71dine
71dine, the podcast that invites you on an immersive journey through the heart and soul of southern Colorado. Whether you're a seasoned local or a first-time explorer, join us as we savor the rich flavors and craft lasting memories together. Welcome to where southern Colorado's captivating narrative unfurls through its vibrant people, rich culture, and delectable cuisine. Join us as we delve into the tapestry of this extraordinary region, one episode at a time, celebrating the people, the culture, and the food that make it truly exceptional.
71dine
Pueblo's Past: Pizza, Mobsters, and the City's Untold Tales
Get ready for a journey into the past as we explore the untold tales of Pueblo, a city with a history that is as vibrant as it is volatile. Imagine unearthing a story that spans generations, starting with a bootlegging operation, threatened by the mob, which evolves into the city's first pizza place. We're talking about a narrative that's got it all; family feuds, mob bosses, and an enduring love for pizza. Drawing insights from a news piece by Jamie Hastings from KKTV and the riveting Members Only podcast, we delve deep into the mob history of Pueblo, painting a vivid picture of the brutal mob warfare that transpired in the 1920s.
Our quest for uncovering this captivating history takes us to the heart of Pueblo, where we meet a restaurant owner with a story that is inextricably intertwined with the city's past. From the coal industry's early beginnings to the bootlegging era, we peel back the layers of Pueblo's engrossing mob history. We also take a moment to appreciate the fond memories of the city's popular nightclubs from the 60s and 70s, that were once the hub of its nightlife. Don't miss out on this riveting journey into the heart of Pueblo's captivating history. Tune in as we dish out the intriguing details in this episode.
You're listening to Joe and the 7 One Dine podcast.
Speaker 2:Yes, this is Joe and this is the 7 One Dine podcast. I am so excited to bring this to you right away. This is an introductory episode, if you will about Pueblo, what I have found out about Pueblo, what has opened up to me about Pueblo, basically, all the interesting things that I wanted to share with you about Pueblo and what I'm going to go down to Pueblo to hopefully uncover and give you a little bit more information on. So, with that being said, I received the following message through social media.
Speaker 2:I went ahead and had Corbin read this, not for any dramatic flair, but just so that way it would sound more like somebody talking to me, or talking to you actually, rather than just me reading the words that came over in this message. So, that being said, when you listen to Corbin, understand that Corbin doesn't have the same emphasis, the same excitement, the same tone. He kind of just read it. So I want you to know that I took the message from this restaurant tour as something that he is very excited about as well. So hold on, let me give that a play for you.
Speaker 3:Thanks for reaching out. I love your sight and mission. Anytime you like to come in, let me know If you're looking for a Pueblo restaurant with history and a hell of a story. Where your place in a nutshell, pueblo's first pizza place. Great grandparents started about 80 years ago after the mob threatened to kill him if he didn't stop his bootlegging business. They were the only two employees for the first several years, trading off 12-hour shifts. I was originally called the Bessemer Drive-In and eventually changed to INs, not sure why. We've also had three extremely popular nightclubs ran by my uncle in the 60s and 70s that many of the older customers remember fondly. It's pretty cool. I'll show you if you come in. But the last nightclub called the whiz I need still looks like it did when it was in operation, from what the old timers tell me. Again, thanks for the message. If there is any way we can collaborate, let me know.
Speaker 2:Are you kidding me? Of course I want to collaborate. How could I let this story go by the wayside? This is exactly the type of thing that I wanted to bring to the 7-1-Dine podcast. This is nothing that I can pass up. I want to grab this story and I want to bring it to you. That being said, I am actually heading to Pueblo, that's correct. I'm going to go down there. I'm going to soak up as much information as I can and again bring it to you. That being said, I did a little research. First clip I want to play for you is a, I guess a news piece, you would call it. It's from KKTV here in Colorado Springs and is credited to Jamie Hastings.
Speaker 4:Author and lecturer, betty Alt is an expert on a topic that fills her classroom every semester at CSU Pueblo the Mafia. Required reading for the course Mountain Mafia, written by Sandra K Wells and Betty Alt, a text that throws light on organized crime exploits around the state, including her hometown of Pueblo.
Speaker 5:People would joke with us. They'd say, oh gee, you know you're probably going to be knee capped, or I guess one of the standard jokes was you'll probably have cement shoes and be dumped in the fountain.
Speaker 4:She so far avoided such a grisly end for openly discussing activities that for many years were only whispered about.
Speaker 5:I think people were aware of it, they just were afraid.
Speaker 4:Months of research led Alton Wells to names like, and controllers of, gambling rackets incited in reports and articles as Colorado crime bosses in the years following prohibition. It's been here and I think it surprises people to find the beginning, one must go back to the early 20th century, when a rush of immigrants arrived in southern Colorado to scratch out a living in the coal industry. Letters from a group known as show up containing, to the point messages you have money, we want it.
Speaker 5:You know this sort of thing.
Speaker 4:Concluded with a threat of death for non-compliance. It continued into the 1920s. When you look at the bootlegging, era.
Speaker 5:That was the depression. People were poor. If there was any way you could make a buck, you probably did it.
Speaker 4:The period of outlawed liquor marked bloody days and streets across the nation and close to home.
Speaker 5:There were people killed, just like you see in some of the films.
Speaker 4:In Pueblo, a battle for control of bootlegging touched off between the family and the from Trinidad. In a decade, the two gangs traded bullets and murders in legendary fashion.
Speaker 5:Many times imported gunmen were brought in from the east. If someone needed to be quote, taken care of, unquote.
Speaker 4:And through it all collateral damage, including the deaths of at least four policemen, arrests and convictions, nearly non-existent Through the decades. All says control of the state's mafia elements changed hands between well-known figures in Pueblo at least three times.
Speaker 5:This was a part of Colorado history that was very interesting.
Speaker 4:And all says. The book is written to detail the stories of those people who left the lasting mark on the city.
Speaker 5:So far, we haven't heard anything negative from anyone at all.
Speaker 4:As for many of the players, they're still in Pueblo today, many buried in Roseland Cemetery, close together in small family plots discreetly placed, maintaining a low profile to this day. And as for continued activity, much has disappeared. There are still whispers, of course.
Speaker 5:Let me put it this way I'm not going there.
Speaker 4:But Betty says, readers should decide for themselves.
Speaker 2:So, as you heard, I edited out some of the names. Reason being is that I want to go and get this information first hand, want to verify it myself. Also don't want to give away too much, because I want you to come back and listen, but it's not because I'm afraid. I'm not afraid. So I continued on my research journey. I decided that I just need one more piece, one more something that really dives into the meat of the mob back in Pueblo back in the day. So I found a podcast that's called the members only podcast and I pulled a piece, a little snippet, that really gives you kind of a feel. I guess it's almost palpable. This story here again from the members only podcast.
Speaker 6:All right, let's get into the episode. The Colorado mob, the and the, would ultimately go to war throughout the 1920s, in part due to the competitive, cutthroat climate that was present everywhere during the bootlegging era, but more predominantly driven by an old hatred stemming from a family feud dating back to their time in Sicily. On May 6, 1922, the feud officially reignited when Pueblo mob boss, a prominent liquor distributor, was murdered, after which stepped up to take over mob leadership in the area. And then, on February 27, 1923, a 55 year old man named, who'd taken over as the primary distributor of moonshine, was shot and killed by a drive by shotgun blast as he was walking along a Pueblo sidewalk. Later that year, the feud would continue to escalate, as on September 10, 1923, the youngest brother was also murdered by the, along with his hired bodyguard, in a massive shootout near the Santa Fe Trail at the Baxter Bridge over the Arkansas River, just east of Pueblo. Articles in the days after the shooting claim that as many as 10 men fired 40 to 100 shots during the shootout, which appears to have been, in fact, an execution. An article out of the Los Angeles Daily Times described the gunfight as follows Two slain in Pueblo gunfight.
Speaker 6:Sheriff arrests three in connection with Colorado gangsters battle, pueblo, colorado, september 10th. Sheriff's deputies tonight arrested three men in connection with a gun battle held this morning at Baxter, five miles east of Pueblo, in which in Italian and an unidentified man were left dead in a field. Deputies said that they had obtained a partial confession from the men arrested that they participated in the fight. Apparently, a dozen men took part in the battle, which was staged in the bottom lands near the Arkansas River. The survivors left the scene in two automobiles was shot to death by a gang of 10 men who threw his body into the Arkansas River east of Pueblo. The body was recovered by the sheriff was believed to have been a resident of Motel Colorado. The shooting occurred near the Santa Fe Trail on the Arkansas River, east of Pueblo. The sheriff was told that two automobiles filled with men had driven up to the Baxter Bridge, one going under the bridge and the other into the river bottom nearby. The men, according to the sheriff, after leaving their cars, ran after a man who apparently had been in one of the cars. As the men ran, they fired at least 40 shots at the fleeing man. According to the sheriff, the victim fell mortally wounded. His body was thrown into the river and the men left the scene in the motor cars.
Speaker 6:Several men would be arrested for the murders but pled not guilty. Their trial resulted in a hung jury, after which the pair were released on bond and the case was never opened again. So they'd gotten away with murder. But the would pay soon enough.
Speaker 6:By this point six members of the organization had been murdered by the and they were ready to take their revenge. It would begin with the murder of a associate, and then someone on the side would anonymously tip off authorities to the exact locations of the family's moonshine facilities, which were rated. On April 30th 1925. After a gunfight with authorities, both would be arrested, over 2,000 gallons of liquor seized and two entire stills completely destroyed. This would seriously hamper the operation, but they'd limp on For the next year.
Speaker 6:Shots would go back and forth, with several assassinations followed by retaliations on both sides. But then the would strike a major blow to the organization. On May 14th 1926, were paying a visit to a prominent distribution facility for their moonshine in Pueblo. While standing outside on the sidewalk outside the Monte Carlo pool hall, gunmen in a Hudson coach approached at rapid speed and mowed down in a hail of bullets would survive. The two wounded brothers would die.
Speaker 6:But, in an untraditional breach of the typical mafia code of silence, provided deathbed testimonies fingering the and three associates as the perpetrators of the shooting. An article six days after the shooting in the Fort Collins, colorado and provides a summary of the incident, breaking all precedent in slaying a Tuesday afternoon, appeared before the coroner's jury and publicly charged five men with the slaying of his two brothers who were shot down from gunfire on salt off shotguns Friday in front of the Monte Carlo pool hall in the downtown business district. Through interpretation of, his wife, named the alleged killers to the jury as related how he and his brothers had motored to Pueblo from their Vineland farms. The brothers had stepped from the automobile and were talking in front of the pool hall when the car drove up. An occupant shot them down, testified he was sitting in the car and witnessed the entire proceeding.
Speaker 2:This is just the tip of the iceberg Now. I had dinner at an amazing restaurant tonight with friends and family. Of course, my beautiful wife was there and a couple of special guests that were there. I'm not saying they were law enforcement. I'm not saying they weren't law enforcement. One thing I will tell you, though, is that I have some incredible stories to share with you. Again, I'm just delving into this. It really came about because of an Instagram message from IAANs, and then it led me down this path, and so, yes, I'm digging deeper into it now.
Speaker 2:If you've listened to any of the previous episodes even if you haven't and you go back and listen to them, you'll see that this is something that I have been talking about since it was brought up to me by my brother-in-law, well before I even started, before I even launched 7-1 Dine. I cannot wait to bring you these stories, these stories of the people, the culture, the food of Pueblo, because these stories are much bigger than I could have even imagined possible. The history is just amazing, and, talking to so many people from so many different avenues, who looked at this from so many different angles and have heard the stories and they've been passed down from generation to generation. I got to tell you the person I spoke with tonight one of them I spoke to too, again, who may or may not be law enforcement, one of the people I spoke to. I could not believe the stuff that this person was saying. It just blew my mind.
Speaker 2:I hope you stick around, keep an eye out for the next few episodes, because it's going to be dedicated entirely to Pueblo, entirely to the history of the mob and the mafia in Pueblo and how everything that is there today came to be. Again, I am so excited to be bringing this to you over the next few weeks. Who knows, it could be the next month or two. I have no idea what I'm getting into story-wise, that is as always. Thank you so very much for listening, for visiting the website. What's that website?
Speaker 1:Don't forget to visit us online at 719.com.
Speaker 2:All right, and, as always, until next time.
Speaker 1:Where can you find the 719 podcast? Well, you can find the 719 podcast wherever you look for and find podcasts.