Authors Next Door Series: Meet Dick Kreck

Colorado’s favorite true crime author, Dick Kreck, reads from Smaldone and leads a group discussion about Denver’s shadowy past of crime and corruption. Started by Italian brothers from North Denver, the high-profile Smaldone crime syndicate began in the bootlegging days of the 1920s and flourished well into the late 20th century. Connected to such notorious crime figures as Al Capone and Carlos Marcello, as well as to presidents and other politicians, charismatic Clyde Smaldone was the crime family’s leader from the Prohibition era to the rise of gambling to the family’s waning days. Through candid interviews and firsthand accounts, Kreck reveals the true sense of what it meant to be a Smaldone, and the mix of love and dysfunction that is part of every American family.

Age: 
Adult