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# The Smaldones: Family of Crime
- URL: https://www.cascadepbs.org/show/colorado-experience/episode/colorado-experience-smaldones-family-crime/
- Published: 2024-04-02T23:12:18.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-20T21:09:23.000Z
- Description: Colorado Experience examines one of the lesser-known chapters in American organized crime.
- Author: Cascade PBS Staff
- Tags: Colorado Experience, Season 2, Episode 209, #ZZZ_Episode_353eabd3-8f08-4f58-9b6e-95f04114cdee, #episode, #ZZZ_Show_93cca481-ba3c-40fb-a5be-39c1427bb074, #v1.16

The Smaldone brothers took control of Denver’s underworld in 1933, after then-crime boss Joe Roma’s body was found riddled with bullets in his home. They specialized in bootlegging, bookmaking, and gambling. To some, they were saints who took care of their community and provided food for poor families; to others, they were ruthless criminals.