Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (February 28, 1906 – June 20, 1947) was a
Jewish American mobster. Siegel was known as one of the most "infamous and feared gangsters of his day". Described as handsome and charismatic, he became one of the first front-page-celebrity gangsters. He was also a driving force behind the development of the
Las Vegas Strip. Siegel was not only influential within the
Jewish mob but, like his friend and fellow gangster
Meyer Lansky, he also held significant influence within the
Italian-American Mafia and the largely Italian-Jewish
National Crime Syndicate.