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| - Born in Lucca Sicula, Sicily, Pete Carlino and his brother Sam arrived in America October 11, 1897 in New Orleans LA. on passage from the French ship Chateau Yquem departing from Palermo Sicily. The Carlino's moved to Walsenburg in the early 1900's to farm the rich soils of Southern Colorado. The family struggled as farmers for many years. In 1916 Colorado enacted their own form of prohibition 4 years before the Volstead Act would outlaw alcohol consumption across the entire country. Carlino began growing sugar beets and distilling the vegetable to make "Sugar Moon" moonshine. For years their production grew and their territory became larger. By 1920 when the rest of the country was "going dry" Colorado's Bootlegger's had a 4 year head start on the nations 18th amendment. The family moved to Pueblo and controlled liquor sales in the entire southern region of Colorado. By 1930 the Family was moving into the Denver marketplace and purchased an opulent home on Federal Blvd in North Denver. Rival bootleggers were battling for control of the city. Many deaths were attributed to territorial gangland killings. Joe Roma (Denver's Bootleg Boss) called a "Bootleggers Convention" on January 25, 1931 to avert an all out war. The Police raided the event and arrested 29 men along with Pete Carlino. 28 of the 29 had prior arrests. Joe Roma was not in attendance. The conflict was never solved because the meeting had been broken up, and war raged between the rival factions. On March 17, 1931 at 12 a.m. a bomb destroyed Pete Carlino's home on Federal Blvd. No one was home. The explosion blew out windows of nearby houses and damaged the two adjacent homes on either side. Police initially believed the blast to be set by rival gang lords. Federal undercover agent Lawrence "Baldy" Baldesareli informed Police a week before there was going to be a blast. He informed the Police that Carlino was going to set off the blast to collect the insurance money. Baldesareli had infiltrated the Carlino crew months before and was acting as Sam Carlino's bodyguard when he discovered the plot to destroy the home. Baldesareli led the Police to a garage a few blocks away where they found 3 trunks filled with the Carlino's belongings. District Attorney Carr was frustrated with Mayor Stapleton and Police Chief "Diamond Dick's" inability to stop the blast. This furthered Carr's belief that the Police Chief, Mayor and even a local Judge where "on the take." Pete Carlino was cash strapped and concocted the plan to destroy the home to collect the insurance money. The payoffs to politicians and Judges had depleted the families funds. About the time authorities were about to charge Pete Carlino for arson his brother Sam was killed. On May 8, 1931 Sam Carlino (Petes younger brother) was shot and killed in his living room by Bruno Mauro. Cousin James Colletti was wounded in the event but survived. Sam's wife Josephine was at home with her 3 year old daughter when the shooting occurred. Bruno Mauro was identified by Mrs. Carlino and Colletti as the shooter. They were having a pleasant conversation when Mauro drew two guns and began shooting. He escaped through the front door and was seen entering a waiting sedan in the field across the street. Pete Carlino fled Colorado and headed towards Chicago. According to Police testimony in 1931 in an unrelated matter, Lucille Crupi identified Pete Carlino meeting with mobsters in Milwaukee. He was dropping off a shipment of booze and was picking more up to sell. On June 19th 1931 Pete Carlino was captured in a cousins farmhouse outside Pueblo. He gave up quietly and was brought back to Denver where he was arrested. On June 25, 1931 Joe Roma posted the $5,000 bond to release Carlino. Roma and Carlino were commonly referred to as enemies in the Press, but were actually friends who had a working relationship that spanned almost 10 years. Roma's house was used as collateral for the bond. On September 14, 1931 Pete Carlino's bullet ridden body was found near the Siloam Rd bridge outside Pueblo. The coroner determined he was killed several days before. The body had been hidden under the bridge by the assailants but was moved onto the road 2 days later because he had not been found. The bullet wounds indicated that the shooters used poison bullets. The area around the wounds were badly infected and were deteriorating more rapidly than the rest of the body. Poison bullets were commonly used as an insurance in case the victim was not fatally shot. The poison bullets were made by drilling out the tips of the bullet and stuffing fresh garlic into the cavity. Once the garlic entered the bloodstream it began the infection. Since anti-biotics were not discovered yet, a simple wound could be deadly. Joe Roma gained the territories once controlled by the Carlino's and ruled Colorados bootlegging until February 18th 1933. Roma's bullet ridden body was found by his wife Netti in their living room after she returned from her Mothers house. She told Police that when she left about an hour before, Roma was talking with Louis Brindisi, James Spinelli, and Eugene Smaldone. The three were questioned by Police but there were no charges.
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