Calogero "Charles" Blanda (left), Boss of the Pueblo LCN Family, from 1931-1953 being led from a courtroom in the early 1950's with another Pueblo LCN member, Tom "Whiskers" Incerto (right, hat covering face). 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. Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone arriving to courthouse for 1963 grand jury investigation. Okay, were not going to spend a significant amount of time on the Pueblo faction of the Colorado mob, but what I will say is that according to my research the true Mafia in Colorado was the group in Pueblomeaning that this family was recognized as LCN by the Commission in New York and as such used the same rules, structures, etc. 1. Of course, they would from time to time run up against issues with the police, but Clyde made a habit of paying off the right peopleor decorating the mahogany as he would put itto ensure that his business could continue to operate. And when people say, well, they were involved in ventures around the world, I haven't found a legitimate business on the Biden end. But then came the legal blow that would stop the brothers in their tracks, and would lay the foundation for the long-term decline of the familys power. Jacob Stoops is the host of The Members Only Podcast, and he's a history buff and mob historian. In reality, they were neither. The population of Denver between around 1940 was approximately 322,000 according to census records (up from ~288,000 in 1930), whereas the population of Pueblo was a meer 52,000 people (up from 50,000 in 1930). Please see a document housing a number of the charts referenced above. They know what you guys are doing. They wouldnt listen to Dad, partly because he was drinking and partly because they didnt want to. It was at this point that he made the decision to purchase a local drugstore and meat market on the corner of West 38th Ave. and Tejon Street, and turn it into an Italian Restaurant that would come to be known as Gaetanos (after his paternal grandfather). According to the book, Smaldone: The Untold Story Of An American Crime Family: Just before 7pm on December 8, 1936, the diminutive gambler and his wife, Pernee, climbed into their 1935 Ford sedan on the 1000 block of Grant Street, near downtown. If this kind of information came out in the past, writers would be getting Pulitzer prizes when Pulitzer prizes meant something. [The police] thought we did it because we left the house about two hours before he got shot. Reddit places it high on their list of the worst cities in the state of Colorado because of this startling statistic that was reported by local authorities. Get more stories delivered right to your email. 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. 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 email obtained by DailyMail.com from Hunter Biden's laptop shows a Masimo staffer offering her the role of 'Marketing Specialist' with an $85,000 salary plus 10% bonus and 450 stock options for the NASDAQ-listed company on July 24, 2018. A young Mamie Smaldone, mother of the Smaldone brothers. Like a good-cop, bad-cop routine, Checkers was the Smaldone with the tough-guy reputation. He is buried in Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery in Jefferson County, Colorado. As a result, Checkers second trial was immediately postponed and Clyde Smaldone, as well as associates of the family (and actual blood family members) cousin Louis Smaldone, uncle Fiore Fat Smaldone, as well as associates Michael and Jerry Benallo Jr., and William Willie Calvaresi were all arrested on charges of conspiracy related to the testimony coming out of the grand jury. This is why I referred to him as a Frank Costello-esque figure earlier on in the episode. Like his uncle Clyde, Paulie had a gift for story-telling, was generally considered to be charming, and loved pranks. Clyde Smaldone (left) and Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone sitting in courtroom during trial in 1953. Tributes to absolute legend rugby player stabbed to death near Clyde Smaldone talks with lawyer in 1953. 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. 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. Comer replied: 'Well, right now, we have nine. Max Melville, who served as Colorados deputy attorney general when prosecuting the Smaldone brothers in the 1950's. The operation included the Smaldones, their enforcer Paul Enrici, and also included members of the Pueblo LCN including Blackie Mazza. Now, lets continue our story, Part 2 of the History of the Colorado Mob! It was no different in Colorado, and in fact Colorado even got a head start. Clyde and Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone in court in 1953. 'I mean, this was the Biden family influence peddling scheme. According to an interview Clyde would give in later years, he and his friends would undercut other bootleggers by finding out where they hid their booze, stealing it, and selling it for a lower price. 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. Second, and this would serve him well during his time in organized crime, he was very adept at building relationships with important people due to his gentlemanly, affable, and outgoing personality. Papers at the time would laud the victory, but would also notateand this is importanta rift between the judge in the case and law enforcement (specifically federal law enforcement), with the Greeley Daily Tribune relating the following: Two Smaldones Each Given 60-Year Terms Thirteen months after they went away, Judge Ritters decision would be thrown out after the sentences would be ruled as excessive by the US Supreme Court. We brought truckloads [of food] to the orphans.. 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. That statement would prove to be prophetic in later years when most states began to legalize many forms of gambling. Clarence "Chauncey" Smaldone is booked in 1966. 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. Back In The Day, This Quiet Colorado Town Was A Mafia Mecca Blanda died on February 20, 1969 in Pueblo, Colorado after suffering a stroke. Outside of being a general party animal, Paulie was also known to be both smart and educated, able to talk about subjects that would go over the heads of many other toughs who entered the life as they say. His family members refused to provide any specifics about his death and declined to comment when contacted by the Rocky Mountain News. The pair would do business with small-time gamblers, but would also be able to work with higher-stakes players as well. That being said, its also clear in my research that they had a bad side. 4. As with every other murder where the Smaldones were suspected, the two hits would never be solved. At this time, the defendant Spinuzzi, who had been sitting in the club with Ricci and Parlato earlier in the evening, came upon the scene outside the club. Coletti would open a club, called Club Melody, in the 1940s, but outside his mob rackets he would become most known as a prominent member of the cheese industry, and was partners in the Colorado Cheese Company with none other than Joe Bonnano, whod taken up residence in nearby Arizona in the 1940s. Clarence "Chauncey" Smaldone and Gene Smaldone in 1930's on Osage Street and 34th Avenue in Denver. They weren't registered as a foreign agent. Standing are Eugene Smaldone (far left) and Clyde Smaldone (center. After this final resolution of the case, the pair would do their second stints at USP Leavenworth. 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. However, in 1949 the party more or less came to an end when a new law-and-order justice of the peace, Lowell Griffith, was elected and began applying heat to the operation. The issue was with Chaunceys ex-wife Pauline. 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. Over the years, Clyde and his brothers would rub elbows foster relationships with many key Cosa Nostra figures across the United States including the likes of Carlos Marcello (of New Orleans), Vito Genovese and Frank Costello (out of New York), and the aforementioned Al Capone (who he met during Prohibition). The three men would serve their time at FMC Fort Worth (the medical center) prison in Texas. Informant described Falbo as a tough Denver hoodlum and gambler who on frequent occasions became drunk and publicly boasted that he was going out and clean out the Smaldones place. On the night of the murder, January 6, 1948, Falbo was at the Priola farm and lost $1,800 in the barbuit game in session there, whereupon he picked an argument with Eugene Smaldone who was participating in this game and berated Smaldone as a chiseler; and at the height of the argument reached out and jerked Smaldones hat brim down over his face. Thereafter the deceased and his friends were pushed from the club by one Ricci and one Parlato who was the manager of the club. 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. 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. Five victims Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25,her eight-year-old son Daniel Enrique Laso, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and Josu Chauncey would go on to serve in the army during World War II, serving time in the South Pacific theater. Ultimately the trial would be dismissed after a verdict was unable to be reached, with a new trial being scheduled for September 1953. For example, crime stats for April 2021 will be accessible to the public at the beginning of June 2021. So those things were all connected together, and so was the hit on Pauline for that matter. An informant years later 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. Theyre going to kill me., (Kennedy offered Roberts protection, which he declined), By God, within twenty-four hours they found this guys body.

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