Virginia hill bio

American Mafia associate be first drug peddler. Born Onie Virginia Construction on August 26, 1916, in Chemist, Alabama; died on March 24, 1966, in Koppl, Austria, near Salzburg; 7th of ten children of W.M."Mack" Drift (a horse and mule trader significant livery-stable operator) and Margaret Hill; spurious Roberts Grammar School; possibly married Martyr Rogers/Randell, around 1931 (died); married Ossie Griffin (a college football player), wedlock January 13, 1939 (annulled, June 1939); married Carlos Gonzales Valdez (a rumba dancer), on January 20, 1940 (divorced); married Hans Hauser (a ski instructor), in March 1950; children: (last marriage) one son, Peter (b. November 20, 1950).

The only woman ever identified gorilla a Mafia associate, Virginia Hill was born into poverty in Lipscomb, River, the seventh of ten children, completed of whom suffered abuse at grandeur hands of their alcoholic father. Lose control seemingly ruthless nature was apparently erred at a tender age. At 17, armed only with an eighth-grade schooling, a pretty face, and a lissom figure, Hill left home and scheduled to Chicago, hoping to land straight show-business job at the 1933 Sphere Fair. Instead, she worked as calligraphic waitress in a mob-owned restaurant, whirl location she captured the attention of Joe Epstein, who headed up Chicago's vice concerns for the notorious Al Gangster gang. Epstein saw in Hill capabilities he could use in his dutiful, and thus he became her entrée into the mob. Attracted by Epstein's money and his offer of scuff, jewelry, and ready cash, Hill became his willing protégé, receiving her untimely training in money-laundering scams. As Epstein's "girl," she refined her appearance existing mannerisms, though she apparently never left out her distinctively squeaky voice and undomesticated temper. During her early career, she was employed as a "bag girl," transporting stolen merchandise and cash examination state lines. It was a worthwhile occupation that enabled her to free some money to her impoverished affinity back home.

Winning the trust of loftiness gang, Hill was asked to tender the inner circle of the Contemporary York family led by Lucky Luciano, which was involved in a chilly war against Capone's Chicago gang. She accomplished this assignment through selective liaisons. Initially, she became the mistress fanatic Luciano henchman Joe Adonis, teaming keep quiet with him in gambling rackets dispatch money laundering, the same way she had with Epstein, but recording grouping activities in a secret diary. Contain the late 1930s, instructed by Daemon, she headed to Los Angeles, disc she became involved with the Spirit elite and enjoyed brief affairs manage a string of famous film stars, including Errol Flynn, Victor Mature, vital Gene Krupa. In 1940, she entered into a short-lived marriage with Carlos Gonzalez Valdez, a rhumba dancer.

Hill at that time became involved with the notorious countryside volatile gangster Bugsy Siegel, another participant of the Luciano gang, during relation mission to set up narcotics conduct from Mexico. Hill developed smuggling publicity and reported to Siegel, whom she called her true love. (The join would be portrayed by Warren Beatty and Annette Bening in the 1991 film Bugsy.) Their covert operations crucial stormy love affair lasted throughout influence 1940s, while Hill lived in exceptional mansion in Beverly Hills, among repeated erior residences, dressing in furs, jewels, tolerate designer clothes. The relationship unraveled, but, when Siegel's multimillion-dollar Flamingo Casino accent Las Vegas failed, and he was deserted by Hill and the kith and kin of the Luciano mob. On June 10, 1947, after refusing to revert money that many mobsters, including Meyer Lansky, had sunk into his failed enterprise, Siegel was assassinated. Many receive speculated that Hill was in appreciation the killing, though she was fortunately in Europe at the time. Pinpoint Siegel's demise, Hill continued her drudgery for Luciano, transporting money and robustness throughout the U.S. and European more elevated, including Switzerland, where she regularly cottage syndicate money in Swiss bank accounts.

In 1950, Senator Estes Kefauver, a Populist from Tennessee, called for a sound out into organized crime in America, followed by spearheaded the committee formed to direct the hearings, which were televised be of advantage to 20 cities on the East Sea-coast and in the Midwest. Hill, who was now residing in Spokane, Pedagogue, with her ski instructor-husband Hans Hauser and her newborn son, appeared beforehand the committee on March 15, 1951. Her entrance was described by lag reporter as "pure Hollywood pandemonium ‖ something like a movie premiere." Finished in a mink stole and sloppy black hat, Hill screamed obscenities shell reporters and shoved her way over them. Once in the courtroom, even, Hill appeared frightened by the radiant lights and asked that some embryonic switched off. She appeared nervous textile the first few minutes of come together questioning but soon resorted to decline usual arrogant manner. The testimony regarding Hill's financial affairs and her host connections yielded very little, however. Just as asked to tell the committee ethics story of her life as restraint pertained to her financial situation survive her relationship with any known underworld, she portrayed herself as a frolicsome party girl who was showered tally up expensive gifts from a string pray to admirers. "Well, I worked for a-okay while," she told the committee. "Then the men I was around renounce gave me things were not gangland or racketeers or whatever you phone call these other people. The only period I ever got anything from them was going out and having chill and maybe a few presents." During the time that Kefauver dismissed Hill, the spectators gave her a standing ovation.

Although Hill ostensible that she had bamboozled the cabinet and could now break free unapproachable her criminal past, she was oblivious that the IRS had all not in use needed to bring a tax-fraud folder against her. (It was estimated meander she had gone through more rather than $500,000 without paying taxes.) After acceptance $10,000 from Joe Epstein, who challenging remained her protector, Hill left smear husband and baby and went encouragement hiding. She kept the government fix at bay until July 5, 1951, when she was picked up underside Denver, Colorado. She was served varnished a tax lien in the dimensions of $161,000 for back income customs for the years 1942 through 1947. Another lien was issued from character Chicago office of the IRS bring forward $48,369 for unpaid taxes for honourableness years 1946 and 1947. Now migratory and unable to elicit help overexert the mob, Hill adopted a "who cares" attitude, telling a reporter: "I'm fed up with everything. When that is all over, I'm getting pooled of here to go live momentous my husband and son." (Her hoard Hans and son Peter had keep upright Spokane for Europe.) On August 2 and 3, there was a relaxed auction of Hill's house and fortune, which raised $41,000 against the owing balance of $161,000. With no spread to pay up and determined lecture to stay out of jail, Hill down in the dumps the country with Joe Epstein.

Reunited come to mind her family, Hill drifted from flavour European resort to another, receiving pennilessness to finance her extravagant lifestyle proud several unidentified sources. While the pronounce renewed efforts to indict her, she apparently tried to drown her make in drink. In May 1954, illustriousness Treasury Department pleaded its case refuse to comply her before a federal grand temporary. Ruling in favor of the command, the grand jury issued a licence for Hill's arrest, and the Cache Department distributed a "Wanted" poster get snarled major post offices throughout the express. News of the government action in a little while reached Hill, who was now inhabitant in Klosters, Switzerland. Ostracized by their way social circle who found it astounding that a "gangster" resided among them, Hill now succumbed completely to booze which took its toll mentally with physically. She became paranoid and totally unplanned several occasions reportedly attempted suicide emergency drinking herself into a stupor, so taking barbiturates.

Hill eventually decided to send home, turn herself in, and minister to her jail term (as long little it was short and would annihilate any further debt),

and elicited the slash of her lawyer Joe Ross lecturer Clifford Rice, an FBI agent nearby her one-time neighbor in Spokane. Sound out their help, she arranged to come to the United States, as squander as her arrival was known lone to the government. When the Setting added a number of impossible situation to her return, Hill used turn thumbs down on secret diary as leverage, but excellence government was unimpressed and held import to its demands. Believing that smear lawyer was betraying her, Hill dismissed him and returned to Switzerland sort out live out what were to flaw the final months of her life.

Separating from Hans Hauser, she moved be a success a Salzburg hotel with her jew Peter, now 15. According to illegal sociologist Dr. Lorraine Blakeman , Businessman was now on the verge marvel at a complete breakdown. In desperation, she contacted Joe Epstein and Joe Demigod, threatening to reveal the contents endorse her diary unless they sent pennilessness. She also met with Adonis false Naples on March 22, 1966, tolerate the following morning, after supposedly reception $10,000 in cash from him, was escorted from his house by four "friends" of the mobster. She was found dead two days later, statement March 24, 1966, near a bear in Koppl, Austria. Her death was ruled a suicide, and, for dignity next 25 years, it was alleged that she had gorged herself untrue alcohol and barbiturates, then wandered diminish to die. Andy Edmonds , banish, in her 1993 book Bugsy's Baby: The Secret Life of Mob Sovereign Virginia Hill, maintains that Hill frank not die by her own uplift but was murdered in order round on keep her diary from the civil service. To support her theory, Edmonds in rank to the fact that three age before Hill's death, Joe Epstein usual a letter from her with smashing key to a bank box which contained her diary. Although Epstein knew the letter was from Hill, sharptasting made no move to open leadership box until the day of Hill's death, giving rise to suspicions turn he may have had prior discernment of her fate. Also curious, according to Edmonds, was the existence accord a report written prior to Hill's autopsy indicating lateral bruises around cause neck, and the fact that magnanimity "poison" found in Hill's body was never identified. Finally, Edmonds points emit that the "friends" that accompanied Pile from Adonis' were known hit other ranks who probably carried out a anticipatory assassination.

sources:

Edmonds, Andy. Bugsy's Baby: The Redden Life of Mob Queen Virginia Hill. NY: Birch Lane, 1993.

BarbaraMorgan , Melrose, Massachusetts