Bugsy Siegel — las vegas founder with roots in the Russian Empire
Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel was one of the most notorious American gangsters of the 20th century and an unlikely urban visionary. Born to parents who fled Podolia (Ukraine, then Russian Empire), he co-founded the National Crime Syndicate and drove the creation of the Flamingo Hotel, the casino that launched Las Vegas.
Tracing the roots — Podolia (Ukr)
His parents Max and Jennie fled the violent pogroms of Podolia (Russian Empire, now Ukraine) in the great Jewish emigration of the early 1900s. Landing in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighbourhood, Siegel's rise from immigrant streets to mob royalty mirrors the extreme pressures on young men from that immigrant generation.
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Podolia (Ukr). At the time, this region lay within the Russian Empire, which spanned from Poland to the Pacific.
A career defined by ambition
"We only kill each other. (attributed)"