Benjamin Siegel

Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, a charismatic and feared mobster who played a pivotal role in the development of the Las Vegas Strip, was a man who embraced a life of luxury and violence. Born Benjamin Siegel on February 28, 1906, in Brooklyn, New York, to a poor Jewish family, he rose from the streets to become one of America's first celebrity gangsters. Alongside his childhood friend Meyer Lansky, he co-founded the Bugs and Meyer Mob, a formidable gang involved in bootlegging, gambling, and contract killings. Siegel was a founder and leader of the notorious Murder, Inc., the enforcement arm of the National Crime Syndicate. Described as handsome and dapper, he moved to California in the late 1930s, where he mingled with Hollywood royalty, dating starlets and hosting lavish parties at his Beverly Hills home. He was married to Esta Krakower from 1929 until their divorce in 1946, and they had two daughters, Millicent and Barbara.

The final chapter of Siegel’s life was written on the evening of June 20, 1947. At 41 years old, the white male mobster was at the Beverly Hills mansion he leased for his girlfriend, Virginia Hill, at 810 N. Linden Drive. Hill was away in Paris at the time, their relationship having grown turbulent. Siegel was in the living room, sitting on a couch reading a newspaper with his associate, Allen Smiley, just before 11 p.m. A gunman outside aimed a .30-caliber military M1 carbine through the front window and fired nine shots. Siegel was struck four times, with two bullets hitting his head, killing him instantly. One bullet struck his right eye, blowing it out of its socket. Smiley was also hit, with a bullet grazing his arm and ripping his jacket, but he survived the ambush.

The Beverly Hills Police Department launched an investigation into the high-profile murder, but the case was immediately met with challenges. The secretive nature of organized crime meant that few were willing to talk. The gunman left behind no definitive evidence, and the murder weapon was never conclusively found. The killing sparked immediate speculation about who was responsible and why. A leading theory centered on Siegel’s management of the Flamingo Hotel & Casino project in Las Vegas. Financed heavily by his East Coast syndicate partners, including Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano, the project was plagued by massive cost overruns, ballooning from a budget of $1 million to over $6 million. His mob associates were reportedly convinced that Siegel was skimming money from the construction budget.

Just moments after Siegel was killed in California, Luciano's men reportedly walked into the Flamingo in Las Vegas and announced they were taking over the operation. This swift takeover has long fueled the theory that the murder was a sanctioned hit by the syndicate, an execution for his perceived financial mismanagement and theft. Other theories have been proposed over the decades, including that he was killed in a dispute over control of a national race wire service that provided horse racing results to bookmakers. Another less-accepted theory suggested that a brother of Virginia Hill killed Siegel for mistreating her. Despite numerous books and articles exploring these possibilities, no one has ever been arrested or charged in connection with the murder.

In the years following the assassination, the legend of Bugsy Siegel has only grown. His violent death has been dramatized in films, most notably in the 1991 movie "Bugsy," starring Warren Beatty. The graphic police photos of his lifeless body on the floral chintz sofa became iconic images of mob violence, a stark reminder of the brutality behind the glamorous facade. The Spanish Colonial mansion on Linden Drive, where he spent his final moments, became known as a "murder mansion" and a point of interest for true-crime enthusiasts.

The murder of Benjamin Siegel remains one of the most famous unsolved homicides in American history. The Beverly Hills Police Department officially considers the case to be open, but with decades passed and potential witnesses long gone, the likelihood of a resolution is slim. The mystery of who fired the fatal shots through the window continues to captivate the public, cementing Siegel's place as a legendary and enigmatic figure in the annals of organized crime. As of May 2025, the case remains an open investigation, a cold case steeped in the lore of old Hollywood and the shadowy world of the American Mafia.