For nearly 80 years, the personal effects found on Bugsy Siegel the night he was murdered sat in Beverly Hills Police Department evidence storage. On November 13, they go on public display for the first time at The Mob Museum.
“What Bugsy Left Behind” is a new exhibit examining the still-unsolved 1947 murder of Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel — one of organized crime’s most notorious figures and a key architect of midcentury Las Vegas. The collection, acquired by the museum from Siegel’s granddaughter Wendy Rosen following a judge-ordered release, offers an intimate look at Siegel’s final day.
On June 20, 1947, Siegel was shot and killed while reading the Los Angeles Times at his girlfriend Virginia Hill’s Beverly Hills home. He was 41. His murder has never been solved.
Among the items on display: Meyer Lansky’s business card, a wallet photograph of Virginia Hill inscribed “Sweetheart Benny I love you Pup,” Siegel’s Social Security card listing the Flamingo Hotel as his address, photographs of his two daughters, a Red Cross donation certificate, and a handwritten note containing the address where he was killed.
The exhibit explores three competing theories about who ordered the hit — Mob bosses angry over the Flamingo’s troubled finances, a rival seeking control of the lucrative race wire, or a family member seeking revenge for Siegel’s treatment of Virginia Hill.
The exhibit opens November 13 and coincides with the Flamingo Hotel’s 80th anniversary on December 26 and the approaching 80th anniversary of Siegel’s murder.
Tickets at themobmuseum.org.
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