Checkers Smaldones time at the top would not go without bloodshed, and its around this time the Smaldone family will run into another legal problem, this time in relation to Eugenes son. He would say the following in an interview later in his life: We went to jail, that beloved brother of mine, Checkers. In his later years, Coletti operated the Sante Fe Market, a small cheese, fruit, and vegetable stand in Pueblo, as well as the Holiday Inn, a restaurant and tavern, with his wife. list may not reflect recent changes. According to reports, he pulled into his driveway, exited his vehicle, and began walking up the driveway to his house. I dont care who he was. They knew what they were doing. The funeral, in which the Smaldones contributed two of the most massive floral arrangements at Romas funeral, was attended by over 2,000 people. 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. An 2021 article by author Matt Masich in Colorado Life Magazine provided an nice, authentic summation of the brothers and the famous eatery and command post: THE LITTLE ITALIAN RESTAURANT on northwest Denvers Tejon Street has a big reputation, and not just for authentic food. In January of 1943 (just three weeks after Clyde), Eugene Checkers Smaldone was paroled and immediately jumped in with his brother to help run and expand their gambling empire. WebGaetanos was the crime familys headquarters, and the people hanging around the wood-paneled restaurant were a whos who of the Colorado underworld. Clyde Smaldone sits with lawyers in 1951. Many will say that he was gifted with two distinct qualities. In concert with local government officials however, the Smaldones struck a deal to provide the financing for a new water system, restore a number of houses, and provided the backing for a lunch program for town schoolchildren in exchange for the ability to operate their gambling operation without interference from law enforcement. Spinuzzi and the deceased wrestled toward the back of a station wagon parked in the area. These two law-men, Vigil and Melville, would become part of what became known as the Colorado Crime Commission (known locally as little Kefauver after the infamous Kefauver hearings of the time), which Governor Dan Thornton put together in 1951. Colorado Crime Statistics Additionally, the data set and comparisons from year to year may not take into account data anomalies from agencies that upgrade or switch record management systems from one year to the next. This incident just goes to show that although the brothers werent true Cosa Nostra, they allegedly werent afraid to whack people out when needed. There are more laws that appear to me that have been broken than just tax evasion. My goal will be to tell the entire history of those families so that people get a glimpse of what the Mafia was like outside the primary hubs of New York and Chicago. As a matter of fact, I tend to think of Clyde as someone similar to a Frank Costello type within the Colorado underworld. Denver, CO 41 Denver, CO Memorial fund to assist family of woman killed by rock thrown into her vehicle; 2020 Statewide Crime Statistics Available | Colorado Bureau of The total cost of crime in Colorado exceeded $27 billion in 2020. If you want to read more on the Colorado mob, I have two books that I highly recommend. Joseph "Scotty" Spinuzzi, Boss of the Pueblo LCN family from around 1972 until his death in 1975, in his younger days. Student's Nike Air Jordan shoes stolen in burglary leads to slam That did not seem to be the case with the Smaldone family. This proposal was accepted by Colosacco and gambling operations continued up until January 6, 1948, when Denver gambler Mike Falbo, aka Fats Falbo, was murdered near the scene of this gambling operation. These two young lads were nearly inseparable, with the Villano family living just a few houses down the street from the Smaldone family. OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. In January of 1966, Chauncey was again arrested as one of 20-28 people brought it and charged with gambling, along with cousin Paul Villano and associate Joseph The Ram Salardino. As CrimeOnline reported, prosecutors say Stauch stabbed, shot, and beat Gannon inside the familys El Paso County home in Colorado, on January 27, 2020. In fact, based on my research, I actually believed this number to be most likely understated. Sam Carlino (second from left) stands next to a man believed to be Ralph Smaldone around 1931. Similar to other mobs around the country, gambling presented itself as a major potential source of revenue, and the brothers would jump in head first. Even with the revelation on Clydes part, he wasnt all out right away. Thats not to say that the two groups came into conflict. The bullet traveled in an upward direction from its entrance in the deceaseds hand to its final resting place in his brain.. 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. However, the Colorado Crime Stats website is the best location to review crime data in its entirety. Clyde Smaldone (bottom left), "Checkers" Smaldone (top left), Joe Veccharelli, and an unidentified man celebrate the end of Prohibition after the passing of the 21st Amendment. A young Mamie Smaldone, mother of the Smaldone brothers. The date was February 18, 1933 and the preeminent gang boss in the entire state of Colorado, Giuseppe Joe Roma, had just been assassinated. Gaetanos was the crime familys headquarters, and the people hanging around the wood-paneled restaurant were a whos who of the Colorado underworld. While the Soprano family and their world of crime seems so fake and far away, it got me wondering if Colorado has any famous ties to the Mafia. If this is indeed true, it would certainly fit with the mob tradition of ordering a friend to kill a friend. In October of 1967, (again it just continues) Clarence and Clyde were again arrested again for their part in a $100,000 bookmaking enterprise. View gallery. Photo taken at Gaetanos restaurant sometime in the 1950s. Bonanno worked with members of the Pueblo LCN family from the 1940's through the 1970's, and co-owned the Colorado Cheese Company with Vincenzo "Black Jim" Coletti, Boss of Pueblo from 1953-1972. Most Dangerous Cities In Colorado [2022]: Violent Crime and Informant stated a few days after this incident Colosacco went to talk things over with the Smaldones in their office at Gaetanos Restaurant and there Clyde and Eugene Smaldone told him if he and his partner desired to continue their gambling activities at Priolas farm, it would be necessary henceforth to pay to Smaldones 50% of the gambling proceeds. Chicago Review Press Fulcrum. In the early days, hed also been arrested for bootlegging, attacking a police officer, reckless driving, stealing merchandise from local stores, and for assaulting a police informant during an illicit liquor delivery. Joe Bonanno, Boss of the Bonnano Crime Family in New York City. Though they were questioned and had an alibi, they were ultimately not charged in the assassination of Roma, and Romas murderers were never actually brought to justice. 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. Some of the highlights from this years Colorado Crime Stats report include: Colorado reported 30,942 incidents of Motor Vehicle Theft in 2020, reflecting a 38.6% increase compared to 2019 numbers. In the Summer months of 1947 through 1949, he and his brothers would open and run the Monte Carlo casino which offered craps, roulette, and slot machines among other games to local tourists eager to spend a buck. Hes not a guy you wanted to piss off. The judge in the case, Judge J. Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone, hiding face behind paper bag, lunges at photographer while on his way to county -jail after receiving a 12-year prison sentence and $10,000 fine in 1955. Theres no doubt that the stories about their generosity are true. After the war, he returned to Denver and moved with his wife and 2 children into an apartment directly above Gaetanos, beginning work first at a filling station that he and Paulie Villano owned at West 46th Avenue and Pecos Street. These two would begin to shift the organizations focus away from dice gaming, and more towards parlay betting cards focused on baseball, college basketball, as well as football as the popularity of those sports grew (making it a really important and growing revenue stream at the time). At the point where the inquiry began about jury tampering, the attorney general of the United States advised the U.S. attorney for Colorado that the FBI would not participate in the investigation.. Drinking turned to fist-fighting amongst each other. He wont pay me the money he owes me. Officers find men shot, 1 in driveway, 1 on porch after verbal Eugene "Young Gene" Smaldone, son of Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone. A bondsman signs bail bond for Clarence "Chauncey" Smaldone in 1960. Firestone Source: Wikipedia User Jeffrey Beall | CC BY 3.0 Overall SnackAbility 9 /10 In early 1952, and its just going to keep building from here, Vigil would keep up the pressure when two law enforcement officials (so this is indirectly hitting at the Smaldones) were indicted for lying about payoffs they received to ignore gambling in their respective counties. Most notably, Carlo Gambino made his first millions selling ration stamps during the war. 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. 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. As a result, he made friends in high places, which would allow him to have significant influence with important businessmen, law enforcement, local civic leaders, and many high-end politicians (up to and including meeting and famously providing booze for none other than President Franklin D. Roosevelt during his 1931 whistle stop tour and meeting Harry Truman before he became President when he was just getting started in Kansas City). On March 13, 1932, Clyde and another brother James Smaldone would be arrested for an attempt to buy shotgun shells loaded with buckshot at a local pawnshop, which authorities believed was related to attempts on the lives of staff members of District Attorney Earl Wettengel. 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 was kind of a petty move, but if you were looking to get under their skin, thats a good way to do it. Spinuzzi was considered a handsome man, approximately five-foot-eight-inches tall with dark, curly hair, dark brown eyes. Following his arrest, Turcios was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated assault. Photo Credit: Smaldone: The Untold Story of an American Crime Family. I shouldnt have even tried to help him because hes a no good S.O.B.. WebThe family is still active in the international drug trade and white collar crimes that include loan-sharking and extortion, and in the early 21st century at least four bosses of the Bonanno family were convicted of crimes, including racketeering and The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Colorado For 2022 1. This is a tremendous feat considering how close he was to so many of the key players who themselves ended up violently murdered. In fact, two years later in February of 1950, Falbos good friend Harold Murph Cohen, age thirty-seven, was found by two young boys under five feet of water near the shoreline of Blue Lake (now Coors Lake), which is near West 44th Avenue and McIntyre Street in rural Jefferson County. To put that in perspective, thats approximately $49,000-$79,000. The pair would do business with small-time gamblers, but would also be able to work with higher-stakes players as well. He first came to national prominence when mentioned as a mob figure in the Kefauver Hearings in the early 1950s. Photo Credit: Smaldone: The Untold Story of an American Crime Family, Raffaele "Ralph" Smaldone, father of the Smaldone brothers and patriarch of the Smaldone clan. 'I mean, this was the Biden family influence peddling scheme. Hinsdale County Courtroom where Alferd Packer was tried in Limon, Colorado Limon has a crime rate of 53.7 violent crimes per 100,000 persons. Tributes to absolute legend rugby player stabbed to death near Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed investigations into the 'Biden crime family' were 'Watergate times 10,' after the 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. 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. Informant related that undoubtedly these men intended to kill West but the latter jumped out of the automobile as it was proceeding through downtown Denver streets, started screaming, and raised such a commotion that his assailants fled the scene. He sentenced both Clyde and Checkers Smaldone to an astonishing 60 years in prison in 1953. Clyde Smaldone smokes a cigar while shielding his face from photographers in 1951. You could find family patriarch Clyde Smaldone Gaetano is the Italian equivalent of Clyde seated at the bar, always at his spot furthest from the door. Despite the dangers, Clydeever the ambitious and calculating businessmansoon found that the possibilities to make money in selling hooch were incredible and made the decision to start his own business, at first partnering with local hood Roxy Stone. Spinuzzi was on top of him as he was falling. Again, this is not a good look with a witness telling the public that youre threatening to blow up a building if things dont go your way. The trial was contentious from the get-go, with the judge accusing Checkers Smaldone of the old Mafia go-to of feigning illness when in fact he actually had to have a very real appendectomy in the middle of the trial. Smaldone, Denver's Mob Family - Flagship Publishing A In reality, the truth is probably somewhere in between as Im sure they had a hand in some unsavory things over the years, but as youll see later on, there was clearly a bias against them from a law enforcement perspective. Alferd Packer: Murderer and Cannibal. That would have saved the government the expense of bothering with you.. He got to be low-key [later in life], but this guy used to get in fights, hed pistol-whip people.. Clyde looked every bit the part of an Italian-American mob boss, of average height and above-average weight, dressed immaculately in expensive suits and the look punctuated by an ever-present cigar. 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.