Infamous gangster and Las Vegas kingpin Bugsy Siegel was murdered while sitting on the couch inside his girlfriend's Beverly Hills mansion in June 1947 — and to this day, no one knows who killed him.
Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy Stock PhotoBugsy Siegel’s death remains unsolved to this day.
Bugsy Siegel was more than just a run-of-the-mill mobster. As one of the founding members of Murder, Inc., a notorious enforcement arm for the National Crime Syndicate, he was violent, impulsive, and dangerous. But he was smart, too. He rose through the mob’s ranks in New York, then made his way to Los Angeles, cozying up to some of the hottest stars in Hollywood. Then, he set his sights on Las Vegas, becoming one of the burgeoning city’s key architects in the 1940s.
As Siegel grew more powerful, he also gained powerful enemies. In the 1940s, the casino kingpin invested a substantial sum of the mob’s money into the construction of a glamorous new resort called the Flamingo Hotel. And when the project failed to immediately turn a profit, Siegel drew the ire of a number of his mob associates.
On June 20, 1947, Bugsy Siegel was shot and killed while reading the paper in his girlfriend’s home in Beverly Hills. Four bullets struck Siegel, one of which knocked out his eye.
In the wake of Bugsy Siegel’s murder, many suspected that his business partners may have organized the hit. But to this day, no one is quite sure who was responsible for Bugsy Siegel’s murder.
This is the story behind the death of Bugsy Siegel and the theories about who killed him.
Bugsy Siegel’s Bloody Rise Through The Ranks Of The Mob
As one of the most infamous American gangsters of the early 20th century and a significant player in the development of the Las Vegas Strip, Bugsy Siegel led a glamorous — if dangerous — life, consorting with celebrities and gangsters alike as he set up his gambling operations in California and Nevada. But he came from relatively humble origins.
Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was born on Feb. 28, 1906 in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in a poor Jewish family in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.
From a young age, Siegel was drawn to a life of crime, starting with petty theft. Soon, however, he graduated to more serious offenses.
As a teenager, Siegel, along with his childhood friend Meyer Lansky, formed the Bugs and Meyer Mob, a gang that dealt in bootlegging, gambling rackets, and contract killings. The young men gradually delved deeper into the city’s criminal underworld, forging close ties with the Mafia. Before long, the Bugs and Meyer Mob would evolve into Murder, Inc.
Siegel’s reputation for violence and his willingness to use it made him a valuable enforcer and hitman within the mob. And his charisma and ruthless efficiency helped him rise quickly through the ranks of organized crime.
Everett Collection Historical/Alamy Stock PhotoIn the years before Bugsy Siegel’s death, the gangster helped shape the Las Vegas Strip.
During the 1930s, Siegel expanded his operations to the West Coast, where he became involved in the Hollywood social scene. He rubbed shoulders with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, leveraging these connections to further his criminal enterprises. Meanwhile, Siegel set up gambling dens and offshore casinos throughout Southern California and lived an extravagant lifestyle brimming with booze, luxe mansions, and lavish parties.
Before long, Siegel’s lucrative gambling operations would take him to Nevada.
The Flamingo Hotel Fiasco And The Road To Bugsy Siegel’s Murder
One of Bugsy Siegel’s most significant contributions to organized crime was his role in the development of Las Vegas.
In the 1940s, he saw the potential for creating a gambling mecca in the Nevada desert. Using the Syndicate’s money, Siegel took over the construction of the Flamingo Hotel, a luxury resort and casino. However, the project was soon plagued by delays and cost overruns. Construction expenses quickly swelled to $6 million — most of it covered by the mob.
TCD/Prod.DB/Alamy Stock PhotoBenjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and actor George Raft.
When the Flamingo finally opened on Dec. 26, 1946, it flopped. The resort shut down within a month after losing money upon its debut. But despite the financial difficulties and mounting pressure from his criminal associates, Siegel remained determined to see the project through. He began working on a plan to make it profitable.
In March 1947, the Flamingo reopened, and although its initial reception was underwhelming, it eventually became a huge success, raking in millions and laying the foundation for modern Las Vegas.
However, Siegel’s ambitious venture may have been his downfall. The Syndicate had grown increasingly impatient with the project’s financial mismanagement, and some members even suspected that Siegel was skimming the mob’s money.
So when Bugsy Siegel was brutally murdered the following June, many assumed that his embittered business partners may have killed him in retaliation for how he handled the Flamingo project.
The Mysterious Death Of Bugsy Siegel
On June 20, 1947, Bugsy Siegel was staying at the Beverly Hills mansion of his girlfriend, Virginia Hill. Hill, a glamorous and well-connected organized crime figure in her own right, had recently flown off to Paris after the couple reportedly got into a heated argument.
That evening, Siegel was sitting on the living room couch, reading a copy of the Los Angeles Times. At approximately 10:45 p.m., an unknown assailant fired a .30 caliber M1 carbine nine times through the window. Four bullets struck Siegel — two in the head, two in the torso — killing him instantly. The force of the bullets was so strong that it knocked Siegel’s right eye out of its socket and blasted it across the tile floor, where it landed some 15 feet away.
Bettmann/Getty ImagesThe aftermath of Bugsy Siegel’s death in 1947.
Siegel had not been alone that evening. Allen Smiley, one of the Flamingo’s investors, had been visiting the mobster that night. When the shooting began, Smiley dove to the floor. He managed to make it out unscathed, though his jacket did not — a stray bullet had torn right through it.
Bugsy Siegel wasn’t so lucky. At the age of just 41, the mobster had fallen victim to one of his many enemies. The question was: Who was it?
Who Killed Bugsy Siegel?
No one can conclusively say who killed Bugsy Siegel. The mobster certainly had a lot of enemies, and in the wake of his murder, there was much speculation as to who might have orchestrated the hit. Many assumed the Syndicate was behind it, but even now, some 80 years later, no one can say for sure.
For some, the obvious answer was Siegel’s longtime friend and business associate, Meyer Lansky. After all, it was well known that Lansky was frustrated with Siegel’s mismanagement of the Flamingo project. As a prominent Syndicate member, Lansky likely wouldn’t have gotten his own hands dirty, but he could have paid someone off to take care of Siegel. And while Lansky denied any involvement in the murder, rumors circulated that he’d approved Siegel’s assassination at a secret 1946 Syndicate meeting in Cuba known as the “Havana Conference.”
Others looked to Siegel’s girlfriend, Virginia Hill, pointing to the fact that Hill had been conveniently out of the way when the murder took place. Some suggested that her spontaneous trip to Paris was orchestrated to ensure she was not present during the hit. According to one theory, Hill’s brother, a Marine named Chick Hill, decided to take Siegel out because the mobster had allegedly been mistreating his sister.
Then, in 2014, Los Angeles Magazine published a story that seemed to offer an answer.
A New Theory About Siegel’s Death Emerges
Public DomainMoe Sedway, a business associate of Bugsy Siegel’s, and possibly the man behind his death.
In 2014, Robbie Sedway, son of infamous mobster Moe Sedway, came forward with a wild tale. According to Robbie, his mother, Bee, had known the real story of who killed Bugsy Siegel — and why.
“Nobody killed Ben over money,” Bee had said in an old 1993 video Robbie had stored away. “He would have never been killed for money. Never.”
Before her death in 1999, Bee had reportedly been working on a book about Bugsy Siegel’s death titled Bugsy’s Little Lunatic. Robbie ultimately shot the project down, convinced that, if the secret ever got out, the mob would seek revenge on their family. So when Bee died, the secret seemingly died with her.
That is, until Robbie Sedway decided to speak out.
In an interview with Los Angeles Magazine, Robbie revealed that his mother once claimed that it had been his own father, Moe Sedway, who had put an end to Bugsy Siegel.
In the 1940s, Moe Sedway had served as Vice President of the Flamingo, overseeing the hotel’s finances. As Robbie told it, Siegel gradually became fed up with Moe Sedway always looking over his shoulder. In March 1947, at a mob meeting, Siegel had reportedly threatened to kill Sedway, saying, “I’ll have Moe shot, chop his body up, and feed it to the Flamingo Hotel’s kitchen garbage disposal.”
Someone apparently tipped Sedway off to the threat. Believing he wasn’t long for this world, Sedway went to his wife to say goodbye. Instead, Bee told him that her lover, Mathew “Moose” Pandza, might be able to help him out.
Years later, Robbie asked Bee if she knew who had killed Bugsy Siegel.
“She said, ‘Moose.’ And I’m like, ‘Moose?’ She said, ‘Don’t ever tell anybody,'” Robbie recalled. In short: Moe Sedway had gotten the jump on Siegel, plotting with his wife’s lover to have him killed before Siegel could get to him first.
Robbie Sedway’s story remains one of the most compelling theories related to Bugsy Siegel’s death. Still, with little concrete evidence, there’s no way to know for sure whether Moe Sedway really was responsible.
No one has ever been charged with the murder, and to this day, the case remains open.
After learning about Bugsy Siegel’s death, read about the death of infamous mobster Al Capone. Or, discover the story of another infamous mobster, Lucky Luciano.
