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99-558: He was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1909. Greenberg and his parents were Jewish. On the streets of New York is where he met Siegel and 1930s Murder, Inc. leader Louis Buchalter . His first known arrest was in September 1927 for drowning Benjamin Goldstein; he was arrested with two other low-level criminals named Joseph Lefkowitz and Irving Rubinzahl. Greenberg was acquitted, and only Lefkowitz

198-688: A 4–3 decision. Strauss and Goldstein were executed in the electric chair on June 12, 1941. Charles Workman was indicted in New Jersey on March 27, 1940, for the October 23, 1935, murder of Dutch Schultz and three members of his gang. Workman was extradited to New Jersey in April 1941. The trial, which opened in June 1941, featured testimony from Abe Reles and Albert Tannenbaum as the primary underworld witnesses against Workman. The trial opened with two state witnesses,

297-565: A boy, Siegel left school and joined a gang on Lafayette Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan . He committed mainly thefts until he met Moe Sedway . Together with Sedway, he developed a protection racket in which he threatened to incinerate pushcart owners' merchandise unless they paid him a dollar. He soon built up a lengthy criminal record, dating from his teenage years, that included armed robbery , rape and murder. During adolescence, Siegel befriended Meyer Lansky , who applied

396-669: A boyhood friend to Al Capone ; when there was a warrant for Capone's arrest on a murder charge, Siegel allowed him to hide out with an aunt. He first smoked opium during his youth and was involved in the drug trade . By age 21, he was making money, and flaunted it. He bought an apartment at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and a Tudor home in Scarsdale, New York . He wore flashy clothes and participated in New York City night life. From May 13 to 16, 1929, Lansky and Siegel attended

495-547: A brilliant intellect to forming a small mob whose activities expanded to gambling and car theft . Lansky, who had already had a run-in with Charles "Lucky" Luciano , saw a need for the Jewish boys of his Brooklyn neighborhood to organize in the same manner as the Italians and Irish . The first person he recruited for his gang was Siegel. Siegel became involved in bootlegging within several major East Coast cities. He also worked as

594-467: A car with Cohen and Drucker when he was stabbed 32 times with an icepick as Levine and Harry Strauss were following in another car. During the assault and struggle, Drucker stabbed Cohen once in the arm as Sage had grabbed the steering wheel and wrecked the car. Levine also testified that he observed Drucker wiping the icepick clean before helping dispose of the body. Cohen testified in his own defense, stating that Levine had stabbed him with an icepick as he

693-446: A commotion in the living room. She also testified hearing Strauss say that he had been bitten. Goldstein's former bodyguard/driver Seymour Magoon corroborated the story, as he testified that on the night of the murder, Goldstein told him that he along with Reles and Strauss had murdered Puggy Feinstein and that shortly after the crime was committed, Goldstein and "Duke" Maffetore burned the body. Goldstein's attorney decided not to put up

792-521: A defense. Strauss's attorney claimed his client was insane. Strauss was briefly allowed on the witness stand but refused to take his oath and was "babbling incoherently" as he was led back to the defense table. Strauss then began chewing on a leather strap of a briefcase. On September 19, 1940, Strauss and Goldstein were convicted of first-degree murder and a week later sentenced to death in the electric chair. On April 24, 1941, Strauss and Goldstein's convictions were affirmed by New York's Court of Appeals on

891-457: A driving rainstorm, resulting in a poor reception and technical difficulties, and it soon closed. It reopened in March 1947 with a finished hotel, but by then his mob partners were convinced that an estimated US$ 1 million of the construction budget overrun had been skimmed by Siegel's girlfriend Virginia Hill or by both of them. On June 20, 1947, Siegel was shot dead at the age of 41 by a sniper through

990-537: A hospital to establish an alibi and later sneaking out, Siegel joined two accomplices in approaching Fabrizzo's house and, posing as detectives to lure him outside, gunned him down. In 1935, Siegel assisted in Luciano's alliance with Dutch Schultz and killed rival loan shark brothers Louis "Pretty" Amberg and Joseph C. Amberg . Siegel had learned from his associates that he was in danger: his hospital alibi had become questionable and his enemies wanted him dead. In

1089-556: A mandatory sentence of death in the electric chair . New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, overturned the conviction on a 4–3 vote in December 1940. The second trial started on March 10, 1941. At one point during the trial, Maione lost his temper and threw a glass of water at Reles. Maione and Abbandando were convicted of first-degree murder for a second time on April 3, 1941. Maione and Abbandando were formally sentenced to death for

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1188-487: A notorious hitman for Murder Inc., agreed to testify but the case was dismissed when he died in 1941. Reles' actual cause of death is highly debated. Another Murder Inc. hitman who also became an informant, Albert Tannenbaum , said he brought the murder weapons to Los Angeles from New York and gave them to Carbo and Siegel. Greenberg was portrayed by Academy Award nominee Elliott Gould in the 1991 film Bugsy . Murder, Inc. Murder, Inc. ( Murder, Incorporated )

1287-477: A prosecutor of Murder, Inc. and other organized crime cases, before being elected to become the 47th governor of New York. The Bugs and Meyer Mob was the predecessor to Murder, Incorporated. The gang was founded by New York Jewish mobsters Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel in the early 1920s. Sicilian mafioso Charles "Lucky" Luciano created the Commission and began to closely cooperate with his friend Lansky and

1386-546: A pseudonym on the witness stand, testified that Workman openly talked about the Schultz killing and how he was left behind in the restaurant. Workman's defense opened with testimony from Marty Krompier, a close associate of Dutch Schultz who was shot in Manhattan the same night Schultz was murdered in New Jersey. Krompier testified that Tannenbaum told him that he did not shoot him as he was in New Jersey and killed Schultz. Workman, in

1485-489: A reputation as a womanizer and the marriage ended in 1946. His wife moved with their teenage daughters to New York. By the late 1920s, Lansky and Siegel had ties to Luciano and Frank Costello , future bosses of the Genovese crime family . Siegel, Albert Anastasia , Vito Genovese , and Joe Adonis allegedly were the four gunmen who shot New York mob boss Joe Masseria to death on Luciano's orders on April 15, 1931, ending

1584-580: A room at the Half Moon Hotel in Coney Island on November 12, 1941, even though he was under police guard. The official verdict was accidental death. Harry Maione and Frank Abbandando were the first members of the Brooklyn "Combination" to be put on trial for murder. In May 1940, the trial started for the May 25, 1937 ice-pick murder of George "Whitey" Rudnick in a Brooklyn parking garage. Harry Strauss

1683-516: A second time in 1942 with the now-deceased Reles's testimony read to the jury. Nitzberg was convicted for a second time on March 12, 1942. The conviction was overturned again by the Court of Appeals on a 4–3 vote, but, this time, the court also dismissed the indictment as faulty since the only testimony presented to the grand jury was from accomplices without corroboration. Louis Buchalter , Emanuel Weiss , Louis Capone , Harry Strauss , James Feraco Cohen had his murder indictment dropped prior to

1782-496: A second time on April 14, 1941. The Court of Appeals upheld the second conviction on January 8, 1942. Maione and Abbandando were executed at Sing Sing prison on February 19, 1942. Harry Strauss and Martin Goldstein were put on trial for the September 4, 1939, strangulation murder of bookmaker Irving Feinstein , whose body was set on fire and left in a vacant lot after Feinstein had been strangled. The trial started in September 1940 with Strauss feigning insanity. Abe Reles,

1881-621: A sentence of 25 years to life. Drucker died in Attica prison in January 1962. Jack "the Dandy" Parisi was acquitted of two murders, Teamsters official Morris Diamond in Brooklyn and music-publishing executive Irving Penn in the Bronx. Penn was killed by mistaken identity, as the intended target, Philip Orlofsky, a Cutters Union official, left his home early to get a shave the day his killers waited for him. Parisi

1980-502: A small-time gangster and eyewitness to the George Rudnick murder. Police picked up Angelo "Julie" Catalano on the streets of Brooklyn shortly after he was bailed out by the syndicate, as Gurino tried to convince him to "hide out" on Long Island. Several days later, Gurino used a contact, corrupt Queens County Deputy Sheriff William Cassele, to enter the county's civil prison on the night of March 29, 1940. Cassele then forced Joseph "Joe

2079-542: A witness against Buchalter. Three alleged victims of Murder, Inc. in 1935 were Morris Kessler and brothers Louis and Joseph Amberg . Murder, Inc’s best known victim was most likely Dutch Schultz , who had openly defied the syndicate. In October 1935, Schultz insisted on putting a contract on Thomas E. Dewey, who was leading an all-out effort to put the mob out of business, but the syndicate board overruled him. They feared that Dewey's assassination would incite public outrage and result in an even greater campaign to shut down

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2178-419: Is alleged that only Siegel pulled the trigger. In 1936, he was ordered by Louis "Lepke" Buchalter to lead a raid into the office of Needle Trades Workers Industrial Union, who were having a meeting at the time. On November 22, 1939, Greenberg was murdered by Bugsy Siegel, Whitey Krakow , and Lucchese crime family soldier Frankie Carbo . Prosecutors claimed that Siegel had brought them to his house and drove

2277-893: The Atlantic City Conference , representing the Bugs and Meyer Mob. Luciano and former Chicago South Side Gang leader Johnny Torrio held the conference at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey . At the conference, the two men discussed the future of organized crime and the future structure of the Mafia crime families ; Siegel stated, "The yids and the dagos will no longer fight each other." On January 28, 1929, Siegel married Esta Krakower, his childhood sweetheart. They had two daughters, Millicent Siegel (later Millicent Rosen) and Barbara Siegel (later Barbara Saperstein). He had

2376-687: The Boulder Dam . Lansky had handed over operations in Nevada to Siegel, who turned it over to Sedway and left for Hollywood. In the mid-1940s, Siegel was operating in Las Vegas while his lieutenants worked on a business policy to secure all gambling in Los Angeles. In May 1946, he decided that the agreement with Wilkerson had to be altered to give him control of the Flamingo. Within the Flamingo, Siegel would supply

2475-509: The Castellammarese War . On September 10 of that year, Luciano hired four gunmen from the Bugs and Meyer Mob (some sources identify Siegel as being one of the gunmen ) to murder Salvatore Maranzano in his New York office, establishing Luciano's rise to the top of the Mafia and marking the beginning of modern American organized crime. Following Maranzano's death, Luciano and Lansky formed

2574-733: The Chicago Outfit's wire services . By 1942, $ 500,000 a day was coming from the syndicate's bookmaking wire operations. In 1946, because of problems with Siegel, the Outfit took over the Continental Press and gave the percentage of the racing wire to Dragna, infuriating Siegel. Despite his complications with the wire services, Siegel controlled several offshore casinos and a major prostitution ring. He also maintained relationships with politicians, businessmen, attorneys, accountants, and lobbyists who fronted for him. In Hollywood , Siegel

2673-695: The Jewish Mob in general, establishing a multi-ethnic alliance that eventually was deemed the " National Crime Syndicate ". Soon after, Siegel and Lansky disbanded the Bugs and Meyer gang and helped form Murder, Incorporated. Members of Murder, Inc. were Italian and Jewish gangsters from the gangs of the Lower East Side and the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Brownsville , East New York , and Ocean Hill . They committed crimes in New York City , acting as enforcers for New York Jewish mobster Louis "Lepke" Buchalter , and they accepted murder contracts from mob bosses all around

2772-487: The National Crime Syndicate , an organization of crime families that brought power to the underworld. The Commission was established for dividing Mafia territories and preventing future gang wars . With his associates, Siegel formed Murder, Inc. After he and Lansky moved on, control over Murder, Inc. was ceded to Buchalter and Anastasia, although Siegel continued working as a hitman. Siegel's only conviction

2871-525: The 1930s, Buchalter used Murder, Inc. to murder witnesses and suspected informants when he was being investigated by crusading prosecutor Thomas Dewey . In one case on May 25, 1937, four killers garroted George Rudnick with a sash cord and stabbed him multiple times with an ice pick on the mere suspicion he was an informant. On October 1, 1937, they shot and seriously wounded Buchalter's ex-associate Max Rubin. Rubin had disobeyed Buchalter's orders to leave town and "disappear" in order to avoid being summoned as

2970-514: The Baker" Liberto, who was being held as a material witness in the George Rudnick murder, to meet with Gurino. According to Liberto, he was pushed up against a wall in his cell and threatened with death if he cooperated with the District Attorney. Liberto was taken into custody shortly after an acquaintance drove him to a farmhouse on Long Island. Liberto quickly exited through a window, convinced he

3069-399: The Bronx , and in upstate Sullivan County (Catskills). Additional members of the "Combination" then were added to the list of cooperating witnesses, including Albert Tannenbaum , Seymour Magoon , and Sholem Bernstein. Harry Rudolph's testimony was never used in any of the trials, as he died of natural causes in the infirmary at Rikers Island in June 1940. Abe Reles fell to his death from

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3168-406: The Bugs and Meyer Mob, recalled to Lansky biographers that Siegel was fearless and saved his friends' lives as the mob moved into bootlegging: "Bugsy never hesitated when danger threatened," Stacher told Uri Dan. "While we tried to figure out what the best move was, Bugsy was already shooting. When it came to action there was no one better. I've never known a man who had more guts." Siegel was also

3267-520: The Fabrizzos after they made an assassination attempt on Lansky and him by penetrating Siegel's heavily fortified Waldorf Astoria suite with a bomb. After the deaths of his two brothers, Tony Fabrizzo had begun to write a memoir and gave it to an attorney. One of the longest chapters was to be a section on the nationwide kill-for-hire squad led by Siegel. However, the mob discovered Fabrizzo's plans before he could carry them out. In 1932, after checking into

3366-419: The Flamingo's costs were above $ 4 million. By 1947, the costs were over $ 6 M (equivalent to $ 72 M in 2023). By late November of that year, the work was nearly finished. According to later reports by local observers, Siegel's "maniacal chest-puffing" set the pattern for several generations of notable casino moguls. He boasted one day that he had personally killed some men; he saw the panicked look on

3465-509: The Flamingo's gaming tables were $ 275,000 in the red and the casino briefly shut down. Siegel continued construction and hired Hank Greenspun as a publicist. The Flamingo reopened on March 1, 1947, and began turning a profit. However, by this point mob bosses had lost their patience for Siegel. On the night of June 20, 1947, Siegel was sat on a sofa reading a copy of the Los Angeles Times , together with his associate Allen Smiley, in

3564-585: The Screen Extras Guild and the Los Angeles Teamsters) and stage strikes to force studios to pay him off so that unions would start working again. Siegel borrowed money from celebrities and did not pay them back, knowing that they would never ask him for the money. During his first year in Hollywood, he received more than $ 400,000 in loans from movie stars. Atomite, according to Siegel's accounts,

3663-599: The United States. Murder, Inc. was based in Rosie Gold's candy store at the corner of Saratoga and Livonia Ave in Brooklyn, Murder, Inc. The group had a number of members, although Harry Strauss was the most prolific killer, committing over 100 murders—and some historians put the number as high as 500. The killers were paid a regular salary as retainer as well as an average fee of $ 1,000 to $ 5,000 per killing. Their families also received monetary benefits. Murder, Inc.

3762-412: The authorities who were conducting an inquiry of Lepke's involvement in labor racketeering. Reles also testified that he helped plan the murder of Shuman with Lepke, who was a fugitive at the time, and Mendy Weiss and that Lepke received approval from Albert Anastasia to use a person who lived outside Brooklyn to help with completing the assignment. Seymour Magoon testified that he stole the car used in

3861-453: The automobile that was used to dispose of the body. Maione and 14 witnesses testified that he was at his grandmother's wake when Rudnick was murdered. The funeral home undertaker and embalmer testified that Maione was not at the wake. Also, one of Maione's chief witnesses admitted that he committed perjury as ordered by Maione's brother, whom he feared. On May 23, 1940, Maione and Abbandando were convicted of first-degree murder, which meant

3960-401: The chest." According to Florabel Muir, who was "one of the first reporters on the scene", and who had spoken to Siegel earlier that day (he had called "to thank her for a favourable review of a Flamingo show"), the remaining shots "destroyed a white marble statue of Bacchus on a grand piano , and then lodged in the far wall." Muir also claimed that she noticed Siegel's left eyeball lying on

4059-406: The chief prosecution witness, testified that Feinstein was murdered on orders of Albert Anastasia , since he supposedly "crossed" Vincent Mangano . Reles testified that he, Goldstein and Strauss murdered Feinstein in his house. Reles's mother-in-law also testified that Reles and Strauss had asked her for an ice pick and clothesline earlier in the day and, while at the house, heard loud music masking

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4158-506: The conclusion. According to Stacher, Lansky reluctantly agreed to the decision. Another theory is that Siegel was shot to death preemptively by Mathew "Moose" Pandza, the lover of Sedway's wife Bee, who went to Pandza after learning that Siegel was threatening to kill her husband. Siegel apparently had grown increasingly resentful of the control Sedway, at mob behest, was exerting over his finances and planned to do away with him. Former Philadelphia family boss Ralph Natale claimed that Carbo

4257-481: The countess took Siegel to Italy in 1938, where he met Benito Mussolini , to whom Siegel tried to sell weapons. Siegel also met Nazi leaders Hermann Göring and Joseph Goebbels , to whom he took an instant dislike and later offered to kill. He only relented because of the countess's anxious pleas. In Hollywood, Siegel worked with the syndicate to form illegal rackets. He devised a plan of extorting movie studios; he would take over local trade unions (such as

4356-408: The crime scene. Nitzberg was convicted of first-degree murder on May 23, 1941, and sentenced to death in the electric chair. However, on December 10, 1941, the conviction was overturned on a 4–3 vote by New York's Court of Appeals, which questioned the use of testimony of non-accomplice witnesses who were promised leniency to support the testimony of Reles, Tannenbaum and Magoon. Nitzberg was tried

4455-428: The death of Abe Reles, the sole witness. Brown was never arrested, and the identity of the murder victim was never revealed. With many of its members executed or imprisoned, Murder, Inc., vanished within a few years. Fashion Films Music Television Books Bugsy Siegel Benjamin " Bugsy " Siegel ( / ˈ s iː ɡ əl / ; February 28, 1906 – June 20, 1947) was an American mobster who

4554-413: The driveway of the house at 808 Linden", resting his weapon "on a trellis just outside the window." The assailant could not be seen from the street due to "an abundance of shrubbery". A total of nine rounds were fired, "four of which found their mark. One hit the bridge of [Siegel]'s nose and ripped out his left eye, a second entered his right cheek and exited at the back of his neck, and two hit him in

4653-565: The face of head contractor Del Webb and reassured him, "Del, don't worry, we only kill each other." Other associates portrayed Siegel in a different aspect; he was an intense character who was not without a charitable side, including his donations for the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund . Siegel's Las Vegas attorney Lou Weiner Jr. described him as "very well liked" and said that he was "good to people." The Flamingo opened on December 26, 1946, despite being unfinished. Local people attended

4752-498: The first bullet."" No one was ever charged with killing Siegel, and the crime remains officially unsolved. One theory is that Siegel's death was due to his excessive spending and possible theft of money from the mob. In 1946, a meeting was held with the "board of directors" of the syndicate in Havana , Cuba so that Luciano, exiled in Sicily , could attend. A contract on Siegel's life was

4851-495: The following day. Workman stayed behind while Weiss escaped with their driver Seymour Schechter. In 1944, Weiss was executed by electric chair for another murder. Workman was eventually tried by the State of New Jersey for the Schultz murder and served 23 years in prison. In January 1940, professional criminal and police informer Harry Rudolph was held as a material witness in the murder of 19-year-old minor gangster Alex Alpert. Alpert

4950-484: The gambling, the best liquor and food, and the biggest entertainers at reasonable prices. He believed that these attractions would lure thousands of vacationers willing to gamble $ 50 or $ 100, as well as "high rollers". Wilkerson was eventually coerced into selling all stakes in the Flamingo under the threat of death, and he went into hiding in Paris for a time. From this point the Flamingo became syndicate-run. By October 1946,

5049-432: The getaway car, and that Carbo shot Greenberg in the head five times. His wife Ida Greenberg found him murdered at his driveway. Greenberg allegedly demanded $ 5,000 from Buchalter to keep his silence from law enforcement, however Buchalter subsequently ordered his murder. Siegel was sent to trial in 1940 but not convicted. The second trial began in 1942 and Carbo was the main defendant. Krakow was murdered in 1941. Abe Reles ,

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5148-597: The ground, and "picked up the sliver of flesh from which his long eyelashes extended." Smiley's arm had been grazed by a bullet, but he was otherwise unharmed. "Clark Fogg, who for many years was the senior forensic specialist in the Beverly Hills Police Department Lab, concluded that it was more likely that there were two shooters", claiming that ""it would have been nearly impossible for just one gunman" to make such precise shots to Siegel's face because "the mobster's head would have turned upon impact from

5247-616: The late 1930s, the East Coast mob sent Siegel to California . Since 1933, he had traveled to the West Coast several times, and in California his mission was to develop syndicate-sanctioned gambling rackets with Los Angeles family boss Jack Dragna . Once in Los Angeles , Siegel recruited gang boss Mickey Cohen as his chief lieutenant. Knowing Siegel's reputation for violence, and that he

5346-507: The living room of 810 North Linden Drive, the Beverly Hills mansion that he had leased for his girlfriend Virginia Hill. Also present in the residence were Virginia's brother, Chick Hill, Hill's girlfriend, Jerry Mason, and Eung S. Lee, the residence's cook. A little before 11:00 p.m., an unknown assailant fired into the living room through a window with a .30 caliber military M1 carbine at a range of "just fourteen feet" from "an archway in

5445-413: The middle of his defense, changed his plea from 'not guilty' to 'no contest' after one of his chief defense witnesses, a Manhattan funeral director who testified that Workman was employed by him during the time of the Schultz murder and who was the brother-in-law of the late Lepke associate Danny Fields, recanted his testimony that had provided Workman with an alibi. The same day Workman changed his plea, he

5544-640: The mob's hitman , whom Lansky hired out to other crime families . The two formed the Bugs and Meyer Mob , which handled hits for the various bootleg gangs operating in New York and New Jersey , doing so almost a decade before Murder, Inc. was formed. The gang kept themselves busy by hijacking the liquor cargoes of rival outfits, and were known to be responsible for the killing and removal of several rival gangland figures. Siegel's gang-mates included Abner "Longie" Zwillman , Louis "Lepke" Buchalter , and Lansky's brother, Jake; Joseph "Doc" Stacher , another member of

5643-532: The murder convictions of Lepke, Weiss and Capone in October 1942 on a 4–3 vote. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Lepke's appeal in February 1943. In March 1943, the Supreme Court reversed its earlier decision and granted a review to Lepke, Weiss and Capone. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction in June 1943. Before Lepke could be executed, New York State needed the federal government to turn Lepke over, as he

5742-454: The murder on Reles's orders. Albert Tannenbaum testified that he was the driver that picked up Nitzberg and Shuman under the pretense of performing a robbery. Nitzberg, who was in the back seat, shot Shuman twice in the back of the head when Tannenbaum gave a predetermined signal. Tannenbaum and Nitzberg then exited the murder car to join Reles and another gangster in the getaway car and departed from

5841-543: The national spotlight as photographs of his lifeless body were published in newspapers throughout the country. The day after Siegel's murder, David Berman and his Las Vegas mob associates, Sedway and Gus Greenbaum , walked into the Flamingo and took over operation of the hotel and casino. In the Bialystoker Synagogue on New York's Lower East Side, Siegel is memorialized by a Yahrtzeit (remembrance) plaque that marks his death date so mourners can say Kaddish for

5940-405: The opening, and some celebrities present included George Raft, June Haver , Vivian Blaine , Sonny Tufts , Brian Donlevy , and Charles Coburn . They were welcomed by construction noise and a lobby draped with drop cloths. When word made its way to Siegel during the evening that the casino was losing money, he became irate and verbally abusive and threw out at least one family. After two weeks,

6039-524: The outfit its orders from the board of directors of the syndicate. Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia was the troupe's operating head, or "Lord High Executioner", assisted by Lepke's longtime associate Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro . In 1932, Abe Wagner informed on the crime syndicate to the police. He fled to Saint Paul, Minnesota , and adopted a disguise to evade possible pursuit. Two killers, George Young and Joseph Schafer, found and shot him but were later apprehended. Bugsy Siegel failed to get them released. In

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6138-437: The preferential treatment that Siegel received in jail: he refused to eat prison food, was allowed female visitors, and was granted leave for dental visits. However, Siegel himself protested loudly about "the stories of his privileged incarceration" and behaviour during the trial, claiming that they were either untrue or grossly exaggerated. Some reporters wrote that he had a valet in prison, that he had broken down in tears on

6237-557: The rackets. Schultz vowed that he would ignore the board's decision and kill Dewey himself. Hitmen Mendy Weiss and Charles Workman were given the assignment to kill Schultz. On October 24, 1935, they tracked down Schultz and his associates Otto Berman , Abe Landau, and Lulu Rosenkrantz and shot them at the Palace Chop House in Newark, New Jersey . Berman, Landau, and Rosenkrantz died almost immediately, while Schultz clung to life until

6336-433: The restaurant bartender and a woman who was outside the restaurant, failing to identify Workman. The next day, Reles and Tannenbaum provided their testimony implicating Workman. Next, a female friend of slain gangster Danny Fields, who was described as a "collector for the payroll" of Lepke, testified that Workman showed up at her apartment the day after Schultz's murder and asked Fields to burn his clothes. The woman, who used

6435-477: The return of his money. On November 22, 1939, Siegel, Whitey Krakow , Frankie Carbo , and Albert Tannenbaum killed Harry "Big Greenie" Greenberg outside his Hollywood Hills apartment. Greenberg had threatened to become a police informant, and Buchalter ordered his killing. Tannenbaum confessed to the murder and agreed to testify against Siegel. Siegel was implicated in the murder and put on trial in September 1941. The trial soon gained notoriety because of

6534-461: The slaying of gangster John "Spider" Murtha on March 3, 1935. With little evidence other than the eyewitness testimony of Murtha's female companion, Golob was permitted to plead guilty to second-degree assault and received a maximum term of five years. Sidney "Fats" Brown was the subject of a sealed first-degree murder indictment in Sullivan County, New York. The indictment was dismissed after

6633-523: The stand, and that his eyes were brown. Siegel told them: "You can see for yourself that they're not brown" (they were in fact blue). During the trial, the newspapers also revealed information about Siegel's past, and referred to him as "Bugsy". Siegel hated the nickname because it was based on the slang term "bugs", meaning "crazy", and used to describe his erratic behavior. He preferred to be called "Ben" or "Mr. Siegel". Siegel allegedly threatened Hollywood reporter Florabel Muir , "who knew [him] well" and

6732-468: The start of the trial after his conviction on a federal narcotics charge and received a 10-year sentence. James Feraco had vanished without a trace and was presumably killed in 1940 or 1941, and Harry Strauss had already been executed for the murder of Irving Feinstein. Jury selection for the trial began in August 1941. However, securing a jury for Lepke proved difficult. After enough jurors were finally selected,

6831-477: The trial actually started in October 1941. The trial featured the testimony of Rosen's wife and son, a teacher, and underworld turncoat Sholem Bernstein, who was marked for death after refusing to carry out a murder contract on Irving Cohen, who fled to California after the murder of Walter Sage in 1937 in Swan Lake, New York . Lepke, Weiss and Capone were convicted on November 30, 1941. The Court of Appeals upheld

6930-660: The window of Hill's Linden Drive mansion in Beverly Hills, California . Benjamin Siegel was born on February 28, 1906, in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City, New York , the second of five children of a poor Ashkenazi Jewish family that had emigrated to the U.S. from the Galicia region of what was then Austria-Hungary . His parents, Jennie (Riechenthal) and Max Siegel, constantly worked for meager wages. As

7029-548: Was a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip . Siegel was influential within the Jewish Mob , along with his childhood friend and fellow gangster Meyer Lansky , and he also held significant influence within the Italian-American Mafia and the largely Italian-Jewish National Crime Syndicate . Described as handsome and charismatic, he became one of the first front-page celebrity gangsters. Siegel

7128-533: Was a fugitive for 10 years, until he was captured in Pennsylvania in 1949. Albert Tannenbaum was brought in from Atlanta, where he was reportedly living, to testify for the prosecution. One accomplice in the Penn murder, Jacob "Kuppy" Migden , who provided the erroneous identification of Penn and who was also a fugitive for several years, pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree assault in the middle of his murder trial and

7227-450: Was a new type of explosive substance that detonated without sound or flash, and Siegel attracted the interest of Benito Mussolini and the Axis powers to purchase it. Mussolini advanced $ 40,000 to have atomite scaled up, but Siegel failed to detonate the explosive in 1939 during a demonstration to Mussolini and Nazi leaders, including Joseph Goebbels and Hermann Göring , and Mussolini demanded

7326-448: Was also indicted for the murder, and, after initially agreeing to cooperate with the District Attorney's office, he was severed from the trial. On May 15, 1940, Abe Reles testified that Rudnick was marked for death after Strauss claimed he had obtained information that Rudnick was a "stool pigeon for the police." Reles also testified that he waited outside the garage while Maione, Abbandando and Strauss were inside with Rudnick. After Rudnick

7425-501: Was an organized crime group active from 1929 to 1941 that acted as the enforcement arm of the National Crime Syndicate  – a closely connected criminal organization that included Italian-American Mafia , the Jewish Mob , and other criminal organizations in New York City and elsewhere. Murder, Inc. was composed of Jewish and Italian-American gangsters, and members were mainly recruited from poor and working-class Jewish and Italian neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn . It

7524-430: Was backed by Lansky and Luciano – who, from prison, sent word to Dragna that it was "in [his] best interest to cooperate"  – Dragna accepted a subordinate role. On tax returns, Siegel claimed to earn his living through legal gambling at Santa Anita Park . He soon took over Los Angeles's numbers racket and used money from the syndicate to help establish a drug trade route from Mexico and organized circuits with

7623-463: Was believed to have been murdered, Abbandando called for Reles and summoned Angelo "Julie" Catalano to the garage to assist with moving the body. Since Rudnick was still alive, Strauss resumed his assault with an ice pick , and Maione used a meat cleaver to complete the murder. The next day, Catalano, who drove the automobile with Rudnick's body, corroborated Reles' account of the murder. "Dukey" Maffetore and Abe "Pretty" Levine testified that they stole

7722-427: Was convicted for the crime and sentenced to the electric chair, although he was later acquitted. On 11 November, 1928, police raided a home and arrested Greenberg and Siegel, Harry Teitelbaum , Louis Kravitz , Philip Kovolick , Hyman Holtz , Joseph Stacher and Jacob Shapiro . Most of these men were the assassins and backbone of Murder Inc. The men met together to discuss their rival Waxey Gordon . In 1934, dynamite

7821-570: Was covering the trial, saying "You think because I'm locked up here a punk like you can write anything you please ... Maybe you won't be using that typewriter anymore. Maybe your fingers won't be on your hands. I have people outside who'll break your legs or drop you in a hole if I say the word." ... I'm not as bugs as you think. I'm going to beat this rap and then I won't ever have to speak to you newspaper punks." Siegel hired attorney Jerry Giesler for his defense. Two state witnesses died and no additional witnesses came forward. Tannenbaum's testimony

7920-491: Was currently serving a 14-year sentence in federal prison. Lepke continued to appeal his death sentence vigorously in New York and transfer from federal custody. Lepke, Weiss and Capone were executed in Sing-Sing prison on March 4, 1944. Vito "Socko" Gurino was sought for questioning in the Brooklyn murder investigation as the member assigned to eliminate witnesses against the "Combination". First, Gurino attempted to silence

8019-428: Was dismissed. In 1942, Siegel was acquitted due to a lack of evidence, but his reputation was damaged. On May 25, 1944, Siegel was arrested for bookmaking. Raft and Mack Gray testified on his behalf, and he was acquitted again in late 1944. Problems with the Outfit's wire service had cleared up in Nevada and Arizona , but in California, Siegel refused to report business. He later announced to his colleagues that he

8118-455: Was dropped through the chimney of an office owned by Siegel on Grand Street, Manhattan as retribution for Siegel murdering rival bootleggers; luckily it had exploded too early before Siegel walked into the room although he and others were wounded. Three days later, Louis and Andy Fabrizzo, who were members of Gordon's crew, were murdered and found near a distillery owned by Gordon. Shapiro, Stacher, Greenberg himself and Siegel were involved but it

8217-565: Was established after the formation of the commission of the National Crime Syndicate , to which it ultimately answered. It was largely headed by mob boss Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and Mangano Family underboss Albert Anastasia , but also had members from Buchalter's labor-slugging gang (in partnership with Tommy "Three-Fingered Brown" Lucchese ) as well as from another group of enforcers from Brownsville, Brooklyn , New York led by Martin "Buggsy" Goldstein and Abe "Kid Twist" Reles . Buchalter, in particular, and Joe Adonis occasionally, gave

8316-459: Was found in Swan Lake, New York on July 31, 1937 by tourists. After the Sage murder, believing he was also going to be killed, Cohen fled to California and managed to secure small roles in films. He was identified two years later by the chief prosecution witness, Abraham Levine, who spotted Cohen in one of the ringside crowd scenes in the 1939 film Golden Boy . According to Levine, Sage was riding in

8415-513: Was going to be killed. Gurino, who was hiding out in New Jersey for much of 1940, was arrested on September 12, 1940, at the Church of the Guardian Angel in Manhattan, screaming hysterically in fear for his life. Shortly after being arrested, Gurino confessed to three syndicate murders and implicated himself in four others. In March 1942, Gurino pleaded guilty to three murders. In April 1942, Gurino

8514-583: Was in Miami ; on February 28, 1932, he was arrested for gambling and vagrancy , and, from a roll of bills, paid a $ 100 fine. During this period, Siegel had a disagreement with the Fabrizzo brothers, associates of Waxey Gordon . Gordon had hired the Fabrizzo brothers from prison after Lansky and Siegel gave the IRS information about Gordon's tax evasion . It led to Gordon's imprisonment in 1933. Siegel hunted down and killed

8613-453: Was initially headed by Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and later by Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia . Murder, Inc. was believed to be responsible for between 400 and 1,000 contract killings, until the group was exposed in 1941 by former member Abe "Kid Twist" Reles . In the trials that followed, many members were convicted and executed, and Abe Reles himself died after suspiciously falling from a window. Thomas E. Dewey first came to prominence as

8712-413: Was one of the founders and leaders of Murder, Inc. and became a bootlegger during American Prohibition . The Twenty-first Amendment was passed in 1933 repealing Prohibition, and he turned to gambling. In 1936, he left New York and moved to California . His time as a mobster during this period was mainly as a hitman and muscle, as he was noted for his prowess with guns and violence. In 1941, Siegel

8811-478: Was paid for information in other cases that turned out to be false. Eventually, Maffetore decided to cooperate, stating that he was not involved in the Alpert murder, but was the driver in six gangland murders. Maffetore then convinced Abraham Levine to talk. Reles was next to cooperate with the District Attorney's office. After Reles agreed to cooperate, numerous first-degree murder indictments were issued in Brooklyn,

8910-481: Was reportedly offered a $ 5,000 bribe by another prisoner, on behalf of the syndicate, to "put Reles and Goldstein on the street". O'Dwyer stated that when Maffetore learned of the bribe offer to help clear Reles and Goldstein and after several talks with New York City Detective John Osnato, he decided to turn state's evidence. Detective Osnato talked with Maffetore even though he had worked with Rudolph previously and did not put much credibility in his story since Rudolph

9009-606: Was responsible for killing Siegel, at the behest of Lansky. Siegel's death certificate states the cause of death as homicide and the immediate cause as "Cerebral Hemorrage [ sic ] due to Gunshot Wounds of the Head." The day after Siegel's death, the Los Angeles Herald-Express carried a photograph on its front page from the morgue of Siegel's bare right foot with a toe tag . Although Siegel's homicide occurred in Beverly Hills, his death thrust Las Vegas into

9108-531: Was running the California syndicate by himself and that he would return the loans in his "own good time." The mob bosses were patient with him because he had proven to be a valuable man. In 1946, Siegel found an opportunity to reinvent his personal image and diversify into legitimate business with William R. Wilkerson 's Flamingo Hotel . In the 1930s, Siegel had traveled to southern Nevada with Sedway to explore expanding operations there. He had found opportunities in providing illicit services to crews constructing

9207-515: Was sentenced to 80 years to life in prison. He died of a heart ailment on April 22, 1957, at Dannemora Hospital for the Criminally Insane . Jacob Drucker and Irving Cohen were put on trial separately for the murder of racketeer Walter Sage in the Catskills . Sage was killed with an ice pick and had the frame of a slot machine and a 30 pound rock tied to his body. He floated to the surface and

9306-462: Was sentenced to a term of 5–10 years. Each of Parisi's murder trials ended with an acquittal, as the judges directed a verdict of not-guilty due to the lack of corroborating evidence, since the chief witnesses for the prosecution were accomplices. He died at home of natural causes on December 27, 1982, at the age of 83. Max "the Jerk" Golob was indicted with Frank Abbandando for first-degree murder in

9405-433: Was sentenced to life in prison. Workman was paroled on March 10, 1964, after serving 23 years in prison. Irving Nitzberg, who was "imported" by the Brooklyn "Combination" from the Bronx, was put on trial for the January 9, 1939, murder of Albert Shuman in Brooklyn based on the testimony of three accomplices, Abe Reles , Albert Tannenbaum and Seymour Magoon . Reles testified that Shuman was killed since he cooperated with

9504-483: Was shot in the back on a street corner in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn on November 25, 1933. While in custody, Rudolph talked with Brooklyn District Attorney William O'Dwyer . With Rudolph's testimony, O'Dwyer secured first-degree murder indictments against Abe Reles , Martin Goldstein and Anthony Maffetore. After the three were indicted, O'Dwyer learned from Special Prosecutor John Harlan Amen that Rudolph

9603-456: Was tried for the murder of friend and fellow mobster Harry Greenberg , who had turned informant. He was acquitted in 1942. Siegel traveled to Las Vegas , Nevada , where he handled and financed some of the original casinos. He assisted developer William R. Wilkerson 's Flamingo Hotel after Wilkerson ran out of funds. Siegel assumed control of the project and managed the final stages of construction. The Flamingo opened on December 26, 1946 in

9702-588: Was walking home from a casino. Cohen stated that he was assaulted by Levine and another man on Drucker's orders since he refused to pay 25% profit on a game of chance that he operated. Cohen was acquitted on June 21, 1940. Drucker, who was a suspect in four murders in the Catskills, was a fugitive for over three years, until the FBI located him in Delaware. Drucker was convicted of second-degree murder on May 5, 1944, and received

9801-629: Was welcomed in the highest circles and befriended movie stars. He was known to associate with George Raft , Clark Gable , Gary Cooper and Cary Grant , as well as studio executives Louis B. Mayer and Jack L. Warner . Actress Jean Harlow was a friend of Siegel and godmother to his daughter Millicent. Siegel bought real estate and threw lavish parties at his Beverly Hills home. He gained admiration from young celebrities, including Tony Curtis , Phil Silvers , and Frank Sinatra . Siegel had several relationships with prominent women, including socialite Countess Dorothy di Frasso . The alliance with

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