Bugsy Siegel (February 26, 1906 in Brooklyn – June 20, 1947 in Los Angeles) was an American mobster from the Yiddish Connection. He was born as Benjamin Siegelbaum to Ukrainian Jewish parents. His nickname Bugsy (which it was better not to pronounce in front of him), meaning "the crazy one", referred to his sanguine temperament, as cruel with enemies as he was seductive and enterprising with women (sometimes to the point of rape). He played a major role in the development and growth of Las Vegas.
Young years
Bugsy Siegel grew up in the poor, multi-ethnic neighborhood of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York. He is the second of a family of 5 children. Very young, he extorted street vendors, and set fire to the businesses of the recalcitrant. Later he met Meyer Lansky, and they formed the Bugs and Meyer gang, a gang of Jews opposed to Italian and Irish gangs. The relationship of Siegel and Meyer Lansky remained privileged within the Crime Syndicate and their association is often represented as the addition of the muscles and the audacity of the first, the brains and the prudence of the second. Their gang counted in its ranks future celebrities of organized crime, such as Lepke Buchalter, Dutch Schultz or Abner “Longie” Zwillman who became one of the main racketeers in New Jersey. Besides racketeering, the gang specialized in liquor trafficking during the Prohibition of alcohol in the United States. Bugsy Siegel was also employed as a schlammer (scab), except when the unions paid him more, and occasionally worked as a hitman.
An assassin in sight
As the gang grew in importance, in the early 1920s it came under threat and pressure from Joe Masseria's prominent Mafia family. When Lucky Luciano was conscripted there, it offered them respite. Meanwhile, Siegel took part, with the other members of the gang, in Arnold Rothstein's bootlegging operations. His fearless character led him to take the initiative in the very risky robbery of a shipment destined for Waxey Gordon, belonging to Joe Masseria. In 1931, at the instigation of Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky, he participated in the assassination of Masseria.
In the 1930s, a member of the American Mafia Commission, he took an active part in the development and management of Murder Incorporated, the branch dealing with assassinations within organized crime. In 1934, he murdered and sank in the East River one of his oldest friends, Bo Weinberg, a lieutenant of Dutch Schultz who, harassed by prosecutor Thomas Dewey, risked testifying against his boss. In the early 1930s, Siegel also executed killer Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, who was to settle a contract from godfather Salvatore Maranzano against Luciano, as well as the Fabrazzo brothers, who had attempted to assassinate Meyer Lansky and him by throwing a bomb , at the request of Waxey Gordon, from the prison where the latter was locked up for tax evasion.
California
In 1937, Siegel was in the crosshairs of prosecutor Thomas Dewey, and his situation in New York was becoming perilous. Given his status, the Syndicate, rather than eliminating him, decided, on the recommendations of Meyer Lansky, to send him to California, where the Organization had virtually no presence. The sectors of the crime were shared with the leader of an Italian gang in Los Angeles, Jack Dragna:the games for the latter, the control of the unions for Siegel. The latter, with his partner Moe Sedway, and his lieutenant, Mickey Cohen, was particularly interested in the cinema trades (technicians, extras, etc.), which made it possible to racketeer the major studios. In Hollywood, he reunited with a childhood friend, actor George Raft, who specialized in gangster roles. This introduced him to posh parties, and Siegel, who had become a star attraction, collected adventures with actresses, including Jean Harlow. After the studios, he came to extort the stars directly.
In the early 1940s, Siegel promoted the West Coast expansion of a nationwide betting information network (for pre-race tips), Trans America, owned by Chicago's The Outfit, at the expense of Continental Wire Service, the company of a certain Jack Ragan, who was assassinated in this same city. At the same time, the press covered him about a case involving him in Murder Incorporated, and he became famous as a gangster.
Las Vegas
In 1945, Bugsy Siegel became interested in Las Vegas, a village lost in the desert. Nevada had just passed legislation allowing betting and gambling. Siegel was not the first to build a casino, but the one he had built in 1946, the Flamingo, a very luxurious establishment, was the first step in founding an oasis of entertainment in the middle of nowhere. This project, seen as the possibility of earning large sums by legal means, was also of interest to the Syndicate, which is investing in it through Meyer Lansky.
Lacking the qualities of an organizer, Siegel quickly lost a lot of money, and contracted a debt of more than six million dollars. Witnesses further claimed that Siegel's mistress, Virginia Hill, traveled back and forth to Switzerland with suitcases of cash. At the Havana conference, the Syndicate decided on Siegel's execution, despite Meyer Lansky's initial reluctance. As the Flamingo began to generate profit, Bugsy Siegel was shot dead in his Hollywood villa on June 20, 1947. The identity of the assassin(s) is still unknown but a few minutes after his execution, Meyer Lansky's men arrived at the Flamingo to take control.