Benjamin Siegel

Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was one of the most notorious mobsters during the era of Prohibition. He built his fortune not just on bootlegging and gambling but also on the proceeds of paid hits. Working for a number of Mafia bosses he carried out a number of Mafia hits, including one against the Sicilian mobster Joe “The Boss” Masseria in 1931. He was so entrenched in his hitman persona that he founded the “business” that was to become known as Murder, Inc. His organization was implicated in 70 murders and suspected to be responsible for hundreds more. When he traveled to Italy in 1938, he offered to kill Hermann Goering, Joseph Goebbels, and Benito Mussolini, but was stopped by his anxious mistress. He was killed in the traditional hail of bullets, and it is all but certain that he was murdered by the order of his partner.