Francis Colacurcio Sr. (June 18, 1917 – July 2, 2010) was an American
mobster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix ''-ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and r ...
and boss of the
Seattle crime family
The Seattle crime family, also known as the Colacurcio crime family by Michael Ro ...
known for running
strip club
A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, and can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style. Am ...
s in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. He was a subject of ongoing federal investigations into
organized crime
Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally tho ...
in the city and was suspected of being an organized crime boss.
Early life
Born to immigrant parents from
southern
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, M ...
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, Colacurcio was the eldest of nine children, and worked on his father's vegetable farm in Seattle. He dropped out of school before completing the eighth grade and started a produce-hauling business. Colacurcio later worked as a butcher, farm hand, truck driver, and
pulp mill
A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber sources into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical, or fu ...
worker. By age 18, he had opened his first trucking company.
In 1943, Colacurcio was convicted for having sex with an underage girl. He served more than a year at the Monroe State Reformatory (now known as the Washington State Reformatory).
Career
In the 1950s, Colacurcio entered the
jukebox
A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...
, cigarette, and
vending machine
A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The fir ...
businesses. Business rivals claimed that he used threats to control the trade. With money earned from these businesses, Colacurcio started investing in bars, restaurants, and clubs. To avoid trouble obtaining liquor licenses, Colacurcio had relatives and associates front as the business owners. In 1957, he was subpoenaed to testify before the U.S.
Senate Rackets Committee
The United States Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor and Management (also known as the McClellan Committee) was a select committee created by the United States Senate on January 30, 1957,Hilty, James. ''Robert Kennedy: Brot ...
. Although Colacurcio never testified, Committee Counsel
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, a ...
did question him about his alleged racketeering activities in Seattle.
In the 1960s, Colacurcio acquired more interests in restaurants and nightclubs. In 1962, he opened a
beer garden
A beer garden (German: ''Biergarten'') is an outdoor area in which beer and food are served, typically at shared tables shaded by trees.
Beer gardens originated in Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital city, in the 19th century, and remain co ...
at the
Seattle World's Fair
The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) was a world's fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962, in Seattle, Washington, United States.Strippergate." The investigation focused on Frank Sr, Frank Jr., and former Washington Governor
Albert Rosellini
Albert Dean Rosellini (January 21, 1910 – October 10, 2011) was an American politician who served as the 15th governor of Washington from 1957 to 1965 and was both the first Italian-American and Roman Catholic governor elected west of the ...
for bribing members of the
Seattle City Council
The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-l ...
. In 2005, both Frank Sr. and Frank Jr. were indicted, but in February 2006 the judge dismissed the charges. Rosellini was not charged in the investigation.
In March 2006, the FBI started a multi-agency task force to investigate alleged organized crime, racketeering, and
cold case
A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or re ...
murders tied to Frank Sr. In April 2006, the
state supreme court
In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding i ...
reinstated money laundering and political corruption charges from Strippergate charges against Frank Sr. and Frank Jr.
On June 2, 2008, local police and federal agents raided Frank Sr.'s home in
Lake Forest Park
Lake Forest Park is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States, located northeast of Seattle. It was developed in the 20th century as a bedroom community with single-family housing on medium to large-sized lots. Less than 4% of ...
, the Talents West offices, and multiple strip clubs in three counties.
On June 30, 2009, Frank Sr., Frank Jr., and four associates were indicted by a
federal grand jury
Grand juries in the United States are groups of citizens empowered by United States federal or state law to conduct legal proceedings, chiefly investigating potential criminal conduct and determining whether criminal charges should be brought. ...
on racketeering and other charges stemming from years-long investigations into allegations of prostitution and money laundering.
Junior, 48, pleaded guilty to a racketeering-conspiracy charge in June 2010. In exchange, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss fourteen other charges. He was sentenced in September to a year in jail and fined $1.3 million.
Death
In declining health, Colacurcio died at the age of 93 of heart failure, on July 2, 2010, at the
University of Washington Medical Center
The University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) is a hospital in the University District of Seattle, Washington. It is one of the teaching hospitals affiliated with the University of Washington School of Medicine.And is located in the Warr ...
in Seattle; he was buried at Acacia Memorial Park in Lake Forest Park.