Benjamin Bugsy Siegel Research

The life of Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel might be the most interest I ever get to research. I was actually told to write about someone I admired, but where’s the challenge in that? Benjamin or Bugsy as he was known to friends, family, and the public was an entrepreneur that started out with a criminal record that included armed robbery, rape, and murder dating back to his teenage years.

Siegel was born to a Jewish family on February 28, 1906 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to Max and Jennie. Max and Jennie had five children and Benjamin was born second of the five. His parents for lean wages. Siegel vowed to himself that he would rise above this life. Siegel dropped out of school and joined a gang on Lafayette Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He committed many crimes in his teenage years. During his adolescence, Siegel had become a gambler and stole cars for his friend Meyer Lansky, who later formed a small mob, where Siegel was the first recruit.

Siegel later became a bootlegger. He was involved in bootlegging within several major East Coast cities. Siegel was also a hitman for the mob. Lansky would hire Siegel out to other crime families. They together formed a mob of their own called The Bugs and Meyer Mob. Lansky and Bugsy handled the contracts with various bootleg gangs in New York and

As costs began to rise, Siegel’s checks began to bounce. By October 1946, the costs were about $4 million, in 1947, the Flamingo cost was well over $6 million, around $60 million in today’s money. The Flamingo opened in December of 1946, the Flamingo was not completely finished. Locals attended the opening, few celebrities materialized. Customers were welcomed by noise of construction and the lobby was draped with drop cloths. The casino, lounge, theater, and restaurant were finished. However, the air conditioning collapsed regularly. After two weeks the entire operation was shut down in late January