Smaldone: The Untold Story of an American Crime Family

by Dick Kreck

Overview

As head of Denver's crime family, Clyde Smaldone was charismatic, shrewd, and quick-witted. But most of all, he knew how to keep a secret.

For forty years, from Prohibition's bootlegging era through the murderous Colorado mob wars of the 1970s, Smaldone oversaw the family business. He ran booze with Al Capone, set up gambling operations in Central City, and oversaw a lucrative loan-sharking business in North Denver. And he paid his dues, with stints in Cañon City and Leavenworth, leaving behind a wife and two sons for years at a time.

Yet despite the shadowy underworld that was his livelihood, Smaldone was a devoted husband and father and gave generously to his community, offering food, money, and college funds to struggling families.

In close collaboration with the Smaldone family, including first-time access to audiotapes of Clyde Smaldone and dozens of interviews with family members and associates, best-selling author Dick Kreck captures the complexity of this local crime syndicate, revealing what it meant to be in the mob and the love and dysfunction that is part of every American family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781555917067
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	08/01/2010
Pages:	296
Sales rank:	131,913
Product dimensions:	8.78(w) x 11.06(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

Dick Kreck retired from The Denver Post after thirty-eight years as an editor and columnist. He previously worked at the San Francisco Examiner and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of four other books, and lives in Denver, Colorado.

Table of Contents

Foreword xi

Acknowledgments xvii

Chapter 1 Little Caesar 1

Chapter 2 Arrivals 15

Chapter 3 Bootleg 29

Chapter 4 Noble Experiment 39

Chapter 5 Murder, Inc. 55

Chapter 6 Clyde 71

Chapter 7 Checkers 97

Chapter 8 Pueblo 113

Chapter 9 Central City 127

Chapter 10 Rich and Famous 139

Chapter 11 The Heights 153

Chapter 12 1953 167

Chapter 13 Double-crossed 183

Chapter 14 Chauncey, Paulie, and Eugene 197

Chapter 15 The Smaldone Women 211

Chapter 16 Recessional 229

Epilogue 241

Notes 256

Bibliography 264

Index 269