Colacurcios, associates plead not guilty to racketeering charges

Frank Colacurcio Sr., the 92-year-old patriarch of a local strip-club operation, joined his son and four associates in federal court in Seattle this afternoon to plead not guilty to racketeering charges.

The six men appeared before U.S. District Magistrate James Donohue, who allowed the defendants to leave the federal courthouse as free men pending a trial tentatively set for Sept. 28.

All six were ordered to have no contact with any of the strips clubs and past or present employees.

As the defendants were leaving the courtroom, John Wolfe, attorney for Frank Colacurcio Jr., said "this is the beginning of a long journey."

Colacurcio Sr. and his son, along with Leroy R. Christiansen, David C. Ebert, Steven M. Fueston have been indicted by a grand jury on a series of charges alleging racketeering through the promotion of prostitution, money laundering and mail fraud.

Another longtime friend of the Colacurcios, John Gilbert "Gil" Conte, is charged with one count of conspiracy to use interstate facilities in aid of racketeering.

Prosecutors say convictions could cost the men up to 20 years in prison.

The indictments came after years of investigations and raids on the groups' strip clubs, in Seattle, Shoreline, Everett and Parkland, Pierce County.

Prosecutors allege the Colacurcios and their partners organized their nude-dancing businesses to profit from rampant prostitution and failed to disclose their true illicit income for tax purposes.

It also caps off decades of criminal investigations and charges against the senior Colacurcio, whose involvement in adult dancing in Seattle dates back to the 1960s. Both he and his son have served time in federal prison before, on tax crimes.

This time, prosecutors say they have built a racketeering case based on infiltrating the clubs, offering immunity to dancers to testify, and bugging the Lake City business offices of the Colacurcios, called Talents West.

The prosecutors say taped conversations and other evidence shows the partners knowingly encouraged prostitution in the clubs and set up methods of payments from customers and special facilities in the darkened dance rooms to accommodate sex acts.

Colacurcio Sr. earlier this month called the charges "malarkey," and lawyers for the other men said they expect to prove the charges baseless.

Ian Ith: 206-464-2109 or iith@seattletimes.com