Gus Greenbaum: Difference between revisions

Gus Greenbaum
Gus Greenbaum
Born	Gustave Greenbaum; February 26, 1893; Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	December 3, 1958 (aged 65); Encanto, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Cause of death	Murder
Occupation	Businessman

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Latest revision as of 06:53, 2 December 2024

Gus Greenbaum (February 26, 1893 – December 3, 1958) was an American gangster in the casino industry, best known for taking over management of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas after the murder of co-founder Bugsy Siegel.

Early life

Gustave "Gus" Greenbaum was born in Chicago to Jewish immigrant tailor parents Herman Greenbaum and Sarah Goldberger,^[1] who initially lived between New York City and Nebraska before settling in Illinois, according to the 1900 census.^[2]^[3] His parents originated from the Austro-Hungarian empire, with Sarah's birthplace documented as "Poland" on her birth record.

Career

An associate of Meyer Lansky, Greenbaum joined his organization on New York's Lower East Side in the mid or late 1910s. During Prohibition, Greenbaum began working with the Chicago Outfit managing the southwest division in Phoenix, Arizona of the Trans-America Race wire service in 1928. He set up in the Luhrs Tower and developed strong relationships with Phoenix leaders even, allegedly, future Senator Barry Goldwater.^[4] Sent to Las Vegas shortly after World War II began, Greenbaum gained control over syndicate gambling operations with Morris Rosen and Moe Sedway. Sedway and Greenbaum ran the El Cortez Casino in 1945, until Greenbaum was asked by William R. Wilkerson to manage casino operations for the Flamingo Hotel. In 1946, Bugsy Siegel took over construction and creative control of the Flamingo, until it was shut down in January 1947 due to mounting losses as a result of Siegel's skimming.

Murder and legacy

After Siegel's murder in June 1947, Greenbaum brought the struggling casino out of debt within several months, controlling several other syndicate casinos and bookmaking operations in Arizona within several years. He had been able to secure funding from Phoenix-based bank Valley National Bank, the first bank to lend money to the mob.^[5] Greenbaum planned to retire to Arizona and rejected offers to run the Riviera for Tony Accardo, though after Greenbaum's sister-in-law was murdered, he accepted the job. As a syndicate associate in Las Vegas, Greenbaum asked Tom Dragna of the L.A. Mob to order the deaths of Anthony Brancato and Tony Trombino for robbing the Sports and Racebook at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. Shortly after his close friend and Chicago-enemy union organizer Willie Bioff's murder, Greenbaum's worsening gambling, womanizing, and drug habits eventually caused him to begin skimming from casino operations. His embezzlement was discovered by the Chicago syndicate. On December 3, 1958, Greenbaum and his wife Bess were found dead in their Phoenix home. Their throats had been cut with a butcher knife. Greenbaum was found in bed with a heating pad and his television turned on. He had nearly been decapitated. Bess sustained blunt trauma to her head before her throat was cut. Her head was padded with newspaper and a towel, seemingly to avoid blood stains on the furniture.^[6]

Present-day photo of Phoenix house where Greenbaum and his wife were murdered; location info from "The Naked Desert" by Dewey Webb

Greenbaum's name was merged with Moe Sedway's to inspire the name for the character "Moe Greene" in the crime drama film The Godfather.

References

^ Marschall, John P. (2008). Jews in Nevada: A History. University of Nevada Press. p. 173. ISBN 978-0874177374.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871–1940". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on 2019-03-18. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
^ "United States Census, 1900". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on 2019-03-18. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
^ "Phoenix Confidential: the mob's master of the skim". Rogue Columnist. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
^ Wagner, Dave (2016). The Politics of Murder: Organized Crime in Barry Goldwater's Arizona. Gracenote Books LLC. ISBN 978-0692662656.
^ "Hotelman, Wife Murdered". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix. 4 December 1953. p. 1.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|American gangster and manager of the Flamingo Hotel (1893–1958)}}
-'''Gus Greenbaum''' (1894&ndash;December 3, 1958) was a member of the [[Chicago Outfit]] and syndicate accountant for [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] casino operations.
+{{Infobox person
+| name = Gus Greenbaum
+| image =
+| image_size =
+| caption =
+| birth_name = Gustave Greenbaum
+| birth_date = February 26, 1893
+| birth_place = [[Chicago, Illinois]], U.S.
+| death_date = December 3, 1958 (aged 65)
+| death_place = [[Encanto, Phoenix]], [[Arizona]], U.S.
+| death_cause = Murder
+| resting_place =
+| resting_place_coordinates =
+| nationality =
+| other_names =
+| known_for =
+| education =
+| employer =
+| occupation = Businessman
+| title =
+| term =
+| predecessor =
+| successor =
+| party =
+| boards =
+| spouse =
+| children =
+| parents =
+| relatives =
+}}
+'''Gus Greenbaum''' (February 26, 1893 &ndash; December 3, 1958) was an American gangster in the casino industry, best known for taking over management of the [[Flamingo Hotel]] in Las Vegas after the murder of co-founder [[Bugsy Siegel]].
+==Early life==
-An associate of [[Meyer Lansky]], Greenbaum joined his organization on [[New York]]'s [[Lower East Side]] in the mid or late 1910s. During [[Prohibition]], Greenbaum began working with the [[Chicago Outfit]] managing the southwest division of the [[Trans-America race wire service]] in 1928. Sent to Las Vegas shortly after [[World War II]], Greenbaum gained control over syndicate gambling operations, with [[Morris Rosen]] and [[Moe Sedway]]. With Sedway, Greenbaum ran the [[El Cortez]] in 1945 until he was asked by [[William Wilkerson|William R. Wilkerson]] to manage casino operations for the [[Flamingo Hotel]]. In 1946, [[Bugsy Siegel]] took over construction and creative control of the Flamingo until it was shut down in January 1947 due to mounting losses.
+Gustave''' "'''Gus'''" '''Greenbaum was born in Chicago to [[Jewish]] immigrant [[tailor]] parents Herman Greenbaum and Sarah Goldberger,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bCJfAIOC2csC&pg=PA173|first=John P.|last=Marschall|title=Jews in Nevada: A History|page=173|publisher=University of Nevada Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0874177374}}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> who initially lived between [[New York City]] and [[Nebraska]] before settling in [[Illinois]], according to the [[1900 United States Census|1900 census]].<ref name="Gustave Greenbaum">{{cite web |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q239-XGK5 |title=Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871–1940 |website=[[FamilySearch]] |access-date=2019-03-18 |archive-url = https://www.familysearch.org |archive-date = 2019-03-18}}</ref><ref name="United States Census, 1900">{{cite web |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MS32-1G4 |title=United States Census, 1900 |website=[[FamilySearch]] |access-date=2019-03-18 |archive-url = https://www.familysearch.org |archive-date = 2019-03-18}}</ref> His parents originated from the [[Austro-Hungarian empire]], with Sarah's birthplace documented as "Poland" on her birth record.
+==Career==
-After Siegel's murder in June 1947, Greenbaum brought the struggling casino out of debt within several months, controlling several other syndicate casinos and bookmaking operations in [[Arizona]] within several years. Greenbaum planned to retire to Arizona and rejected offers to run the Riviera at the behest of [[Tony Accardo]], though after his sister-in-law was murdered, he accepted the job. As a syndicate leader in Las Vegas, Greenbaum would later order the deaths of [[Tony Brancato]] and [[Tony Tombino]] for robbing a syndicate hotel. Shortly after becoming manager of the [[Riviera (hotel and casino)|Riviera Hotel]], Greenbaum's excessive gambling, womanizing, and drug habits eventually caused him to begin [[skimming (casinos)|skimming]] from casino operations. His embezzlement was soon discovered by the [[Chicago Outfit|Chicago syndicate]], and on December 3, 1958, Greenbaum and his wife were found in their Phoenix home with their throats slashed.
+An associate of [[Meyer Lansky]], Greenbaum joined his organization on [[New York City|New York]]'s [[Lower East Side]] in the mid or late 1910s. During [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]], Greenbaum began working with the [[Chicago Outfit]] managing the southwest division in Phoenix, Arizona of the Trans-America Race wire service in 1928. He set up in the [[Luhrs Tower]] and developed strong relationships with Phoenix leaders even, allegedly, future [[Barry Goldwater|Senator Barry Goldwater]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.roguecolumnist.com/rogue_columnist/2016/04/phoenix-confidential-2.html|title=Phoenix Confidential: the mob's master of the skim|website=Rogue Columnist|access-date=2019-09-03}}</ref> Sent to [[Las Vegas]] shortly after [[World War II]] began, Greenbaum gained control over syndicate gambling operations with [[Morris Rosen]] and [[Moe Sedway]]. Sedway and Greenbaum ran the [[El Cortez (Las Vegas)|El Cortez]] Casino in 1945, until Greenbaum was asked by [[William Wilkerson|William R. Wilkerson]] to manage casino operations for the [[Flamingo Hotel]]. In 1946, [[Bugsy Siegel]] took over construction and creative control of the Flamingo, until it was shut down in January 1947 due to mounting losses as a result of Siegel's [[skimming (fraud)|skimming]].
-[[File:GreenbaumMurderHouse.JPG|thumb|200px|left|Present-day photo of house where Greenbaum and his wife were murdered]]
-His name was merged with Sedway's to inspire the name for the character "Moe Greene" in [[The Godfather]].
+==Murder and legacy==
-==References==
+After Siegel's murder in June 1947, Greenbaum brought the struggling casino out of debt within several months, controlling several other syndicate casinos and bookmaking operations in [[Arizona]] within several years. He had been able to secure funding from Phoenix-based bank [[Valley National Bank of Arizona|Valley National Bank]], the first bank to lend money to the mob.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Politics of Murder: Organized Crime in Barry Goldwater's Arizona|last=Wagner|first=Dave|publisher=Gracenote Books LLC|year=2016|isbn=978-0692662656}}</ref> Greenbaum planned to retire to Arizona and rejected offers to run the [[Riviera (hotel and casino)|Riviera]] for [[Tony Accardo]], though after Greenbaum's sister-in-law was murdered, he accepted the job. As a syndicate associate in Las Vegas, Greenbaum asked [[Tom Dragna]] of the L.A. Mob to order the deaths of [[Anthony Brancato]] and [[Tony Trombino]] for robbing the Sports and Racebook at the [[Flamingo Las Vegas]] Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. Shortly after his close friend and Chicago-enemy union organizer [[Willie Bioff]]'s murder, Greenbaum's worsening gambling, womanizing, and drug habits eventually caused him to begin [[skimming (casinos)|skimming]] from casino operations. His embezzlement was discovered by the [[Chicago Outfit|Chicago syndicate]]. On December 3, 1958, Greenbaum and his wife Bess were found dead in their Phoenix home. Their throats had been cut with a [[butcher knife]]. Greenbaum was found in bed with a heating pad and his television turned on. He had nearly been decapitated. Bess sustained blunt trauma to her head before her throat was cut. Her head was padded with newspaper and a towel, seemingly to avoid blood stains on the furniture.<ref>{{cite news | title=Hotelman, Wife Murdered| page=1 | date=4 December 1953 | newspaper=The Arizona Republic | location = Phoenix }}
-*Kelly, Robert J. ''Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. ISBN 0-313-30653-2
+</ref>
-*Sifakis, Carl. ''The Mafia Encyclopedia''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3
-*Sifakis, Carl. ''The Encyclopedia of American Crime''. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2001. ISBN 0-8160-4040-0
+[[File:GreenbaumMurderHouse.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Present-day photo of Phoenix house where Greenbaum and his wife were murdered; location info from [http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1992-02-05/news/the-naked-desert/ "The Naked Desert" ] by Dewey Webb]]
+Greenbaum's name was merged with [[Moe Sedway]]'s to inspire the name for the character "[[Moe Greene]]" in the crime drama film ''[[The Godfather]]''.
+==See also==
+*[[List of unsolved murders (20th century)|List of unsolved murders]]
+==References==
+{{reflist}}
 ==Further reading==
-*Fried, Albert. ''The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Gangster in America''. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980. ISBN 0-231-09683-6
+*Fried, Albert. ''The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Gangster in America''. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980. {{ISBN|0-231-09683-6}}
+*Kelly, Robert J. ''Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. {{ISBN|0-313-30653-2}}
+*Sifakis, Carl. ''The Mafia Encyclopedia''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. {{ISBN|0-8160-5694-3}}
+*Sifakis, Carl. ''The Encyclopedia of American Crime''. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2001. {{ISBN|0-8160-4040-0}}
+{{American Mafia}}
-==External links==
-*[http://americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_164.html The Greenbaum Murder] by John William Tuohy
-*[http://www.hiddenmysteries.org/conspiracy/reststory/azproject.html HiddenMysteries Conspiracy Archive - The Rest of the Story: THE ARIZONA PROJECT]
-*[http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1992-02-05/news/the-naked-desert/ ''Phoenix New Times'' article] by Dewey Webb
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenbaum, Gus}}
-[[Category:1894 births]]
+[[Category:1893 births]]
 [[Category:1958 deaths]]
-[[Category:Jewish American mobsters]]
+[[Category:1958 murders in the United States]]
+[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
+[[Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent]]
 [[Category:Chicago Outfit mobsters]]
-[[Category:Murdered Jewish American mobsters]]
+[[Category:Deaths by edged and bladed weapons]]
+[[Category:Murdered Jewish American gangsters]]
+[[Category:Gangsters from Chicago]]
+[[Category:People murdered in Arizona]]
 [[Category:Unsolved murders in the United States]]
-[[de:Gus Greenbaum]]
-[[ja:ガス・グリーンバウム]]
-[[sv:Gus Greenbaum]]