Bugsy Siegel

Benjamin Siegel was born in Brooklyn, New York. Bugsy was his nickname and he hated it. He got his nickname from his short temper. In his teens he met Myer Lansky. They formed the Bug & Myer Mob. They specialized in gambling and car theft. This mob teamed up with Luciano and his gang in 1930. This gang used Siegel to kill Joe "The Boss" Masseria, which ended the Castellammarese War. After this, he won the respect of many gangland bosses and with Lansky's help he formed Murder Inc. Siegel carried out more murders for Luciano and by 1937 many contracts were put out on him because he made several bosses mad. Murder Inc. was a squad that supported Luciano's new founded national syndicate.

Luciano decided it would be best if Siegel went to the West Coast to escape his enemies and set up rackets in California. He met many Hollywood stars and studio owners. He met Jack Warner & Louis B. Mayer who he would contact later to get money from. He met Virginia Hill who was a money runner from the Chicago mob who blackmailed Hollywood Stars. Luciano & Lansky called him for elimination purposes.

When Siegel was in his mid 40's he used $5 million of syndicate money to establish the first casino and hotel. It was called "The Flamingo" in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the opening of the casino, it didn't make as much money as expected. Luciano demanded for Siegel to return the $5 million he had used. Siegel thought he was as big as Luciano, so he didn't do it. Luciano ordered to have Siegel killed. They think Lansky called Siegel to warn him and tell him to return the money, but Siegel refused. On June20, 1947 Siegel was shot three times in the head in Hill's living room. Hill and his other Hollywood friends did not attend his funeral.