Bugsy Siegel

[cruororism]

"Bugsy" was a common nickname in certain circles around the end of the 19th century.

It was often used as a term of endearment and respect within criminal communities.

But if you dared to called infamous American gangster Benjamin Siegel by his nickname Bugsy then you would more than likely end up getting severely hurt, or worse.

To the people of New York he was Bugsy Siegel, but to his face it was always "Ben" or "Mr Siegel" for fear of provoking his wild temper. Bugsy earned the name because of his short temper, or tendency to 'go bugs' when angry or thwarted. In fact it's an irony that the name he loathed so much was the one that he would be remembered by in history.

Like many famous gangsters, Bugsy was a handsome charmer with a violent, remorseless nature. He was born into poverty and moved up through the criminal underworld to hold court between two strangely linked worlds of showbiz and organised crime.

Born to Russian immigrant parents in the deprived Hell's Kitchen area of Brooklyn, NY in 1902, Benjamin Siegelbaum watched as his parents scraped for every cent they could get to survive, and he swore that he would not end up the same way.

Early on in his life, Bugsy learnt that in his part of the world, crime was the most lucrative path to follow. At a very early age, Bugsy and his friend, the weak-willed Moey Sedway, were running protection rackets on the local street vendors.

There are many urban myths surrounding the where and when that Bugsy Siegel met Meyer Lansky, but when they did finally meet they joined forces to form a gang of killers, which would eventually become one of the most notorious national crime syndicates in the US.

Both Siegel and Lansky were of similar age and background, and together they had big plans for their future. Bugsy was gaining a reputation amongst his criminal peers, and he appeared to be almost fearless. Tales of him rushing into gun battles without a thought, his sheer nerve in the face of danger, and the fact he often saved their lives, was enough to impress the members of his mob.

The first step
Bugsy's first murder was a revenge killing he carried out for an associate of Meyer's. Lansky had become something of a link between the Jewish and Sicilian mobs, primarily because of his friendship with Charlie Luciano. When Luciano went to prison for drugs charges, both Bugsy and Lansky knew a debt had to be paid.

The son of an Irish policeman had been responsible for Luciano's drug charge, and when he was released from prison he wanted revenge immediately. Lansky didn't want to act so quickly and told Charlie to leave the matter for him and Ben to deal with. A year after Luciano was released, Lansky suggested that he go away for a short holiday, and while he was away, Bugsy and Meyer took revenge.

The short holiday turned out to be the perfect alibi for Luciano, and after an extensive manhunt, the body of the 19 year-old son of an Irish policeman was never found. A local woman even claimed that she had information on the killing and threatened to go to the police.

Siegel, Lansky and Luciano savagely beat the women into remaining silent, but were caught in the act by the police. The women never showed up for the subsequent court case and Bugsy and his boys walked free.

You would have thought that was the end of the matter, but over eight years later, the woman bumped into Bugsy in a bar, and she began mocking him for being such a young thug. Not one to let a slight go unpunished, Bugsy followed the woman home and brutally raped her in an alley. He was arrested for the attack, but after a private word from Mr Siegel the woman dropped the charges.

Empire building
The gang kept a relatively low profile for the years following the murder of the policeman's son, but they remained a menacing threat on the streets.

Always careful with their money and keen to build a criminal empire, the trio of Lansky, Siegel and Luciano looked for ways to raise capital to fund their plans. Unwilling to trust their money in poorly secured local banks, the gang struck upon the idea of how easy it would be to rob them rather than save with them - so they overpowered a security guard and got away with $8,000.

The life they lived was a risky one, and sooner or later they knew they would be caught. So they decided to branch out into different markets. Gambling was the key to their success, but it was also dominated by much more powerful New York gang bosses than Bugsy and Lansky.

This didn't deter Bugsy, and in typical gung-ho style he set about challenging these bigger gangs. Siegel made his mark by sending in his two dozen-strong group into a battle with a rival gang consisting of two hundred or more. Although he was arrested on a public misdemeanour charge, he had sent out a very clear message to the other New York gangs.

[cruororism]

Speakeasy money

The 1919 Prohibition laws that banned the sale of alcohol were just the excuse Bugsy needed to make a profit from the illegal distribution of booze in New York. Alcohol was sent underground and hundreds of illegal drinking establishments called 'speakeasies' and 'bathtub gin bars' appeared across New York.

Huge amounts of illegal alcohol were smuggled across the USA and rival gangs often hijacked each other's cargos. And whilst Bugsy was helping supply alcohol to New York, Al Capone was doing much the same in Chicago.

The two notorious gangsters had been childhood friends, and Capone once sought refuge with Bugsy whilst hiding from a murder investigation. The two cleverly networked their areas together in a way that was mutually profitable and a great alliance was formed.

By this time, Charlie Luciano had joined the rival Masseria gang, but he still remained friendly with Bugsy and Lansky. The Masserias were at war with another gang, the Maranzanos, because the leader of each gang wanted to be the "capo di tutti capo" or "the boss of bosses" and gain absolute power.

In order to help their friend, Siegel, Lansky and Luciano hatched a plan to bring Luciano to power. Luciano met his boss for lunch and a group of men, headed by Bugsy, walked in and shot Masseria to death. Luciano swiftly rose to become head of the Masseria gang, and went on to become the head of his rival gang by shooting Sal Maranzano in a 'kill or be killed' pre-emptive strike.

Plotting
Although Bugsy was a hotheaded character, he also had the ability to be incredibly clinical in some of his executions, and almost foolhardy in his recklessness and total lack of fear.

As their reputation grew, so did the number of their enemies, and before long a contract had been put out on Bugsy and Lansky. The first serious attempt to cash in on this was made by the Frabrazzo brothers, who planted a bomb in Bugsy's house.

Just before it exploded, Bugsy discovered the bomb and somehow managed to throw it out the window. Despite being injured by the blast, Bugsy still managed to track down Andy and Louis Frabrazzo. Fearing for his own safety, another Frabrazzo brother, Tony, attempted to save himself from a hit by claiming to have written his memoirs. If he died, these would be released to the authorities and would contain information on everyone. He wanted to make it necessary that he remain alive.

The source of the largest chapter in Tony Frabrazzo's book was Bugsy, and he caught wind of this plan before Tony even had chance to write the first page. The traumatic nature of the bomb blast made it feasible that he should check into a hospital a few days after the event. He sneaked out of his room and met up with gang members and murdered Tony Frabrazzo in front of his elderly parents. He was then driven back to the hospital where he climbed back through the window unnoticed.

Frabrazzo's murder was a mistake for Bugsy and his alibi soon began to lose credence. He was forced underground whilst his relationship as second in command to Lansky was beginning to frustrate him. They were still as close as brothers and even the deranged Bugsy could not contemplate the usual route of extinguishing the previous boss to rise to prime position. So Bugsy was happy to accept a new job on the West Coast.

The Hollywood Connection
Bugsy and his family moved into a 35-room mansion in Hollywood. He looked up some of his old contacts and whilst the previous kingpin of the area, Jack L Dragna continued to run the gambling side of things, he reluctantly allowed Bugsy to move in on the unions.

Bugsy fitted easily into the glamorous society. His good looks and dangerous air charmed men and women alike, but he used his union influences to get "loans" from movie stars. Bugsy now had the power to shut down the whole cinema industry, which would have been even more costly to the actors than the ten thousand dollar protection money he regularly exhorted.

In an ill-judged business move, Bugsy set up a hotel called The Flamingo, but it seemed that his Midas touch had left him. The hotel was not complete when it was opened and had to be closed for business a few months later.

The syndicate was not pleased with Bugsy, but his friends, Lansky and Luciano bailed him out and managed to get him more time. Bugsy worked hard and finally had the hotel ready. It was a success, and the hotel made a profit and had cleared its debts by May 1947.

By that summer it seemed that things would be working out for Siegel. He was out of trouble with his bosses and the hotel was doing fine, but there was to be no such easy life for Bugsy Siegel.


At 10.30pm on June 20th 1947 whilst he was relaxing at home, Bugsy Siegel was shot four times in the chest. He died almost instantly, aged only 42 - a victim of a gangland assassination.

Bugsy's death was nationwide news, but just five of his relatives went to the funeral. Not only was his most trusted friend, Meyer Lansky, too busy to attend, but it was widely suspected that he had followed syndicate orders and arranged to have Bugsy wiped out. Lansky strenuously denied this and no one was ever convicted of the murder.