accosted West, forced him into the automobile and ordered him to drive out onto the Pecos Road outside of Denver. At that time, Walkie Talkie had been developing quite a bad reputation for himself. Moving forward, Colorado Crime Stats will be available with a one-month lag before becoming accessible to the public. The first of the trio of brothers whod built the family would pass away in the early 90s when Eugene Checkers Smaldone died of a heart attack at the age of 81 on March 10, 1992. Caroline, 35, turned her nose up at the offer to her father's frustration, who forwarded the email to Hunter. Judge Denounces U.S. Attorney General and FBI for Laxity in Investigation of Jury Tampering. This dice game, which was similar to craps except that there was no house and players played against each other, was a staple in the Italian community that was brought over from the old country. If this is indeed true, it would certainly fit with the mob tradition of ordering a friend to kill a friend. As a matter of fact, I tend to think of Clyde as someone similar to a Frank Costello type within the Colorado underworld. Friends would recall him as a terrific tap-dancer in his youth, and he would become a champion gymnast in high school, as well as a scholarship athlete at the University of Colorado, though he would put on the weight that gave him his nickname in later years. Its at this point that Clarence Chauncey Smaldone takes over leadership of what was left of the Smaldone family, but by that point it was a shell of its former power. The judge in the case, Judge J. A daytime burglary of a student flat netted a thief a collection of Nike Air Jordan trainers but he wasnt expecting a last-minute buzzer beater. Fast-forward to August of 1981, the FBI would finally land a serious blow to the Smaldones, when a bug theyd planted in a back office in Gaetanos picked up a conversation between Fat Paulie Villano, Checkers Smaldone, and an associate in which they were discussing the inner-workings of a silencer. To keep up the pressure, in February of 1953, Clyde, Eugene, and 29 associates would be hauled into court over an allegedly fixed dice game at a pool hall on 7057 Federal Blvd. A young Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone, who was first arrested at the tender age of 15. In Part One of this two-part series on the Colorado Mafia, we laid out how the organization that would later become known as the Smaldone Crime Family, which ran organized crime in Denver and much of Colorado during the 20th century, came to be. Law enforcement authorities would estimate that between 1919 and 1933 (the beginning and end of national Prohibition) there would be at least 30 murders relating to bootlegging and various gangster conflicts in the Denver and larger Colorado area. Trump, 76, seized on the claims from Rep. James Comer to attack his presidential rival by accusing the Biden family of corruption on a mass scale on the same day Joe Biden launched his re-election campaign.'What Congressmen James Comer and Jim Jordan have revealed about the "Biden Crime Family" would be Watergate times 10, if this news was revealed just 10 years ago,' he said in a post on his Truth Social platform. I dont understand why the Department of Justice, which is charged with law enforcement, should refuse to assist in the investigation of jury tampering in the Smaldone casesbut they did Judge Ritter said. Joseph James Scotty Spinuzzi is the last of the Pueblo mobsters that Ill cover, and in my opinion the biggest gangster of the bunch in terms of his reputation. In the 1950s, hed be identified as one of the top leaders in the Colorado Mafia, and in 1953 hed do 3 years after an income-tax evasion conviction. Now if someone disagrees, Im willing to debate, but nothing in my documentation or research indicated that they ever became true LCN, though youll see them reported as such especially in the 1970s and 1980s. As the most serious burglary crime, first-degree burglary is a class 3 felony that carries 4 to 12 years in prison and/or Photo Credit: Smaldone: The Untold Story of an American Crime Family. Hed really be kind of in and out from this point without really doing too much major time during the 60s and the 70s. They left shortly after noon and went to a motion picture house, they said, differing, however, on the house they attended, Clark said. As a result of this incident, Stephens, Clyde and Checkers each got 7 to 10 years in the state penitentiary for conspiracy to commit murder. The three men would serve their time at FMC Fort Worth (the medical center) prison in Texas. Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone listens intently during one of his 1953 trials. Advertisement. Colorados Carlino Brothers: A Bootlegging Empire. By the time it was all said and done, his criminal record would stretch over seven decades, and though hed be a suspect in several murders, he was never actually convicted of killing anyone. April 28, 2023 Testimony continued Friday in the Letecia Stauch murder trial; she stands accused of killing her 11-year-old stepson, Gannon Stauch. Hed share the following about how that relationship got off the ground in an interview that was later recorded in the book that Ill be citing many times in this episode, Smaldone: The Untold Story of An American Crime Family: I went up to Chicago and got talking about getting the stuff up in Canada. Chaunceys ex-wife Pauline, in an almost hard to fathom event, was shot twice in her driveway by an unknown assailant who escaped with a getaway driver. First and foremost, I want to make it clear that the Smaldones, while gangsters for sure, were not Mafia nor was their family an official Cosa Nostra family. They ventured to the secluded estate on the day an Arkansas judge ordered Hunter appear in court in person to participate in a bitter paternity case filed by a former stripper, with whom he had a brief affair four years ago, resulting in a daughter. He didnt have as much control anymore.. In 1960, Spinuzzi would be accused of murdering an African American pianist named James Scott outside a Pueblo nightclub that Spinuzzi co-owned with Joe The Ram Salardino. The two men were very similar. This really only left Chauncey and Paulie, but by this point Chauncey was dealing with severe dementia, though he continued to frequent Gaetanos even after the family had given up ownership of the restaurant. This mans name was John Skip LaGuardia. They would work together to hammer the Smaldone organization from multiple angles leveraging partnerships with federal, state, and local law enforcement. With that, the family appears to be essentially defunct, although there have been some unsubstantiated rumors that there are still a handful of family members still operating various rackets. Clarence "Chauncey" Smaldone and Gene Smaldone in 1930's on Osage Street and 34th Avenue in Denver.
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