Smaldone family

The Smaldone family ( Denver Crime Family ) was an Italian-American mafia family of the American Cosa Nostra with headquarters in Denver and Pueblo (Colorado) . The family has been inactive since 2006.

history

Joe Roma's regime

The organization's first known boss was Joe "Little Caesar" Roma, who was known for the largest smuggling empire in Denver. He controlled northern Denver and worked with the brothers "Pete" & "Sam" Carlino, who controlled the smuggling south of Denver and in Pueblo.

In the early 1930s, various smuggling gangs fought for control of the city. Joe Roma, the head of the city, agreed to sit down with the Carlino brothers and other smugglers on January 25, 1931 to end the gang war. Police raided the meeting and arrested 29 men along with Pete Carlino. The conflict was never resolved. On May 8, 1931, Sam Carlino was murdered in his home. Pete Carlino went into hiding, but his body was found under a bridge on September 13th. He was shot twice in the back and once in the head. Thus Roma gained control of the Pueblo area but lost everything almost two years later when Roma was found dead from gunshot wounds in his home. The suspects were three gangsters named Louis Brindisi, James Spinelli and Eugene Smaldone.

Expansion through Blanda

After the Roma murder, Charlie Blanda took over the Denver Crime Family and began expanding operations to both Wyoming and Idaho . Blanda had a good bond with the Chicago Outfit , the St. Louis family , the Kansas City family and Jack Dragna of the Los Angeles family, and he had various legitimate business interests in addition to illegal activities.

After being imprisoned for tax evasion in 1950, Vincenzo James "Black Jim" Colletti took over the day-to-day business and Blanda was named consigliere in 1953 after his release from prison .

New head of Colorado

Colletti was one of around 100 Mafia members who took part in the legendary Apalachin meeting in 1957 ; a gathering of almost all bosses of the American Cosa Nostra in November 1957 which, in the municipality of Apalachin in New York took place and was raided by the local police. Colletti himself was one of the 62 Mafiosi who were briefly arrested.

Colletti owned his own liquor store and he was a bar owner. During his tenure, he mainly organized activities in the field of illegal gambling and drug smuggling. In a 1967 article in Life magazine , he was dubbed the "Chef of Colorado".

Spinuzzi's tenure

In 1969, Joseph James "Scotty" Spinuzzi became the family's new boss after Colletti died of natural causes. As early as 1971, the National Council on Crime and Delinquency named him the head of organized crime in Colorado. Four years later he died of natural causes and Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone became the new head of the organization which later became known as the Smaldone family.

Smaldone era

Although suspected of participating in or standing behind multiple killings, Eugene was never charged with murder. Eugene's criminal record shows entries relating to car theft, smuggling and income tax evasion. Eugene and his brother, or underboss named Clarence "Chauncey" Smaldone, used their family restaurant called Gaetano’s in north Denver as their headquarters.

The Smaldone brothers are into credit usury and bookmaking, but gambling was their mainstay and they were against drug trafficking of any kind. Clarence Smaldone was sentenced to 8 years in prison in 1983 for credit usury and the eldest brother named Clyde G. "Flip Flop" Smaldone became his successor as underboss.

Eugene Smaldone died of a heart attack in March 1992 at the age of 81 and his brother, who was released from prison in 1991, took over the management of the organization after his death. Since his death in 2006, the family is no longer organized after 60 years and is considered inactive.

Historical tour

Head of the family

The head of a family cannot always be identified so clearly; especially if another family member comes to the fore due to a prison sentence. The external view does not always make it easy to recognize a new head as such or to determine his exact term of office. In addition, a presidential system seems to be establishing itself to a certain extent ; d. H. the head shifts his power more to a so-called “acting boss” and / or “street boss”, who in turn continue to recognize the head as such, even if he is, for example, in custody.

Period	Surname	Nickname	Lifetime	Cause of death	annotation
1923-1933	Giuseppe "Joe" Roma	Little Caesar	???? - 1933	shot on February 18, 1933	Suspects: Louis Brindisi, James Spinelli and Eugene Smaldone
1933-1950	Charles J. Blanda	Charlie	1899-1969	stroke	Imprisoned 1950–1953 / became consigliere in 1953
1950-1969	Vincenzo James Colletti	Black Jim	1897-1969	natural death
1969-1975	Joseph James Spinuzzi	Scotty	1907-1975	natural death
1975-1992	Eugene Smaldone	Checkers	1910-1992	Heart attack
1992-2006	Clarence Smaldone	Chauncey	1916-2006	natural death

Underboss of the family

The underboss is number two in the criminal family, he is the deputy director of the syndicate. He gathers information for the boss, gives orders and instructions to the subordinates. In the absence of the boss, he leads the criminal group.

Period	Surname	Nickname	Lifetime	Cause of death	annotation
1975-1983	Clarence Smaldone	Chauncey	1916-2006	natural death	Imprisoned 1983–1991
1983-1998	Clyde G. Smaldone	Flip flop	1906-1998	stroke

Consigliere of the family

At the same level as the underboss is the consigliere, the advisor to the criminal family. It is usually an older member of the family who has not reached the position of boss in his criminal career and has now partially withdrawn from active criminal activity. He advises the boss and the underboss, giving him considerable influence and power.

Period	Surname	Nickname	Lifetime	Cause of death	annotation
1953-1969	Charles J. Blanda	Charlie	1899-1969	stroke	was boss until 1950

literature

• Dick Kreck: Smaldone: The Untold Story of an American Crime Family

Individual evidence

1. ↑ About the Mafia - Denver's Brother Hoods
2. ↑ American Mafia - Denver, Colorado
3. Jump up ↑ Gangster Report - Mafia Hit List - Top Denver Mob Murders
4. ↑ Crime Inquiry Still Checking on Apalachin Meeting . In: Toledo Blade , Associated Press, July 2, 1958, p. Two. Retrieved May 27, 2012. 
5. ↑ Apalachin Meeting Ruled Against Gang Killing Of Tough, Probe Told . In: Schenectady Gazette , Associated Press, February 13, 1959, pp. 1, 3. Retrieved May 27, 2012. 
6. ↑ Colorado Life Magazine - Smaldone, Denver's Mob Family
7. ^ World Library - Denver crime family
8. ^ Only in your State - The Most Notorious Colorado Mobsters