The Federal Theatre, located at 38th and Federal Boulevard, opened for business in 1923 and served as a hub for entertainment in North Denver for over a century. The venue changed in appearance and ownership over the years.
The Denver Post reported that its new owners, who also renovated The Oriental Theater on 44th and Tennyson, are breathing new life into the vacant property. The building will be restored to its former glory, serving as a mid-sized entertainment and music venue.
But the Federal’s first owner left behind a shady legacy for the century-old building.
Louis A. Siener, the man responsible for the construction of the Federal Theatre, was notable in North Denver and also helped raise funds for the construction of other buildings, such as the headquarters for the Mountain States Packing Co. At the time the Federal opened, it was considered very charitable, donating to various organizations and donating a substantial amount to help build St. Dominic’s Church on 29th and Federal.
He was known as a kind and generous family man, married with four children. But behind the polished persona was a grifter who would eventually be known as Denver’s Super Swindler.
Siener’s family immigrated from Germany when he was a child. He grew up in Denver and worked as a janitor at St. Elizabeth’s church until he fought in World War I. President Woodrow Wilson naturalized 50 citizens in Denver, including Seiner, following their service in World War I.
In the summer of 1927, four years after the Federal opened for business, Siener turned himself in and confessed to fraud, admitting to stealing at least $50,000 from his clients (which would be approximately $903,000 today). The confession was a crisis of conscience, but precipitated by fear after several of his large loans were due soon, and he felt the walls were closing in on his con.
He stepped forward and said that he forged notes and trust deeds from his clients, many of whom were described as close friends.
During his confession, he admitted to forging two $3,000 notes and a trust deed on one property with at least six or seven more similar deals.
The DA ordered an investigation into how much Siener had stolen from his clients, the vast majority of whom considered him a friend.
As the DA’s office was building the case against Siener, several of his friends stepped forward to tell their stories of how they had been taken advantage of. Some had known him for decades from the days when he worked as a janitor.
The investigators determined that he stole between $200,000 and $250,000 from at least 50 different clients, amounting to nearly $2.7 million to $3.6 million in today’s dollars. The victims would only be able to split $1,000 ($18,000) 50 different ways.
On February 16, 1928, he began serving a 7- to 10-year prison sentence for his crimes. The amount of attention subsided, but he still made the pages in the Rocky Mountain News, including an article detailing how he broke his glasses and was incapable of reading during his incarceration.
Louis Siener passed away in July 1934. His funeral was held in St. Catherine’s Catholic Church, and he was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery. The obituary mentioned that he had been ill for several months.
