Blanda was born in Amesville, Iowa. His parents resided in Los Angeles, while at some point Blanda moved to Colorado where he became involved in the rackets. After the murder of Joe Roma in 1933, Blanda allegedly took over Colorado's Mafia activities with the Smaldone brothers reigning over the Denver area. Blanda was considered the first true syndicate boss of Colorado. Under Blanda the crime family's gambling operations grew and the syndicate began to move into other regions encompassing parts of Wyoming and Idaho and became involved in a large scale nationally known "lay off" pool for bookmakers. Blanda also formed ties to the Chicago Outfit and the crime families of Madison, St. Louis, Kansas City and Los Angeles. Los Angeles crime family boss Jack Dragna was known to be a close associ
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