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Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (February 28, 1906 – June 20, 1947) was an American mobster. Siegel was known as one of the most "infamous and feared gangsters of his day".[2] Described as handsome and charismatic, he became one of the first front-page celebrity gangsters.[3] He was also a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip.[4] Siegel was not only influential within the Jewish mob but, like his friend and fellow gangster Meyer Lansky, he also held significant influence within the American Mafia and the largely Italian-Jewish National Crime Syndicate.
Siegel was one of the founders and leaders of Murder, Inc.[5] and became a bootlegger during the Prohibition. After the Twenty-first Amendment was passed repealing Prohibition in 1933, he turned to gambling. In 1936, he left New York and moved to California.[6] His time as a mobster (although he eventually ran his own operations) was mainly as a hitman and muscle, as he was noted for his prowess with guns and violence. In 1939, Siegel was tried for the murder of fellow mobster Harry Greenberg. He was acquitted in 1942.
Siegel traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he handled and financed some of the original casinos.[7] He assisted developer William R. Wilkerson's Flamingo Hotel after Wilkerson ran out of funds.[8] Siegel took over the project and managed the final stages of construction. The Flamingo opened on December 26, 1946, to poor reception and soon closed. It reopened in March 1947 with a finished hotel. Three months later, on June 20, 1947, Siegel was shot dead at the home of his girlfriend, Virginia Hill, in Beverly Hills, California.
Siegel was one of the founders and leaders of Murder, Inc.[5] and became a bootlegger during the Prohibition. After the Twenty-first Amendment was passed repealing Prohibition in 1933, he turned to gambling. In 1936, he left New York and moved to California.[6] His time as a mobster (although he eventually ran his own operations) was mainly as a hitman and muscle, as he was noted for his prowess with guns and violence. In 1939, Siegel was tried for the murder of fellow mobster Harry Greenberg. He was acquitted in 1942.
Siegel traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he handled and financed some of the original casinos.[7] He assisted developer William R. Wilkerson's Flamingo Hotel after Wilkerson ran out of funds.[8] Siegel took over the project and managed the final stages of construction. The Flamingo opened on December 26, 1946, to poor reception and soon closed. It reopened in March 1947 with a finished hotel. Three months later, on June 20, 1947, Siegel was shot dead at the home of his girlfriend, Virginia Hill, in Beverly Hills, California.
Bugsy Siegel - Wikipedia
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Birthday
American History
Crime
Las Vegas
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Murder Incorporated | "Murder, Inc."
Murder, Inc. (or Murder Incorporated) was the name the news media gave to organized crime groups in the 1930s and 40s that acted as the enforcement arm of th...
Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan form making us aware that February 28 is the anniversary of the birth of Jewish American mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel who was consider to be one of the most "infamous and feared gangsters of his day"
Since this mentioned Murder Incorporated I am posting a video on that subject:
"Murder, Inc. (or Murder Incorporated) was the name the news media gave to organized crime groups in the 1930s and 40s that acted as the enforcement arm of the Italian-American Mafia, Jewish mob, and connected organized crime groups in New York and elsewhere. The groups were largely composed of Italian-American and Jewish gangsters from the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Brownsville, East New York, and Ocean Hill. Originally headed by Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, and later by Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia, Murder, Inc. was believed to be responsible for between 400 and 1,000 contract killings, until the group was exposed in the early 1940s by a former group member Abe "Kid Twist" Reles. In the trials that followed, many members were convicted and executed, and Abe Reles himself died after "falling out of a window". Thomas E. Dewey first came to prominence as a prosecutor of Murder, Inc. and other organized crime cases."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irw_wQSPSDs
Image: 1928 Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel
Background from themobmuseum.org/notable_names/benjamin-bugsy-siegel/
"BENJAMIN “BUGSY” SIEGEL
Born: February 28, 1906, Brooklyn, New York
Died: June 20, 1947, Beverly Hills, California
Nicknames: Bugsy, Bugs, Benny
Associations: Meyer Lansky, Charlie “Lucky” Luciano, Murder Incorporated, George Raft, Virginia Hill, Mickey Cohen
Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel rose from the rough streets of New York City to the height of fame and fortune in sunny Southern California, but his violent death helped expose the dark side of Mob life. Although his life was cut short at age 41, he played a pivotal role in building modern Las Vegas.
The son of Jewish immigrants, Siegel was raised in the crime-ridden section of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where ethnically divided youth gangs and adult racketeers were pervasive elements of the community. As a young man, he reportedly extorted protection money from pushcart peddlers on the other side of the East River, in New York City’s Lower East Side, where, in 1918, he befriended Meyer Lansky, another tough Jewish kid, with whom he established the Bugs and Meyer Gang.
“Fellow gang members nicknamed Siegel ‘Bugsy’ in reference to his notoriously quick and violent temper — he was as ‘crazy as a bedbug,’” reported PBS in its documentary, Las Vegas: An Unconventional History.
During the early 1930s, Mafia kingpin Charles “Lucky” Luciano and other Italian gangsters organized themselves into a New York regional, then later national, Syndicate. Luciano’s enemies had a tendency to expire violently, and Siegel graduated from the Bugs and Meyer organization to work for Luciano. Many writers on these early years of organized crime have tied Siegel to the execution of Luciano rival Joe “the Boss” Masseria in 1931, a notable chapter in the brutal Castellammarese Wars that ripped up metropolitan New York City in the latter years of Prohibition. Reports have four men, including Siegel, shooting Masseria after the Mob boss ate a large pasta meal in a restaurant.
However, as historian Larry Gragg of the Missouri University of Science and Technology has documented, there are some problems with this story. First, contemporary witnesses said there were two shooters, an autopsy said Masseria had an empty stomach, and it wasn’t until later that Siegel, who had garnered a reputation for violence, was linked to the killing. Or, for that matter, to the execution of another Mob boss (and the last real rival to Luciano), Salvatore Maranzano, later that year.
That doesn’t mean Siegel wasn’t involved, or that he wasn’t a gunman in either case, but his reputation was such that he was tied to violent events and crimes in which he may not have participated. (One writer attempted to pin the infamous “Black Dahlia” murder in Los Angeles in January 1947 on Siegel, despite the fact that Siegel at that time was being closely watched by the FBI, and his activities on the day of the murder were fully accounted for.) So, it’s possible Siegel may not have been a murderous monster as some have described him.
He was, however, clearly an associate of Lansky, of Luciano, and of other New York City mobsters, including the nucleus of “Murder Incorporated,” the enforcement-through-murder-and-intimidation arm of Luciano’s criminal syndicate. And in New York, police were watching Siegel closely, which reportedly is why, in 1936, Lansky suggested that his friend relocate to the West Coast.
There, Siegel helped build the rackets in the swiftly growing communities of Southern California. Along with mobsters such as Mickey Cohen, Siegel set up gambling dens and offshore gambling ships, while consolidating the already existing prostitution, narcotics and bookmaking operations. He made deals to bring the race wire to California, helping to distribute critical gambling information to and from the West Coast.
His wealth carried him further in California than his criminal reputation had on the East Coast. He was able to buy a large home in swank Beverly Hills, to frequent parties of the Hollywood elite and to maintain friendships with movie stars. His close friends included George Raft, an actor and dancer who was born in New York City of immigrant parents and who associated with mobsters as he was growing up.
Raft, who had moved to Hollywood in 1929 and became famous appearing in gangster movies, apparently served as a significant interlocutor between Siegel and other Hollywood personalities. Raft also served as a character witness during one of Siegel’s criminal trials.
In the late 1930s, Siegel began dating actress Virginia Hill. They were a striking couple, known as much for their volatile natures as for their glamorous looks. In 1945, Siegel, with Hill at his side, took over construction of a hotel-casino on the edge of Las Vegas.
Siegel wasn’t the first entrepreneur to envision something fabulous in the desert, but his dream elevated the stakes. The Flamingo Hotel construction was financed mostly by Eastern crime syndicate bosses under Siegel’s direction.
But the project did not go well. Originally budgeted at $1.2 million, construction costs soared to $6 million, enraging Siegel’s mobster financiers.
On the evening of June 20, 1947, a hail of gunfire crashed through Hill’s living room window in Beverly Hills, killing Siegel. Literally minutes later, three associates of Lansky entered the Flamingo and announced that they were in charge. Although Lansky denied involvement in the murder, one theory is that it was a syndicate-approved hit.
But it’s not the only theory. Another theory asserts that Siegel was targeted by Virginia Hill’s brother because of a history of domestic confrontations between the couple. Another is that Moe Sedway – one of the three Lansky associates who took over the Flamingo – was involved in a love triangle into which Siegel stumbled.
But in any event, Siegel was shot multiple times, including two fatal head wounds, with .30-caliber bullets. His death has never been solved."
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" PriceSCPO Morris Ramsey SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SSgt Brian Brakke 1stSgt Eugene Harless CPT Scott Sharon SSG William Jones
Since this mentioned Murder Incorporated I am posting a video on that subject:
"Murder, Inc. (or Murder Incorporated) was the name the news media gave to organized crime groups in the 1930s and 40s that acted as the enforcement arm of the Italian-American Mafia, Jewish mob, and connected organized crime groups in New York and elsewhere. The groups were largely composed of Italian-American and Jewish gangsters from the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Brownsville, East New York, and Ocean Hill. Originally headed by Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, and later by Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia, Murder, Inc. was believed to be responsible for between 400 and 1,000 contract killings, until the group was exposed in the early 1940s by a former group member Abe "Kid Twist" Reles. In the trials that followed, many members were convicted and executed, and Abe Reles himself died after "falling out of a window". Thomas E. Dewey first came to prominence as a prosecutor of Murder, Inc. and other organized crime cases."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irw_wQSPSDs
Image: 1928 Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel
Background from themobmuseum.org/notable_names/benjamin-bugsy-siegel/
"BENJAMIN “BUGSY” SIEGEL
Born: February 28, 1906, Brooklyn, New York
Died: June 20, 1947, Beverly Hills, California
Nicknames: Bugsy, Bugs, Benny
Associations: Meyer Lansky, Charlie “Lucky” Luciano, Murder Incorporated, George Raft, Virginia Hill, Mickey Cohen
Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel rose from the rough streets of New York City to the height of fame and fortune in sunny Southern California, but his violent death helped expose the dark side of Mob life. Although his life was cut short at age 41, he played a pivotal role in building modern Las Vegas.
The son of Jewish immigrants, Siegel was raised in the crime-ridden section of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where ethnically divided youth gangs and adult racketeers were pervasive elements of the community. As a young man, he reportedly extorted protection money from pushcart peddlers on the other side of the East River, in New York City’s Lower East Side, where, in 1918, he befriended Meyer Lansky, another tough Jewish kid, with whom he established the Bugs and Meyer Gang.
“Fellow gang members nicknamed Siegel ‘Bugsy’ in reference to his notoriously quick and violent temper — he was as ‘crazy as a bedbug,’” reported PBS in its documentary, Las Vegas: An Unconventional History.
During the early 1930s, Mafia kingpin Charles “Lucky” Luciano and other Italian gangsters organized themselves into a New York regional, then later national, Syndicate. Luciano’s enemies had a tendency to expire violently, and Siegel graduated from the Bugs and Meyer organization to work for Luciano. Many writers on these early years of organized crime have tied Siegel to the execution of Luciano rival Joe “the Boss” Masseria in 1931, a notable chapter in the brutal Castellammarese Wars that ripped up metropolitan New York City in the latter years of Prohibition. Reports have four men, including Siegel, shooting Masseria after the Mob boss ate a large pasta meal in a restaurant.
However, as historian Larry Gragg of the Missouri University of Science and Technology has documented, there are some problems with this story. First, contemporary witnesses said there were two shooters, an autopsy said Masseria had an empty stomach, and it wasn’t until later that Siegel, who had garnered a reputation for violence, was linked to the killing. Or, for that matter, to the execution of another Mob boss (and the last real rival to Luciano), Salvatore Maranzano, later that year.
That doesn’t mean Siegel wasn’t involved, or that he wasn’t a gunman in either case, but his reputation was such that he was tied to violent events and crimes in which he may not have participated. (One writer attempted to pin the infamous “Black Dahlia” murder in Los Angeles in January 1947 on Siegel, despite the fact that Siegel at that time was being closely watched by the FBI, and his activities on the day of the murder were fully accounted for.) So, it’s possible Siegel may not have been a murderous monster as some have described him.
He was, however, clearly an associate of Lansky, of Luciano, and of other New York City mobsters, including the nucleus of “Murder Incorporated,” the enforcement-through-murder-and-intimidation arm of Luciano’s criminal syndicate. And in New York, police were watching Siegel closely, which reportedly is why, in 1936, Lansky suggested that his friend relocate to the West Coast.
There, Siegel helped build the rackets in the swiftly growing communities of Southern California. Along with mobsters such as Mickey Cohen, Siegel set up gambling dens and offshore gambling ships, while consolidating the already existing prostitution, narcotics and bookmaking operations. He made deals to bring the race wire to California, helping to distribute critical gambling information to and from the West Coast.
His wealth carried him further in California than his criminal reputation had on the East Coast. He was able to buy a large home in swank Beverly Hills, to frequent parties of the Hollywood elite and to maintain friendships with movie stars. His close friends included George Raft, an actor and dancer who was born in New York City of immigrant parents and who associated with mobsters as he was growing up.
Raft, who had moved to Hollywood in 1929 and became famous appearing in gangster movies, apparently served as a significant interlocutor between Siegel and other Hollywood personalities. Raft also served as a character witness during one of Siegel’s criminal trials.
In the late 1930s, Siegel began dating actress Virginia Hill. They were a striking couple, known as much for their volatile natures as for their glamorous looks. In 1945, Siegel, with Hill at his side, took over construction of a hotel-casino on the edge of Las Vegas.
Siegel wasn’t the first entrepreneur to envision something fabulous in the desert, but his dream elevated the stakes. The Flamingo Hotel construction was financed mostly by Eastern crime syndicate bosses under Siegel’s direction.
But the project did not go well. Originally budgeted at $1.2 million, construction costs soared to $6 million, enraging Siegel’s mobster financiers.
On the evening of June 20, 1947, a hail of gunfire crashed through Hill’s living room window in Beverly Hills, killing Siegel. Literally minutes later, three associates of Lansky entered the Flamingo and announced that they were in charge. Although Lansky denied involvement in the murder, one theory is that it was a syndicate-approved hit.
But it’s not the only theory. Another theory asserts that Siegel was targeted by Virginia Hill’s brother because of a history of domestic confrontations between the couple. Another is that Moe Sedway – one of the three Lansky associates who took over the Flamingo – was involved in a love triangle into which Siegel stumbled.
But in any event, Siegel was shot multiple times, including two fatal head wounds, with .30-caliber bullets. His death has never been solved."
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" PriceSCPO Morris Ramsey SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SSgt Brian Brakke 1stSgt Eugene Harless CPT Scott Sharon SSG William Jones
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Can you imagine an organization called "Murder, Inc"? Some of these guys lived for the adrenaline of the violence
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