Bugs and Meyer Mob
| Founded | 1920s |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Ben Siegel and Meyer Lansky |
| Founding location | Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Frank Costello, Joe Adonis |
| Rivals | Waxey Gordon, Joe Masseria, Salvatore Maranzano |
The Bugs (Bugsy) and Meyer Mob was a
Origins
Lansky and his friends organized a protective society in order to defend against the
Some accounts are varied about Lansky meeting Siegel: one account claims that Lansky met Siegel and
According to Lansky, Siegel and Lansky met on the street corner in the poverty-stricken Lower East Side of Manhattan when they were both teenagers.[1] Returning home from school one day, Lansky witnessed a street craps game break out into a fight when police whistles were heard. As the law drew near, Lansky forced Siegel to drop a gun that Siegel was trying to brandish. Siegel was angered with Lansky about losing the gun. Despite the confrontation, Siegel and Lansky became close friends.[1][2]
In the outfit, Lansky was considered the "brains", while Siegel was the "brawn".[3] Siegel, the youngest of the gang, was known around his neighborhood as chaye; a Yiddish word meaning "untamed" or "animal". He had a reputation for having a short temper and people described him as being "crazier than a bedbug,"[3] which gave him the nickname "Bugsy" that he came to hate.[1]
Formation
The two soon formed a gang called the Bugs and Meyer mob. In the early 1920s, the Bugs and Meyer mob was in operation, working with
Organization
The gang grew a violent reputation as they would
During this period, the New York City Police Department recalled the gang being "vicious".[7] One veteran New York detective described Siegel as "seem[ing] to like to do the job himself. [...] He got his kicks out of seeing his victims suffering, groaning, and dying".[7]
During the
When Lansky and Luciano formed the National Crime Syndicate in the early 1930s, Lansky, along with Siegel,[9] pushed for a special outfit to handle "enforcement," or murders for the entire syndicate. This outfit was later named Murder, Inc. by the press.[8][13] Several members of the Bugs and Meyer mob served as advisers or hitmen for Murder, Inc. when it was later headed by Lepke Buchalter and Albert Anastasia.[8]
References
Notes
- ^ TruTv. Crime Library. Archived from the original(PDF) on July 5, 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ Klinger, Jerry (February 2009). "In Search of Lansky". Jewish Magazine. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ a b c d Rockaway 2000, p. 21.
- ^ Gribben, Mark. "Bugsy Siegel - A Rising Star". TruTv. Crime Library. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ Montague 2005, p. 29.
- ^ Davidson, Bill (February 25, 1967). "The Mafia: Shadow of Evil on an Island in the Sun". Grand Bahama. Vol. 204, no. 4. pp. 27–37. Retrieved 2013-01-17.
- ^ a b c Rockaway 2000, p. 22.
- ^ a b c Sifakis 2005, p. 68.
- ^ a b Boyles, Denis (January 5, 1992). "Meyer Lansky: Turning crime into an industry". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ Pollak, Michael (June 29, 2012). "Coney Island's Big Hit". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ Sifakis 2005, p. 304.
- ^ Sifakis 2005, p. 300.
- ^ Sifakis 2005, pp. 319–321.
Bibliography
- Rockaway, Robert A. (2000), But He Was Good to His Mother: The Lives and Crimes of Jewish Gangsters, Gefen Publishing House, ISBN 978-9652292490
- Sifakis, Carl (2005), The Mafia Encyclopedia, New York: Checkmark Books, ISBN 978-0816056958
- Montague, Art (2005), Meyer Lansky: The Shadowy Exploits Of New York's Master Manipulator, Heritage House Publishing Co, ISBN 978-1-55265-100-1
Further reading
- MacCabee, Paul (1995). John Dillinger Slept Here: A Crooks' Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. Paul, 1920–1936. Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 978-0-87351-316-6.
- Pryor, Alton (2001). Outlaws and Gunslingers. Roseville, California: Stagecoach Publishing. ISBN 0-9660053-6-8.
External links
- "Meyer Lansky: Mastermind of the Mob - The Bugs and Meyer Mob" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2007-07-05.
{{by Mark GribbenKiB)
