Rep. Comer told Fox News on Sunday there are nine relatives involved in the 'family influence peddling scheme,' and added: 'But I believe, in the end, that number will be at least 12. Thats not to say that the two groups came into conflict. This is a remarkably disturbing number which suggests that its not a safe place to move with your family. They would use their power and intimidation to muscle in on many local gambling establishments including Mountain View Club and others. Judge Denounces U.S. Attorney General and FBI for Laxity in Investigation of Jury Tampering. In their own way, they were gentlemen.. Now as I covered at length in Part One, bootlegging would become a critical driving force in the development and advancement of the Mafia across the country. It would certainly not be his last trip through the juvenile court system. On July 17, 1995, then 19-year old Salazar was drinking at his mother's house with some of his partners or fellow gang members. Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone sits in police car in 1974. Similar to the approach from law enforcement against Al Capone in Chicago, Vigil and Melville decided to focus on the angle of evasion of state income taxes and began working to catch the brothers and members of their organizations within that dragnet versus focusing on their more obvious crimes. Tom Lahey, who grew up a block from Gaetanos, said the following about the Smaldones and based upon my research the sentiment rings true: They did a lot of good in north Denver. As of 2008, adjusted gross proceeds (total bets minus payouts) from gambling in Central City, and two other approved cities topped $715 million annually. Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone kisses one of his lawyers, after district court jury found Checkers, his brother and six codefendants innocent of charges of conspiracy in 1953. Here Are 7 Mobsters From Colorado That Committed Unspeakable Acts. The brothers would receive a new trial. Fiore "Fats" Smaldone and Louis A. Smaldone, family members who were tried with the Smaldone brothers in their 1953 jury tampering trial. Spinuzzi was on top of him as he was falling. It wasnt long before the duo was making good money, so much so that they were able to help their parents out even more by buying toys for their siblings, clothes for their mother and father, and even helping to fix up the family house. 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. He was arrested for gambling a few more times in the 1960s and 1970s, and would become Boss in 1973. 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. Three weeks later, (again this happened quick and it was violent) a handsome former football star at the University of Colorado was found shotgunned to death in his front driveway just a few blocks away from Chauncey Smaldones Lakewood home. With no new members being actively recruited to continue the family, the family really had nobody to pass the mantle to in order to keep things going. So if you remember, the brothers Clyde and Eugene would be released from Leavenworth and would return home to Denver in 1934, but by that point things had changed. We brought truckloads [of food] to the orphans.. The family would set up shop in Buffalo, New York, but by 1889 after five years living in Buffalo, decided to make a change and moved the family across the country to the wide open spaces and mile-high air of Denver, Colorado. By this point, they simply wanted to be left alone. He would be buried at the Crown Hill Cemetery in Jefferson County, Colorado. 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. But those plans would never come to fruition as he died of natural causes on September 5, 1975 (just two months after Coletti). In fact, after the murder of Joe Roma in 1933, the Smaldones and the Pueblo LCN worked close together and relatively harmoniously until the group in Pueblo became defunct in the 1970s. It wouldnt take them long. Ralph Carr. While testifying for Mazza during this trial, Clyde Smaldoneclearly agitated (and youre going to see that both Clyde and Checkers did not like photographers)snapped on a Denver Post photographer taking pictures outside the courtroom, snarling the following: The next time you shoot my picture, Im going to punch you in the nose.. Blackmoore, 21, was bludgeoned and stabbed 39 times not long after a pizza was delivered to her home on the evening of August 17, 1995. John J. Kincilja Jr., who was a Pueblo police officer from 1960 to 1997, would say the following about Spinuzzi: [Scotty] was plain old mafioso. 'There are six specific decisions that Joe Biden made either as vice president or president that are very concerning to us,' Comer told Fox. Clyde would be paroled from Caon City on December 24, 1942 after serving four years and five months when he received a pardon from his good friend, influential Governor Ralph Carr. There are more laws that appear to me that have been broken than just tax evasion. Chauncey, the handsomest of the brothers, had a favorite spot at Gaetanos at a table in the far back (Table 404 to the servers who work there today), where youd see him eating his now-famous Chauncey Burger a half-pound of ground chuck, melted mozzarella and roasted Italian peppers, served with a side of the house red sauce. Authorities in Colorado on Monday identified the suspect who allegedly killed his wife and two of their children before taking his own life in an apparent triple murder-suicide as 55-year-old Christof M. Kreb. Hinsdale County Courtroom where Alferd Packer was tried in Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone talks with a group of people in 1953. Pauline Smaldone, wife of Chauncey Smaldone in 1948. A grand jury in 1951 would later claim that the Smaldone brothers and each of their partners made between $25,000 and $50,000 between 1948 and 1949 just out of Central City (thats roughly $307-615k in todays money just from that one enterprise). Pete Carlino (left) and Sam Carlino (right). One such example was later recounted to authorities by a confidential informant: On July 21, 1951, Confidential Informant Denver T-3 reported that for many years Clyde and Eugene Smaldone, former Denver bootleggers, had been recognized as the mobsters who dominated racketeering activities in the Denver area. WebCrime news from 9 News KUSA in Denver, Colorado. A witness in the case testified he was told the Smaldones would literally blow up the pool hall if he snitched about the fixed games. Using genetic genealogy and familial DNA, police in Colorado have solved the decades-old cases of the deaths of four females, saying the killer was a man who Also, if youre listening to the audio-only version, subscribe and if youre willing leave me a rating and review to tell me what you think of the content. In addition to their gambling empire, the Smaldones were wise enough to take advantage of the opportunities created by economic conditions stemming from World War II and moved the family into selling rationed goods on the black market. list may not reflect recent changes. 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. And through all of these activities, literal rivers of cash flowed into the organization. Coletti was known for keeping a pretty low profile and confined his gambling, narcotics trafficking and racketeering activities to Southern Colorado, leaving Denver to the Smaldones. It would start off, in my opinion from a legal perspective, pretty innocuously and would go in a direction that they did not expect. According to Smaldone: The Untold Story of an American Crime Family, Chauncey was dead-on the best looking of the brothers, was much taller than his siblings (six feet), and was blessed with a full head of wavy hair and piercing dark eyes, which got him quite a bit of attention from the young Italian girls in his neighborhood. or debate this issue live on our message boards. Members of the Smaldone mob including both Clyde and Checkers were arrested and questioned in the murder, but authorities ultimately focused on a St. Louis hood named Sam Shanks, an associate of both the Smaldone family as well as the St. Louis Cosa Nostra family, who they believed had been imported to whack out Roberts. Mom Accused of Hosting Alcohol-Fueled Sex Parties for Teens 'Tore My Life Apart,' Alleged Victim Says. Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone (right) and Clarence "Chauncey" Smaldone walking on a Denver sidewalk in 1982. The total cost of crime in Colorado exceeded $27 billion in 2020. 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. Clydes alcoholism along with the fact that many in the family werent ready to believe that their hey-dey had indeed passed essentially led to a changing of the guard as he became more distant from the Smaldone organization and his opinions tended to be listened to less often. There has never been anything like it. A young Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone, who was first arrested at the tender age of 15. Clyde Smaldone relaxes and smokes a cigar in his home in the early 1960s. But Comer on Sunday was adamant that his committee had uncovered significant wrongdoing.Maria Bartiromo, host of the Fox News show Sunday Morning Futures, asked Comer: 'How many family members were involved?' Taken in 1956. In 2008, there were 158,236 crimes reported in He first came to national prominence when mentioned as a mob figure in the Kefauver Hearings in the early 1950s. My hope is to cover most of the history behind this family which ran most of the rackets in and around Denver, Colorado throughout the 1930s through the 1980s. 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. Ten out of 11 of them have nothing but great things to say about the family, he said. But I wanted every one of my listeners to see that with many in the life, everything isnt black and white, good guys and bad guys, cowboys and indians. As previously mentioned, Coletti took over as Boss of the Pueblo family in 1953 after previous boss Charlie Blanda was sent to prison and later retired from organized crime. First, a woman who knew Checkers told police she saw men tampering with the car just before the explosion, and then there was a patrolman whod told investigators that hed observed Clyde making a call from a neighborhood phone booth just minutes before the bomb went off. 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. Hed Sunday punch you, but he could stand up and fist fight you too. Later in life, when interviewed by his family, he would only offer the following: It was a long time ago, yes. 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. 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. 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. There were a Three fellow defendants of the Smaldones drew lighter sentences. Well only charge you $2 a case [for gasoline and other expenses].. They was all right making moonshine, but to sell it, they didnt have a diplomatic way of talking to people to get business. Joseph "Scotty" Spinuzzi, Boss of the Pueblo LCN family from around 1972 until his death in 1975, in his younger days. Creating safer and more resilient communities across Colorado. I found legitimate businesses that were paying the LLCs that were then turning around and laundering the money back to the Bidens,' Comer said.Read the full story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12014459/Trump-calls-Bidens-crime-family-Watergate-times-10.html?ito=msngallery, 'But I haven't found any legitimate business dealings on the Biden end. You see, as the trial was going on, there were also rumors based on testimony coming out of a federal grand jury that members of the organization had attempted to bribe jurors in Checkers first tax-evasion trial to which the accused would plead innocent. Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone sits quietly in district court in 1953 after pleading innocent to charges stemming from a gambling raid. The pair would do around 9 of their 12 year sentence and would be released in 1962. In August of 1962, Eugenes son, who was also named Eugene, was arrested and charged with Interstate Transportation in aid of racketeering in connection with his bookmaking activities. Drinking turned to fist-fighting amongst each other. 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. A man connected with Mama Hooch bar in Christchurch is on trial this week. The Smaldones were in partnership with Stephens, overseeing the gambling on the casino side. Others in the family tried to warn Checkers, but of course the father had a major blind spot for the dealings of his son, a fact which rankled many in the organization. These 8 Weird Places In Colorado Are As Strange As It Gets, Spend The Night In This Incredible Colorado Home For An Unforgettable Adventure, Enjoy The Freshest Oysters And Scallops At This One-Of-A-Kind Seafood Restaurant In Colorado, Grab Some Homecooked Food And Rent A Kayak At This Awesome Spot In Colorado, This House In Colorado Has A Dark And Evil History That Will Never Be Forgotten, Here Are 7 Mobsters From Colorado That Committed Unspeakable Acts, Here Is The Most Insane, Unforgettable Colorado Bank Robbery, The Oldest Restaurant In Colorado Has A Truly Incredible History, The Story Of The Serial Killer Who Terrorized This Colorado Town Is Truly Frightening. He was present during the famous 1957 Apalachin mob summit. As a class 2 misdemeanor, resisting arrest carries up to 120 days of county jail time and/or up to $750. Louis F. Smaldone (left), second cousin the the Smaldone brothers, who was arrested as part of their jury tampering case in 1953. Like his uncle Clyde, Paulie had a gift for story-telling, was generally considered to be charming, and loved pranks. Besides his intellect, Clyde was known for his talent for making friends, whether it was with his neighbors, Mafia kings like Al Capone and Carlos Marcello, or Colorado Gov. 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. 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. Well, they knew we didnt do it, but somebody shot him. These two young lads were nearly inseparable, with the Villano family living just a few houses down the street from the Smaldone family. 8 most wanted sex offender. In 1956, at age 32, Chauncey would be arrested for the first time on a gambling charge when he and seven others were busted at a house on 3357 Navajo Street for running an illegal barbooth game. 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. 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. Now around this same time in 1951, Clyde and Eugene Checkers Smaldone were called before a Denver grand jury investigation on gambling (led by Melville) where as previously mentioned both men plead the Fifth over 100 times, essentially refusing to provide anything but name and address. Imagine pulling that out of your pockets?!? Chauncey would go on to serve in the army during World War II, serving time in the South Pacific theater. He was present during the famous 1957 Apalachin mob summit. I am your host Jacob Stoops, and Im a mob enthusiast and historian. 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 the relationship between Chauncey and Paulie, it was often said that the latter had the brains so to speak. Everybody we had to know, we knew.. 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. Jerry Benallo (left), Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone (center), and Michael Benallo (right), Sduring their 1953 jury tampering trial. WebThe most accurate, comprehensive, neighborhood-specific crime, demographic, housing, school performance, and real estate trend and forecast analytics available today, with An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. I done nine and a half years of my life for him. 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. This incident just goes to show that although the brothers werent true Cosa Nostra, they allegedly werent afraid to whack people out when needed. Pictured: Joe and Jim in October 2008.Read the full story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12014459/Trump-calls-Bidens-crime-family-Watergate-times-10.html?ito=msngallery. A spokesperson for Comer told DailyMail.com that the panel is not yet providing the names of additional family members who may have benefitted from the deals. WebPages in category "Gangs in Colorado" The following 13 pages are in this category, out of 13 total. WebUniform Crime Reporting (UCR) and Colorado Crime Statistics. An icon of a desk calendar. He was certainly tough, but more often than not used his brain to make money and advance his interests by knowing and influencing the right people. Clyde Smaldone (left) and Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone (right) walking together in 1955 after U.S. Supreme Court reversed their convictions for jury-tampering. Police observed that the body, left in the fetal position, showed signs of strangulation as well as a gunshot wound to the face. And as a matter of fact, he really hated that nickname, and was never quite sure where the newspapers got it from. Ralph Pizzalato. An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Outside the club, Ricci and Parlato on the one hand and the deceased on the other hand engaged in a fight. Using vile language, he ordered decedents friends from the premises and threatened to blow their brains out. The deceaseds friends left and Spinuzzi then proceeded toward the decedent, exchanged words with him, held a pistol about two feet from his head and then hit and viciously kicked him.
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