In court, the judge looked down and saw a much younger Frank this time. While the public was outraged because the apparent cozy relationship between Rick's and city hall led to eight new parking spaces, they've ignored the same cozy relationship year after year when it has led to a de facto ban on new clubs. 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. You light the fuse and then just slap the cap onto the underside of the machine and walk out. schneider funeral home mt vernon in obituaries frank colacurcio construction. In 1957,[2] he was subpoenaed to testify before the U.S. Senate Rackets Committee. After a 1991 guilty plea to tax fraud and the end of his 36-year-year marriage to Jackie Colacurcio about the same time, he and his son, Frank Colacurcio Jr . He was always good for a quote about government prosecutors wasting their time on him instead of real criminals and would surround himself with naked women during in-club chats. And no fishing trip. The Musician Who Gave Me the City and Stars, Vangelis, Is Dead, Chris Cornell Interview, Extended Version, Seattle Sticker Patrol: Free Housing 4 All (Or Else), No, Washington Did Not Just Pass a Law Allowing the State to Kidnap and Transgenderify Children, Olympia Shatters Plan to Reboot Its War on Drugs, No Clear Path Toward Criminalizing Drugs in Washington, Washington Senate Wants to Punish the Addiction Out of People, Washington Democrats Defeat Transphobic Bills as Most LGBTQ Protections Clear Hurdles. The training will incorporate a crash course in financial independence, being an independent contractor, dealing with workplace harassment, and more. In 2003, a criminal investigation began in Seattle known as "Strippergate" focusing on strip clubs owned by Frank Colacurcio, Sr. and his son, Frank Colacurcio Jr.[5] In 2008, local police and federal agents raided Colacurcio's home and business. FRANK COLACURCIO JR, 48, and corporate defendant MM MR RM CORPORATION were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle for conspiracy to commit RICORacketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations. Dads legacy to son, thus, was that Babes dancers last year had to keep some of their clothes on. He owns it with a nephew and uses it for fishing expeditions in Alaska. Under the terms of Colacurcio Jr.'s plea agreement, he will be sentenced to a year and a day in prison. "You keep so busy, I've got so many things on my mind.". The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Seattle Police Department with assistance from the King County Sheriffs Department, Everett Police Department, Snohomish County Sheriffs Office, and the Pierce County Sheriffs Office. The investigation focused on Frank Sr, Frank Jr., and former Washington Governor Albert Rosellini for bribing members of the Seattle City Council. 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. 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. 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. . During a 197O trial, in which Colacurcio was found guilty of assaulting a former bartender who was a police agent, a detective testified that the nightclub operator also was being investigated for vice, narcotics, dangerous drugs, assaults and prostitution. He says he plays cards, dabbles in real estate and gives advice to his son and other associates who run the strip joints. facts management parent login. Bill went on to New Orleans where he was convicted in the 1980s for racketeering. In exchange, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss fourteen other charges. In depositions, Colacurcio has said he often had $100,000 in cash on hand. Still, he professes to not even know a ballpark figure of either his income or his net worth. Wills, who served one four-year term, 2000-03, as an at-large city councilmember, is currently . In 1991, Frank Sr. and Frankie were back in court. Granted, it was on a snow day for Seattle Public Schools and most dancers couldnt find childcare, Cole said. But that's the extent of his "mob connections." He pauses. Hadn't they made the inroads to prevent this? Robert Payton a.k.a "Bobby" - Right-hand man of Frank Sr. "And they say theres no greater teacher than experience.". Colacurcio Jr. was fed up with the zoning laws and the city council not listening to his business's pleas. He dresses in golf shirts and a simple gold chain and drives a used Lincoln worth $1,500. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. In 2003, law enforcement launched a criminal investigation in the Seattle area known as "Strippergate. "The donations were a way to get their attention. Earlier this summer, I put up a Facebook post about Wills and Strippergate-a City Hall scandal involving illegal lobbying and political money laundering by Frank Colacurcio, a vicious gangster. Frank then put the rod down against his side, bootlegging it as two beat cops walked up. Like his father, Frankie sees nothing wrong with the adult-entertainment industry and says he doesn't understand what all the protests are about. Ann Forbes, also of Consolidated, maxed out to Wills in the spring of 2001. The Colacurcio family owned strip clubs all over Washington and nine other states; Frank Sr. had been convicted on charges of racketeering, prostitution, filing false tax returns, and carnal knowledge (for having sex with an underage girl); Frank Jr. had been convicted of racketeering conspiracy; and in general the family was pissed whenever the media called them the mob or mob-adjacent. This was Franks favorite place. [9] In April 2010, Colacurcio Sr.'s nephew Leroy Richard Christiansen along with club manager Steven Michael Fueston, Colacurcio Sr.'s close associate David Carl Ebert, and Colacurcio Sr.'s driver John Gilbert Conte all pleaded guilty to prostitution and racketeering. I talked with Frank Colacurcio Jr. to see what he recalled from the 16-year-old event. In various recorded conversations, the Colacurcios and their associates dissuaded dancers and managers from reporting acts of prostitution and repeatedly returned dancers who were arrested for and caught in acts of prostitution back to the clubs. The King County prosecutor at the time determined that Wills was naive and there was no wrong-doing on her part. In some cases he owns the property; in others he works as a "consultant.". They havent even decided which panic buttons to use (Cole and Jane both want a button that triggers flashing lights) or where to place the buttons. Sam found his way to the federal pen in 1988 for skimming profits from topless bars in Arizona. The civil charges against Frank Colacurcio Sr., 89, Frank Colacurcio Jr., 45, and Marsha Furfaro, 67, who is the manager of the Colacurcios' Talents West booking agency for club dancers, will be . "I'll never be retired retired," says Colacurcio, 78. Jay Inslee for his expected signing. Frank didnt have a high regard for women; between the first assault in the 1940s and the last in the 1990s, there were myriad dancers, girlfriends, and prostitutes with Franks pawprints all over them, former employees say. 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. It is up to you, depending on your conduct, to ensure there is no sequel. Judge Jones observed that COLACURCIO, JR. was on the radar screen of the government, and the judge noted that prosecutors would not hesitate to ask that COLACURCIO, JR. be sent back to prison if he violated the terms of his supervised release. Conviction overturned on appeal; case awaiting retrial. He liked the setting, the quiet. Still, he spends nearly every day at Talents West, the cramped, cluttered Lake City hiring headquarters for the clubs. Frank Colacurcio Sr., 92, left, and John Gilbert "Gil" Conte enter the federal courthouse in Seattle on Friday for arraignment on racketeering charges. He had peepholes everywhere, says one of Franks ex-bartenders. ", Nathalie Graham reported on city hall for. The woman was running before her feet hit the ground. That dancer over there, he said, pointing to a topless woman writhing under amber-colored lights on a mirrored stage, thats a guy. Franks empire expanded steadily, and by the end of the decade he ran a handful of Seattle and King County clubs and another half-dozen scattered from the Southwest to Alaska. He had to have the honor. His appeal on the first tax conviction failed, however, and Frank went off to the federal lockup. This was a big disappointment to the head of the party, who was Franks old friend. He thinks someone should put Fremont's Lenin statue on Sawant's lawn. He says his one indulgence is his boat, a 38-foot Bertram called 4PLAY, worth about $80,000. Charges were never filed, but when rival operators claimed the brothers threatened them with bodily harm if they didn't join the Colacurcio Bros. Amusement Co., the Seattle City Council refused to renew William Colacurcio's operating license. She sits down and rubs it and pokes around and starts asking about it. 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. Progress may not be tangible until this summer. When Jane spoke out about workplace issues last year the club retaliated in sneaky ways. In 2010-2011, a massive FBI crackdown completely crippled their entire organization. She said that's why she's concerned about the next city councilit will likely be made up of many first-time council members. Colacurcios trial was the centerpiece of local corruption scandals back then. With this final sentencing, the government will move to take control of the Ricks, Sugars and Talents West properties and put them up for sale. "I had been a council member for many years and I should have known better," Wills said. Theres still quite a road ahead. Nicholas Furfaro a.k.a "Nick" - Nightclub manager, known member since 1963 and high ranking member. Every night, a dancer has to pay the club house rent. Barnett.) His income has been estimated at $800,000 to $1 million a year. Franks public persona was that of a tough but nonviolent charmer. "It takes a lot for them to say, 'This guy is out of line,' because were trying to make money. There has only been one rule-making meeting so far. Francis Colacurcio Sr. (June 18, 1917 July 2, 2010)[1] was an American mobster and boss of the Seattle crime family known for running strip clubs in Seattle, Washington. At the time Strippergate had happened, Wills had been a city council member for five years. His death was. Son Frankie and his associates paid $1.8 million for the Papagayos property three years ago, and Frank himself is listed in court papers as worth at least $2 million, some of which he split with his wife during a 1993-94 divorce. In 2005, both Frank Sr. and Frank Jr. were indicted, but in February 2006 the judge . In fact, Consolidated has donated nearly $9,000 in the last four yearswell over $1,000 coming around moratorium time. She was frustrated. This story originally was published by Seattle Weekly sibling Eastsideweek on July 10, 1996. He knows that doing time goes with the work, says a friend, although, the odd thing is, I think he could have gotten just as rich doing it all legit. Frank was among those accused of heading up a shakedown operation in which hed extort money from other bar operators, then kick back part of it to the cops. The corporations and three of the individual defendantsLeroy Richard Christiansen, 68, of Seattle, Washington, David Carl Ebert, 62, of Monroe, Washington and Steven Michael Fueston, 62, of Tacoma, Washingtonare barred from operating any adult entertainment business in Washington State for the next five years. More than half a century later, having achieved geriatric gangster status, amassing several million dollars from his nude- and topless-dancing operations, and with his wife of 36 years bailing out on him, Frank grabbed this other girl, 18, fondling and then offering her $500 to go to bed with him. The next meeting is on Monday, February 10 at 1:30 p.m. in L&Is Tukwila offices. I have had more back rent in the past year than I have ever had in my nearly 15-year career of dancing., Not all clubs use back rent, according to Frank Colacurcio Jr. (Yes, that Frank Colacurcio Jr.), whothough banned from running strip clubs in Washingtonis a consultant for Kittens Cabaret. Federal agents say the three men, along with Colacurcio, Sr.,93,and Frank Colacurcio, Jr., 48,conspired to force club dancers to sell sex in order to pay hefty payments to club managers and keep . As Frankie put it a while back to a Seattle Times reporter, discussing his six-month tour of duty in the federal system, It didnt bug me that much except you dont have women, which is horrible. His son, Frank Colacurcio Jr., already had pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge. "I never pay attention," he says every time he's asked. Frank Colacurcio Sr. Frank Colacurcio Sr., longtime resident of Newtown, Connecticut, passed away on September 28, 2020 at the age of 70. . Going off to the slammer has been nothing more than an inconvenience for Frank. She wont leave. They sized up their odds, took a deep breath, and pleaded guilty. The key to this case: testimony by Gilbert Pauole, the manager of one of the Alaska nightclubs, who is now in the witness-protection program. I dont remember his name, says a friend of Colacurcios, but the guy had made off with funds from the state Democratic Party. I mean, this is the scariest thing thats ever happened to me. The pinball industry in particular was loaded with competitive violence: Five car bombings linked to the pinball battles occurred in the early 1960s, but police never solved them. The Colacurcio Bros. Amusement Co. (Frank, Bill, and other brother Sam), was rumored to be strong-arming customers and sabotaging rivals. The government seized the properties, including Sugar's, in 2010. This agreem is binding Back rent is an industry-wide issue. So finally he stands up, goes over to the hotelman, peels off six $100 bills, walks back, picks up the coffee table, and throws it in the fucking fireplace! Colacurcio's only son, whom everyone calls Frankie, pleaded guilty in the same 1991 case that prohibited his father from working in the business. One issue that was a common thread through all of those articles: Strippergate. Sixteen years later, Wills told The Stranger that the Colacurcios had "bundled campaign funds to me, Judy, and Jim." As part of his plea agreement, FRANK COLACURCIO, JR. is barred from participating in any adult entertainment enterprise in the State of Washington for the three year term of supervised release which will follow his prison sentence. The club was slated for demolition after following guilty pleas by the other members of the board -- identified in the lawsuit as Frank Colacurcio Jr., Frank Colacurcio Sr.'s nephew Leroy Richard Christiansen, longtime associate David Carl Ebert and Steven Michael Fueston, manager of a Tacoma club also closed through the plea. | Learn more about Frank Colacurcio Jr's work experience, education, connections & more by visiting their profile on LinkedIn. Crime family based in Seattle, Washington, Frank Colacurcio Sr., Seattle's legendary organized-crime figure, dies at 93, Everett strip club a front for brothel, feds say, Strip club sting foreshadows possible federal charges, Colacurcio Sr., five others indicted on a charge of conspiracy and racketeering, "Frank Colacurcio Jr. gets prison term, $1.3M fine", "Frank Colacurcio Jr. Everyone calls Frank Francis Colacurcio Sr. just plain Frank. It was easy. In June 2008, the FBI, IRS and local police raided the then-90-year-old Colacurcio's home and other . Colacurcio Jr. was convicted of tax . He was behind bars for a total of about six years on separate convictions. We've all done things that weren't right up to kosher.". 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.) Frank Francis Jr. is called Frankie. His brothers and sisters, raised in the big family home in north Bellevue, looked up to Frank, the oldest of seven kids. Coming up in Bellevue, Washington, he grew up during the so-called "rackets era," where drugs, gambling, prostitution and corruption ensnared businessmen, government officials and police alike. According to a Seattle Weekly report from the time, Wills never explained why she showed up at the meeting of a committee she wasn't on. [9] frank colacurcio jr. artmodeling studios bell 429; mom blackmailed for sex blooket hack to get all blocks; 2017 volvo truck fuse box diagram ultimate cheat menu the forest; proxmox find mac address of host; prime hydration. It is headed to Gov. "We've always been very close; he's always given me advice on everything," he says. "I have a conscience like everybody else," says Colacurcio, who shows his age not in his lively step or his solid handshake but in the deep creases that line his face.