On the North West Coast of the United States, there is a tiny but fascinating alleged
"crime" family. I say alleged because, despite the Italian heritage, there seems to be
no real connections between the family and any of the traditional LCN crime families.
(although, being a father-son team, perhaps "crime family" is an apt term)
Okay, sure the guy has convictions for racketeering, money laundering and facilitation
of prostitution, and, of course, he's of Southern Italian stock AND, of course, is
listed amongst other regional crime family leaders. Most authorative statements on
them however, see them construed as a completely home-grown phenomenom with no connection
whatsoever with any of the nations crime familes. (Despite some sources citing a
meeting with Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno in '71)
A fairly obvious indicator of their "independance" is the size and supposed structure of
the group. The "heirarchy" is made up by Frank Colacurcio Sr and his son, Frank Jr,
with all other alleged participants and partners in their criminal conspiracies cited
as associates. A list of these associates shows few fellow Italians being involved in
the criminal exploits (as their convictions testify); beside's "longtime" associate,
one John Gilbert Conte, names likes Ebert and Fueston are predominant: Colacurcio Sr's
own nephew (indicted with his uncle) is named a distinctly non-mediterranean
Leroy Richard Christiansen. No capo's, soldiers, made-guys, nothin'.
Frank Sr, patriarch, is the 2nd son (of 9) born of Southern Italian migrant parents,
growing up on his parents farm in Seattle. The guy apparantly drops out of school at
15 and starts his own trucking business, works a spit-load of jobs 's after that, starts
a few more companies and by the late 60's was well established in the restaurant and
night-club businesses, going on to go-go bars and strip clubs. Chased vigourously by
local law enforcement over the years, he has served time for typical mobster crimes
such as bribery and tax evasion. Later charges alleged contracted murders, but there
are no convictions pertaining to these allegations.
He nonetheless built up his empire of night-spots through the 70's 80's and 90's,
enlisting his son in later years to assist in the management. Serving a rap for tax
fraud, he last emerged from prison in 2000 but has recently been indicted again on
racketeering, amongst other charges.
Some sources claim that the Colacurcio's operate with the blessing of such groups as
the Chicago Outfit and'or the New York families. Others claim that the Colacurcio's
themselves are responsible for keeping the "mafia" out of Seattle. The best theory i
have read is an assertion that the truth is more in the middle: not only do the nation's
crime families know of the Colacurcio, they simply dont see the bother in attempting
to muscle in.
Here's some pretty cool links on the guy and his "crime family":
http://www.geocities.com/OrganizedCrimeSyndicates/seattle.html - the small admin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Colacurcio,_Sr. The Wikipedia page.
http://mafiatoday.com/?p=2056 - The details of his most recent indictment.
http://seattle-criminaldefense.blogspot.com/2009/07/colacurcio-associates-plead-not-guilty.html - And another source
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003695542_colacurcio06m.html And an older article.
