Bugsys Baby: The Secret Life of Mob Queen Virginia Hill - Essay Example

Review of Andy Edmonds’ Bugsy’s Baby: the Secret Life of Mob Queen Virginia Hill Bugsy’s Baby: the Secret Life of Mob Queen Virginia Hill by Andy Edmonds is a biography of the highest placed woman in the American mob’s history. The book traces the evolution of Hill’s personae, psychological factors, and status in the underworld. It also attempts to explain the convoluted politics within the mob, Hill’s knowledge of these operations, and the point at which Hill becomes a liability. Edmonds purports to have access to both documentation and organizational insiders that allow her to finally illustrate (and justify) Hill’s title of mob Queen. While the author follows this purpose with single-minded intent, her level of success varies. Regardless of the full extent of authenticity, the book provides a number of interesting anecdotes and a good general overview of the climate that allowed the mob to flourish. If not complete gospel, it at least provides one with interesting insights into the life of an infamous figure in history. Edmond’s biography about Virginia Hill attempts to follow Hill’s life from beginning to end. It thus attempts to not only offer a connection between her later life and the difficult home life se had as a young child (while also trying to create a semi-sympathetic character). August 26, 1916, one Onie Virginia Hill, the seventh of ten children, is born to W.M. “Mack” Hill in Lipscomb, Alabama. Mack is essentially a horse trader whose little success went straight to alcohol; his wife Margaret begins working to try and provide a more stable income. Mack’s inebriation grows directly in proportion with longer periods spent at home with the children, and a young Virginia follows her mother’s example by allowing the man to be the undisputed ruler of the household. Around the age of seven, Virginia defends herself against her father by throwing a skillet of hot grease on him… her following taunts so enrage him that his anger is vented on Margaret instead. Virginia recalls this moment as her first self-assertion… seeing how quickly her father withdrew and feared her from this, Virginia chooses to never take such abuse again. Virginia’s biggest concern at the time is losing her father’s love, but soon realizes she has nothing to lose. She cites this realization as the guideline for the rest of her life: she cannot allow herself to be emotionally vulnerable, and therefore decides to never “love” a man. To some degree, this becomes the guideline of Hill’s life. Somewhere in the 1920’s Margaret Hill took the children and moved to Marietta, Georgia (near Atlanta) and although Mack moved to nearby Acworth, the two remain separated for the rest of their lives, never actually filing for divorce. Margaret has inadvertently taught Virginia never to depend completely on a man - a subject inherent in Hill’s manipulation of men and playing them off against each other. Thus, Virginia’s blossoming sexuality soon becomes a means of getting what she desires, and undoubtedly plays a part in her marriage at either 14 or 15 to someone named George whose last name could be Rogers, Randell, or Brown. The details of this marriage are hazy and Hill’s account of the marriage varies significantly, but one thing is clear: Hill somehow obtains a substantially large amount of funds from the arrangement, which allows her to move to Chicago in 1933. The husband’s fate is unclear, all that is certain is that Hill is surprisingly well financed for the beginning of the Great Depression. Hill’s rise in the Mafia is swift ad complicated. Virginia arrives in Chicago just as hostilities between Capone’s Chicago organization and Lucky Luciano’s New York outfit are reaching a simmering point. There has been some internal streamlining and organization between various mob organizations following Capone’s meeting with the collective leaders in 1925, but rivalries are still strong. Joe Epstein, a chief accountant for the Chicago gang, discovers a spirit e likes inside Virginia Hill, and soon is testing her ability to follow orders by having her place bets at the racetrack for the mob. Epstein’s system is carefully calculated to both launder money and turn a profit at the same time; Hill is tested in that she has to handle sizeable amounts of money and follow instructions about how to place the bets, which she performs well enough that soon Epstein has further plans for her. Hill is used to drain the bankroll from potential “marks” (the funds of which are applied to mob endeavors), a skill she then applies to other rich bettors at the track, guiding them in the placement of “sucker” bets to even out the odds for the mob. She is also soon transporting stolen merchandise in the form of jewelry, furs, etc. across state lines to be fenced in other locations. Epstein is so impressed with his protégé that he convinces his superiors to use Hill as a liaison (and to infiltrate) the New York family around 1936. Hill’s introduction to Luciano’s operation leads to her subsequent involvement with Joey Adonis, and through him, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel. There is an ongoing rivalry between Adonis between Bugsy and Joey A, a feud which Hill fuels by having an affair with Siegel, which is viewed as an insult to Adonis in the underground. Epstein has instructed Hill to begin keeping a journal when she goes to New York, in the hopes of catching the New York families of cheating Chicago. Epstein does not realize that Hill begins to keep close track of any and all mafia transfers in this diary. With the Siegel-Hill affair becomes public knowledge, Siegel is relocated to Hollywood to handle New York interests there. Hill’s involvement in stirring up the New York drama results in Epstein cutting her funds significantly, ultimately being removed from New York and moved to smuggling operations coming out of Mexico by 1938. Through the course of the next few years, Hill becomes involved with several prominent Mexicans, none of which last very long, even a brief marriage. Hill continues to travel back and forth with funds or smuggled goods between Mexico, Chicago, an New York. Siegel has meanwhile set up shop in Beverly Hills and has become a prominent and flamboyant gangster in the area, with a large control over gambling operations and especially a wire service used to organize loosely independent bookies. Partly because of Siegel’s moodiness, Jack Dragna, head of operations for the combined Mafia’s interests in the West, orders Hill to spy on Siegel, but not to “get too close.” Siegel and Hill begin there highly publicized affair (Siegel is then married), but what begins as amorously passionate soon deteriorates into violence. Neither is particularly faithful, Siegel occasionally beats and at some point rapes Hill, although it is difficult to determine to what degree Hill would provoke his rage. She would frequently call him by his hated nickname “Bugsy,” while his nickname for her is “Flamingo.” It is also difficult to say exactly how much Hill came to dislike Siegel: she continued to be involved with him, her brother Chick resides with and comes to work for Siegel, and Hill herself reluctantly stands beside Siegel for the opening of his Mid-West and East Mafia backed casino in Vegas, which he names “The Flamingo.” Hill flies to Europe just before Siegel’s execution (June 23, 1947), which is due to the combination of Siegel’s sporadic irrationality, the casino’s initial poor income, and the fact that Siegel has repeatedly skimmed money from the casino, thus cheating his backers. The publicity of the death of the person newspaper described as “The Man Who Built Las Vegas” caused many in the mob to lay low for some time. It also sparks the investigation into organized crime spearheaded by Senator Estes Kefauver; hearings were scheduled across the country. In 1950, Hill has married a ski instructor named Hans Hauser (who is classified as an “undesirable” alien due to a brief stint in an enemy-alien camp during the war, due to suspicions of being a Nazi-sympathizer) and is able to postpone her initial summons to court due to her pregnancy. When she does appear, Hill gives only vague responses to mafia activities and her own income… nothing helpful in the investigation, but thereby opening the door for the IRS to investigate her for tax evasion. This leads ultimately to her downfall. Between the tax investigation and immigration issues, Hill loses all of her property and is forced to travel to Europe with her family after obtaining an Austrian passport. She continues her extravagant lifestyle, living off jewelry she has smuggled before the property seizure, with some help from Hauser’s family and the occasional supplemental income still sent by Epstein, who himself is in hiding. Hill’s marriage begins to disintegrate; she has several suicide attempts. Her diary soon becomes a bargaining chip, both in trying to bargain her way back into the United States and in drawing funds from the mob. In 1966, when Epstein announces the end of his financial support, Hill tries to blackmail Joey Adonis, who is living in exile in Italy. Adonis sends only a token payment, which Hill uses to fly to Naples to try and confront him. Adonis pays her some money with the stipulation that she is to never receive any more funds from him, then sends to bodyguards to insure her safe journey by train back to Austria. Hill’s body is found on March 24 near Koppl , Austria, by two hikers. The autopsy claims suicide by poison, ignoring evidence (bruises around the throat) that the poison was taken forcibly. The book’s structure is a biography about the life of Virginia Hill: it therefore moves in a linear chronology paralleling the progress of her life, with a few explanatory segues inserted as needed. The title Bugsy’s Baby: the Secret Life of Mob Queen Virginia Hill is a bit misleading - the Preface designates the popular media’s association of Hill with Bugsy Siegel, although the book is not about Siegel, but about Hill - while the t title “Mob Queen” is more a title dreamed up by the newspapers which Edmonds takes as her thesis and spends the entire book trying to justify. Thus, the first chapter’s opening describes the wanted poster issued in 1955 by the IRS, which not only provided many people with a souvenir but also served to return Hill to the public eye, an explanation especially appropriate as the wanted poster appears on the back cover. The segue sections of the book attempt to explain the progression of mob politics and the shift of American government orientation towards un-patriotic activity through the course and in the wake of World War II. In particular, the author is trying to fill in an overarching path of intrigue that has allowed Hill to become an famous character in the mob ranks, as well as trying to link together the events leading to her death. While, as Edmonds points out, Hill became the most highly placed woman in the mob organization, the title of “Queen” is a bit of a misnomer, for at no point is Hill actually in charge of any major operation, despite being privy to enough information that she ultimately becomes a liability. It is difficult to judge sometimes what the author has concluded from fact and research and what she has extrapolated from other events… or what she has outright hypothesized. Part of this is the stories Edmonds chooses to use to prove her thesis, such as her description that “One story best illustrates how Virginia was transformed from a sweet southern girl into a tough=edged mob Queen.” (p. 41). At a Christmas part in 1936, thrown by Charles Fischetti, a significant head of the Chicago outfit, dare Virginia to live up to her flirtatious boasts. Then, much to the disgust of the women present and at the egging on of the men, Virginia reportedly begins to perform felattio on Fichetti… in front of his wife. As the men dare her to continue, Virginia supposedly moves from man to man around the room. When called a whore by one of the women, Virginia slaps her and claims to be “ the best (at it) in Chicago” (p. 42) and has the diamonds as proof… a fact that Virginia hold over the other women, since they presumably have done similar acts, but don’t have the diamonds to show. Edmonds uses this as a turning point for Virginia, citing that Hill is distant from other mob women and begins to consider herself the “Queen of the Mob”, at least in Chicago. This illustration has several problems. Firstly, while Virginia does exhibit more of a man’s (i.e. male gangster’s) casualness to sex, it does not really have the level of inherent violence of a man, thus belying the level of equality to the men that Edmonds is trying to establish. Secondly, it is a bit of a leap of logic as to why this single incident would justify Hill’s assumption of the title “Queen.” Lastly, the entire episode smacks of multiple retellings - a sort of inner circle urban legend - without any real corroborating evidence. This last comes to be a recurring problem with Edmonds writing style, particularly in closed gathering circumstances, such as the author’s account that Hill at one point is included in planning meeting with the heads of the Chicago mob. Part of the issue with Edmonds’ writing is her background in journalism. There is little doubt about the level of research that she has put into this book, and the air of authenticity is supported time and again by her inserts of such thing as newspaper quotes, court testimonial, police reports, and even the final phone conversation between Hill and Adonis on a phone line tapped by the government. All of these elements are painstakingly patch worked into a workable narrative that attempts to explain the level of influence that Hill had within the mob. Whenever possible, Edmonds lists the source. However, as she explains in the introduction, many of the sources she has interviewed in the compiling of this book have past or present underworld ties and therefore wish to remain anonymous. When such a large proportion of sources remain unknown, it is difficult to prove with any accuracy what is directly quoted and what is a leap of logic by the author herself. While she admits that the task of separating “fact from fantasy” (p. vii) is daunting, the unknown participants cast a doubt as to the level of privacy her sources may have had: a discerning reader has no way of knowing if a source actually had standing in the organization, was merely a driver and therefore locked out of these crucial meetings, or was merely a bartender at a popular mob venue and therefore could overhear scuttlebutt. In some situations this works, as Edmonds is able to assume the identity of Hill’s assassins through corroborating witnesses. In other circumstances, it does not: Edmonds description of Adonis issuing a stay of execution for Hill during the course of a meeting that decrees Siegel’s fate might have an element of truth to it, but automatically crediting Adonis as the driving force behind Bugsy’s execution is a much less tenable position. It is this creative use of journalism that proves to be the most distracting element of Edmonds writing. Her facts are well researched and her suppositions are excusable, as she is trying to justify Hill’s role as a mob Queen, but there are times when Edmonds adopts a fictionally present point of view in describing certain scenes that is a bit jarring for the sudden change of tone and style. These occur frequently enough to become distracting: there is a supposed ongoing conversation in which Hill jokes about which gift are given to her by Epstein or a man named Riddle (this is portrayed as an actual conversation), or when Adonis spits on the ground and refers to Siegel as “I’ll deal with that Jew bastard in hell, not on this earth.” (p.99). These elements, frequently quotes used as action, are intended to promote more dramatic tension. Unfortunately, they all too often only serve to focus a reader’s attention on the author’s liberty of description… which only makes one begin to speculate as to how many other things have been adjusted for effect. The overall account of Virginia Hill is a refreshing approach to the history of the American mob. The public remains fascinated with mob figures to this day; the approach of focusing upon the single highest placed women in the organization allows one to study more of the operating and internal operations rather than the general focus upon feuds and massacres. The background research of Hill’s life and attitudes allow for a viable psychological sketch of the woman as an individual, while her connection to one of the greatest underworld mystery slayings of all time (Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel) provides an understandable hook to draw the public’s attention. The parallels of underground consternation of Bugsy’s rumored diary both foreshadow and imply a dire retribution for Hill’s own diary… a fact on which the book concludes is the reason for Hill’s execution. The book also goes along way in explaining both how Hill caught public attention and how she has remained there. Edmonds journalistic approach lends a needed aspect of authenticity to the book as a whole. It frequently supports her conclusion through researched material and, when the author draws assumptions from the given data, frequently serves to incorporate this credibility to any guesswork. The only issue rises when Edmonds strays from this journalistic tack. Her attempts to dramatize, fictionalize, or rationalize events as though the reader is an observer only detract from her goal of establishing Hill as a power figure in the underworld. The text works best when the author sticks to a journalistic or semi-reporting approach of portraying events, as is her true forte. Despite Edmonds description of her working methods, particularly in describing a “ two-source rule” (p. ix), i.e. two sources must independently corroborate an anecdote, the book falls slightly short of being an all encompassing and completely accurate depiction of Virginia Hill’s life and times. There are just too many loopholes, due to anonymous sources and artistic intent. But this in no way means that the book is faulty, for anyone interested in the history and interconnection of many of the most all-time famous gangsters, this book is a vital piece of reading, if only for its alternative perspective. It provides a strong enough narrative to keep one turning the page, as well as enough insight or valid speculation about mob activities that it ties into a significant number of other sources. All in all, this book is excellent reading for any aficionado with an avid interest in mob history; for a historian, it would provide an entertaining read and several possible directions in which to focus more research. Works Cited Edmonds, Andy. Bugsy’s Baby: the Secret Life of Mob Queen Virginia Hill. New York: Birch Lane Press, 1993. Read More