The Godfather is a crime novel by American author Mario Puzo. Originally published on 10 March 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons, the novel details the story of a fictional Mafia family in New York City and Long Island, headed by Vito Corleone, the Godfather. The novel covers the years 1945 to 1955 and includes the back story of Vito Corleone from early childhood to adulthood.
Bugsy is a 1991 American biographical crime drama film directed by Barry Levinson and written by James Toback. The film stars Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould, Bebe Neuwirth, and Joe Mantegna. It is based on the life of American mobster Bugsy Siegel and his affair with starlet Virginia Hill.
Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was an American mobster who was a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Siegel was influential within the Jewish Mob, along with his childhood friend and fellow gangster Meyer Lansky, and he also held significant influence within the Italian-American Mafia and the largely Italian-Jewish National Crime Syndicate. Described as handsome and charismatic, he became one of the first front-page celebrity gangsters.
Meyer Lansky, known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the National Crime Syndicate in the United States.
Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen was an American gangster based in Los Angeles and boss of the Cohen crime family during the mid-20th century.
Tehanu, initially subtitled The Last Book of Earthsea, is a fantasy novel by the American author Ursula K. Le Guin, published by Atheneum in 1990. It is the fourth novel set in the fictional archipelago Earthsea, published almost twenty years after the first three Earthsea novels (1968–1972), and not the last, despite its subtitle. It won the annual Nebula Award for Best Novel and the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel.
Virginia Hill was an American organized crime figure. An Alabama native, she became a Chicago Outfit courier during the mid-1930s. She was famous for being the girlfriend of mobster Bugsy Siegel.
Flamingo Las Vegas is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The Flamingo includes a 72,299 sq ft (6,716.8 m2) casino and a 28-story hotel with 3,460 rooms.
David Berman was a Jewish-American organized crime figure active in Sioux City, Iowa, the Twin Cities, and the Las Vegas Strip. He was a casino gambling pioneer in Las Vegas, where he was a partner with mobster Bugsy Siegel at the Flamingo Hotel. Berman died in 1957 during surgery.
Morris "Moe" Greene is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and the 1972 film of the same title. Both Greene's character and personality are based on Bugsy Siegel: his affiliation with the mob in Los Angeles, his involvement in the development of Las Vegas, and his flamboyant tendencies. Greene is portrayed in the movie by Alex Rocco.
On Stranger Tides is a 1987 historical fantasy supernatural novel by American writer Tim Powers. It was nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and placed second in the annual Locus poll for best fantasy novel.
John Davis Gaughan, Sr. was a casino owner and operator from the early 1950s in Las Vegas, Nevada. He had an ownership stake in many casinos throughout his career, but he is best known for his ownership of the El Cortez, where he resided until his death on March 12, 2014. At one time Gaughan reportedly owned more than 25 percent of the available real estate in Downtown Las Vegas.
Jewish-American organized crime initially emerged within the American Jewish community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In media and popular culture, it has variously been referred to as the Jewish Mob, the Jewish Mafia, the Kosher Mob, the Kosher Mafia, the Yiddish Connection, and Kosher Nostra or Undzer Shtik. The last two of these terms are direct references to the Italian Cosa Nostra; the former is a play on the word for kosher, referring to Jewish dietary laws, while the latter is a calque of the Italian phrase 'cosa nostra' into Yiddish, which was at the time the predominant language of the Jewish diaspora in the United States.
Jack Ignatius Dragna was a Sicilian-American Mafia member, entrepreneur and Black Hander who was active in both Italy and the United States in the 20th century. He was active in bootlegging in California during the Prohibition Era in the United States. In 1931, he succeeded Joseph Ardizzone as the boss of the Los Angeles crime family after Ardizzone's mysterious disappearance and death. Both James Ragen and Earl Warren dubbed Dragna the "Capone of Los Angeles". Dragna remained the boss of the Los Angeles crime family from 1931 until his death in 1956.
Florabel Muir was an American reporter, newspaper columnist and author. She became known for covering both Hollywood celebrities and underworld gangsters from the 1920s through the 1960s.
Marshall Joseph Caifano was an Italian-American mobster who became a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit in Las Vegas.
The Green Felt Jungle is a 1963 book by Ovid Demaris and Ed Reid. It exposes Las Vegas's dark underbelly, discussing the role of mobsters, prostitution, and political influence peddling in control of the city. It was a New York Times Best Seller for 23 weeks.
Moe Sedway was an American businessman and mobster. He was an associate of Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and a faithful lieutenant of organized crime czar Meyer Lansky. He and Gus Greenbaum made the Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas very successful after Siegel's murder.
Scott Goldstein is a writer, producer, and director based in Los Angeles. He has achieved success in broadcast journalism, prime time entertainment, interactive educational & museum exhibits and documentaries. He is the winner of two Emmy and Golden Globe Awards.
The Gangster Squad, later known as the OrganizedCrime Intelligence Division (OCID), was a special unit of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) formed in 1946 to keep the East Coast Mafia and organized crime elements out of Los Angeles, California.
