Jefferson Randolph Soapy Research Paper Jefferson Randolph Soapy Research Paper 201 Words1 Page Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II (November 2, 1860 â July 8, 1898) was a con artist, saloon and gambling house proprietor, gangster, and crime boss of the 19th-century Old West. His most famous scam, the prize package soap sell racket, presented him with the sobriquet of "Soapy", which remained with him to his death. Although he traveled and operated his confidence swindles all across the western United States, he is most famous for having a major hand in the organized criminal operations of Denver and Creede, Colorado, and Skagway, Alaska, from 1879 to 1898. In Denver, he ran several saloons, gambling halls, cigar stores, and auction houses that specialized in cheating their clientele. In Denver, Soapy began to make a name for himself