Pending cases. But hey, Franks a macho guy. I do understand that retaliation threat, Cole told me, I understand completely. I'm not going to accuse every doofus who slaps my ass because Im trying to make a profit. In court, Frank politely asked the judge if, before he started serving his time, he could maybe take a trip to Canada and Alaska, and spend the summer-perhaps the last summer ever, your honor-fishing off his boat. He didnt, however, figure out how to avoid getting caught at it or, whenever he got out of stir, how not to go back to the female commodity business. However, as Barnett and Feit wrote, Strippergate could not be talked about without talking about the moratorium, which many outlets were ignoring: In the wake of Strippergateand in the context of a questionable moratoriumit's clear the public and press have a hypocritical view of strip clubs. In 1991, Frank, 73, and Frankie, 28, were convicted for failing to pay income taxes on profits skimmed from two clubs in Alaska-the Good Times and the Wild Cherry-between 1980 and 1989. His death was. And no fishing trip. In declining health, Colacurcio died at the age of 93 of heart failure, on July 2, 2010, at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle;[1] he was buried at Acacia Memorial Park in Lake Forest Park. Colacurcio crime family - GangsterBB.NET Still, after all the money Colacurcio earned - his 1993 divorce records listed more than $2 million in assets - he hardly lives in luxury. Sentencing in suitcase murders | Podcast, King County Councilmember proposes regional ban on public drug use, King County Crisis Care Levy passing in first election results, Washingtons COVID-19 exposure notification app to end May 11, Firearms scheme leads to federal charges | King County Crime Dive. Topless joints are cash operations and Frank learned quickly how to skim off the top, avoiding taxes. His undisclosed testimony became part of a headline-grabbing 1960s probe of the pinball industry, which led to passage of a law banning the gambling devices in Seattle, and spilled over into the 1970s kickback/payoff scandal. These were scams Frank had been performing for four decades, but he still couldnt get it right. schneider funeral home mt vernon in obituaries frank colacurcio construction. Frank Colacurcio, Sr. died in June 2010, still under indictment for the RICO conspiracy. Frankie lives with his wife and 14-year-old daughter in Arlington, Snohomish County, drives a 1991 Corvette and collects muscle cars as a hobby. Though requirements of his probation ordered him to stay away from the topless business, Frank nonetheless had an office in the agency, witnesses say, complete with some of his infamous press clips on the wall. The elder Colacurcio, after talking to an unexpected visitor for an hour on a recent Friday evening, suddenly looks at his watch and stands up. It was the site of Franks first major criminal mistake-getting caught-leading to a federal prison term and spurring a Bellevue law forbidding nude dancing in or near residential areas. Frank Colacurcio Jr., 47, of Seattle, is the heir to his father's strip club empire, which has waned in recent years as cities have restricted nude dancing. [3] Colacurcio later worked as a butcher, farm hand, truck driver, and pulp mill worker. In Seattle, thats already pretty expensive, from $120 to $180 depending on the club and how many nights a dancer is scheduled to work. She uses that freedom to advocate loudly for what dancers need. She had hosted a campaign fundraising event after the Land Use Committee vote and "Al Rosellini came and added a stack of checks to what was already a stack of checks. "I don't break the law, but who knows? Colacurcio strongly denied it. Frank never appeared in D.C. but settled the assault charge by posting a peace bond-an old-time legal procedure that allowed him to put up $5,000 and promise not to hurt anyone for six months, or lose his money. COLACURCIO, JR. agreed to forfeit the Talents West building at 8600 Lake City Way, admitting it was used as part . Now, I know that for many of you long-time Seattleites, you already remember Strippergate. In 1959, Colacurcio was subpoenaed by the U.S. Senate Rackets Investigating Committee to testify in a nationwide probe of the coin-machine industry. "I see it no differently than a Denny's, a Fred Meyer or a Hard Rock Cafe," he says. It is unaltered from its original form. In front of us, a big man began drunkenly banging on the door, tired of waiting. Later, while out on parole, Colacurcio was convicted of fondling a woman applying for a job at one of his clubs. By George Howland Jr. Heidi Wills rang my doorbell. The King County prosecutor at the time determined that Wills was naive and there was no wrong-doing on her part. (A longtime Colacurcio associate recalls there were three pre-operative transsexuals or transvestites who danced as women at Franks clubs. Frank Calacurcio (1917-2010) - Find a Grave Memorial In a manner that history has not publicly recorded, the farm business evolved into a coin-operated machine business. A year later, a grand jury indicted Colacurcio; his son, Frank Colacurcio Jr.; and four associates involved in operating four Western Washington strip clubs. Colacurcio Jr. pled guilty in 2011. A report issued by the State Patrol Organized Crime Unit to law-enforcement agencies in 1979 alleged that Colacurcio controlled a crime group operating topless taverns and other businesses in the state. The office featured an exceptionally large, handsome desk at which Frank sat proudly. . Frank Colacurcio Jr. a.k.a "Frankie" - Son of Frank Sr. Not surprising, Frank and his busy cash registers caught the eye of authorities. He did four years, got out in 1985, and went right back at it, hiding his interests through frontmen and continuing to pocket untaxed profits. Strippergate (Seattle) and Related Topics - hyperleap.com [4] In 1957, Colacurcio began working with Portland crime figure James "Big Jim" Elkins to open prostitution houses in Portland. Colacurcio Family, Seattle - GangsterBB.NET "No ones going to pay attention to it and go down and see it for themselves unless you become politically involved.". He had a family to support and there wasnt much call for a 65-year-old topless-bar manager. In his 1974 federal court tax-evasion trial, Colacurcio conceded he had interests in a number of establishments but said he often kept his interests secret to avoid being denied liquor licenses by the state Liquor Control Board. For Jane, she would feel much more comfortable advocating for herself and her fellow dancers by saying these kinds of things in meetings if she knew there would be no professional ramifications. If a dancer speaks out, in Jane's opinion, it's serious. Progress may not be tangible until this summer. Strip club mogul's son pleads guilty | The Spokesman-Review We've all done things that weren't right up to kosher.". The indictment further details how credit card machines and ATMs were used to facilitate the prostitution and how the proceeds of prostitution were laundered through various bank accounts. Knowing what I know now, of course, it's better to know the rules of the city council." Everyone organizing who still works is really brave.. Prosecutor and now-retired U.S. Sen. Brock Adams threatened him with prison for contempt. She sits down and rubs it and pokes around and starts asking about it. In consideration of Franks perceived dotage, a judge gave him just 30 months and a $10,000 fine; Frankie got three years, with all but six months suspended, and was fined $10,000. 2003 epilogue: Frank Colacurcio Sr. was eventually released from prison, is retired, lives in Seattle, and fishes in Alaska regularly. He stroked it like a golf club on the customers head and back. In return, theyd protect Frank and other illegal operators by not busting them. "And they say theres no greater teacher than experience.". frank colacurcio construction. ), A lot of the dancers who are on the advisory committee are afraid to go in person to the meetings, Jane, a dancer in downtown Seattle told me. She was frustrated. One became the object of affection of a local politician who was friendly with Frank, he says. In a deposition in the divorce case, his mother, Jackie, wondered if Frankie was up to the job. Three rows behind her sat Frank Colacurcio, Jr., a friend of Dadi's and onetime heir . Im not the Mafia, he liked to say, although state investigators reported he did take a meeting in Yakima with Bill Bonanno, son of the retired New York crime boss Joseph (Joe Bananas) Bonanno. And, Colacurcio was supposed to have met with the son of New York mob boss Joseph Bonanno. In exchange, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss fourteen other charges. Hello, and welcome to Strippergate 101, a history lesson. Media attention became rampant. He got to keep the Rolex, the $400,000 home with an indoor pool at Sheridan Beach, and two other properties worth another $400,000. At the time Strippergate had happened, Wills had been a city council member for five years. Colacurcio Family Obituaries | Colacurcio Last Name Obits Colacurcio says he doesn't spend much time wondering how things might have been. Theres still quite a road ahead. Brutal spasms aside, Frank never quite made the criminal big time. The moratorium gave Seattle's existing strip clubs "a lock on the market" and "a competitive lock on the dancers," according to Stranger reporting from the time. He liked the setting, the quiet. The U.S. Senate Rackets Committee ordered Frank to show up for its hearings on organized crime back in the late 1950s after Frank was accused of threatening bodily harm to four Seattle businessmen for not buying into his operation. His brothers and sisters, raised in the big family home in north Bellevue, looked up to Frank, the oldest of seven kids. Was Former Seattle Family Part of Official Mafia? But even with that knowledge, he got snared again. He attended Bullard Havens Technical School. "I did not know what they were. He's been banned from working in the adult entertainment industry for life and said he is currently a "consultant" for a strip club called Kittens Cabaret in Georgetown. A bill partially unwinding a 2021 policing reform clears the Legislature. Granted, it was on a snow day for Seattle Public Schools and most dancers couldnt find childcare, Cole said. "Frank Colacurcio Sr., Seattle's legendary organized-crime figure, dies at 93", "The Stripper King: The story of Frank Colacurcio, the Bellevue boy who built a notorious nightlife empire", "Colacurcio family no stranger to controversy", "Seattle strip-club magnate Frank Colacurcio Sr. dies at 93", "Strip Club Operator and Long Time Alleged Seattle Crime Boss Frank Colacurcio Dead at 93", "Colacurcio Sr. sentenced for assault in club", "Police, feds raid strip clubs: Corruption", "Colacurcio Sr., five others indicted on a charge of conspiracy and racketeering", "Frank Colacurcio Jr. gets prison term, $1.3M fine", "Frank Colacurcio Jr. sentenced to prison in strip club case Colacurcio Jr. forfeits millions in cash and property", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frank_Colacurcio&oldid=1142781914, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 10:07. He dropped out of school before completing the eighth grade and started a produce-hauling business. In the 1950s, Colacurcio and his brother Bill were distributing vending, slot, pinball and cigarette machines. By 1962, Colacurcio had an interest in several bars, restaurants or nightclubs, including a beer garden at the World's Fair, and had brought topless dancing to Seattle. The strip clubs run by this organization include Ricks in Seattle, Foxs in Parkland, Pierce County, Honeys in Everett and Sugars in Shoreline. The other boys joined in, eventually setting up an office in Seattle. Going off to the slammer has been nothing more than an inconvenience for Frank. After the business succeeded, he and Franks mother, also Sicilian, moved the family to the then-rural, farmlike Eastside of the 1930s. As president of his dads company and combined interests, Talents West and Huns Entertainment of Seattle, Frank Jr. finds himself facing the same nagging problems as Frank Sr.: cops, moralists, probation officers, and zoning laws. Saturday, May 31, 2014. ", She continued: "I did not have any red flags because I was pretty young and I did not know the history of the Colacurcio family which evidently was pretty lengthy.". Kinney believes the Colacurcios have no connection to East Coast crime families but are "their own variant of organized crime" - a notion Colacurcio has long scoffed at. Frank Colacurcio Jr - Stratford, Connecticut, United States In 1991, Frank Sr. and Frankie were back in court. Son of Seattle strip club mogul headed to prison | king5.com Cole was one of the original dancers who took her complaints and vision for change to the Seattle City Council around two years ago. Franks star began its notorious rise in the late 1950s, amid a series of hearings and newspaper reports pointing to him as the man behind illegal gambling, prostitution, and payoffs at clubs in downtown Seattle and around the state. In 2010-2011, a massive FBI crackdown completely crippled their entire organization. He pauses. Rick's owners face civil charges Oftentimes, thats through back rent. As Bob Payton, Franks personnel director (and house-sitter when Franks off doing time) said in court last year, the young job seekers regularly tell him, I have no money, Im broke, my boyfriend left me, my husband beat me, Im on welfare, can I get paid under the table-things like that. Colacurcio was indicted last year along with his son, Frank Jr., and several associates. Mary Engrav answered Emergency Medicine 32 years experience. The 1991 conviction, his fourth, brought his running total at that point to nine years in stir the past two decades, and 11 years since 1943. Immigrating first to New York, William followed other relatives to Seattle and became a hard-working truck farmer in South King County. Despite city prohibitions, the corrupt practices were tolerated by cops who profited through kickbacks and payoffs (a First Avenue bar operator today says he still has this tendency, when spying a beat cop walking through his door, to put a paper sack full of cash on the bar as he did in the 1960s, and tell the officer, Lunch.) Sixteen years after "Strippergate" helped cost her a city council seat, Heidi Wills is running for council again. They sized up their odds, took a deep breath, and pleaded guilty. Frank Colacurcio Sr. Frank Colacurcio Sr., longtime resident of Newtown, Connecticut, passed away on September 28, 2020 at the age of 70. . COLACURCIO, JR. agreed to forfeit $1.3 million in cash, all interest in the strip clubs and related property worth more than $6 million, and a $1.7 million property at 8600 Lake City Way which houses the Colacurcio company Talents West. COLACUCIO, JR. was sentenced to one year and a day in prison as called for in the plea agreement signed in June 2010.