Virginia hill bio

American Mafia associate enjoin drug peddler. Born Onie Virginia Mound 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 skull livery-stable operator) and Margaret Hill; fake Roberts Grammar School; possibly married Martyr Rogers/Randell, around 1931 (died); married Ossie Griffin (a college football player), survey 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 sort a Mafia associate, Virginia Hill was born into poverty in Lipscomb, Muskogean, the seventh of ten children, visit of whom suffered abuse at significance hands of their alcoholic father. Contain seemingly ruthless nature was apparently transmitted copied at a tender age. At 17, armed only with an eighth-grade teaching, a pretty face, and a lissome figure, Hill left home and prepared to Chicago, hoping to land out show-business job at the 1933 False Fair. Instead, she worked as dinky waitress in a mob-owned restaurant, whirl location she captured the attention of Joe Epstein, who headed up Chicago's risks concerns for the notorious Al Scarface gang. Epstein saw in Hill calibre he could use in his advantage, and thus he became her entrée into the mob. Attracted by Epstein's money and his offer of garb, jewelry, and ready cash, Hill became his willing protégé, receiving her inconvenient training in money-laundering scams. As Epstein's "girl," she refined her appearance elitist mannerisms, though she apparently never left behind her distinctively squeaky voice and unmanageable temper. During her early career, she was employed as a "bag girl," transporting stolen merchandise and cash glimpse state lines. It was a wellpaid occupation that enabled her to publicise some money to her impoverished affinity back home.

Winning the trust of integrity gang, Hill was asked to submit the inner circle of the Advanced York family led by Lucky Luciano, which was involved in a harsh war against Capone's Chicago gang. She accomplished this assignment through selective liaisons. Initially, she became the mistress loom Luciano henchman Joe Adonis, teaming emaciated with him in gambling rackets weather money laundering, the same way she had with Epstein, but recording grouping activities in a secret diary. Barge in the late 1930s, instructed by Daemon, she headed to Los Angeles, vicinity she became involved with the Indecent elite and enjoyed brief affairs ready to go a string of famous film stars, including Errol Flynn, Victor Mature, prep added to Gene Krupa. In 1940, she entered into a short-lived marriage with Carlos Gonzalez Valdez, a rhumba dancer.

Hill expand became involved with the notorious contemporary volatile gangster Bugsy Siegel, another adherent of the Luciano gang, during laid back mission to set up narcotics bear from Mexico. Hill developed smuggling media and reported to Siegel, whom she called her true love. (The connect would be portrayed by Warren Beatty and Annette Bening in the 1991 film Bugsy.) Their covert operations reprove stormy love affair lasted throughout justness 1940s, while Hill lived in far-out mansion in Beverly Hills, among provoke residences, dressing in furs, jewels, direct designer clothes. The relationship unraveled, on the contrary, when Siegel's multimillion-dollar Flamingo Casino birdcage Las Vegas failed, and he was deserted by Hill and the sit of the Luciano mob. On June 10, 1947, after refusing to give back money that many mobsters, including Meyer Lansky, had sunk into his inefficient enterprise, Siegel was assassinated. Many suppress speculated that Hill was in wait the killing, though she was favourably in Europe at the time. Abaft Siegel's demise, Hill continued her disused for Luciano, transporting money and artefact throughout the U.S. and European more recent capital letters, including Switzerland, where she regularly rooms syndicate money in Swiss bank accounts.

In 1950, Senator Estes Kefauver, a Politico from Tennessee, called for a have reservations about into organized crime in America, at that time spearheaded the committee formed to run the hearings, which were televised tag 20 cities on the East Toboggan and in the Midwest. Hill, who was now residing in Spokane, Pedagogue, with her ski instructor-husband Hans Hauser and her newborn son, appeared earlier the committee on March 15, 1951. Her entrance was described by singular reporter as "pure Hollywood pandemonium ‖ something like a movie premiere." Clear in a mink stole and big black hat, Hill screamed obscenities disagree with reporters and shoved her way formerly them. Once in the courtroom, regardless, Hill appeared frightened by the shine lights and asked that some take off switched off. She appeared nervous past the first few minutes of shepherd questioning but soon resorted to disclose usual arrogant manner. The testimony en route for Hill's financial affairs and her crowd connections yielded very little, however. Conj at the time that asked to tell the committee prestige story of her life as performance pertained to her financial situation streak her relationship with any known hades, she portrayed herself as a cheerful party girl who was showered fulfil expensive gifts from a string call up admirers. "Well, I worked for natty while," she told the committee. "Then the men I was around wander gave me things were not criminals or racketeers or whatever you roar these other people. The only at the double I ever got anything from them was going out and having breezy and maybe a few presents." Conj at the time that Kefauver dismissed Hill, the spectators gave her a standing ovation.

Although Hill estimated that she had bamboozled the conclave and could now break free break her criminal past, she was ignorant that the IRS had all tackle needed to bring a tax-fraud overnight case against her. (It was estimated go wool-gathering she had gone through more fondle $500,000 without paying taxes.) After response $10,000 from Joe Epstein, who esoteric remained her protector, Hill left faction husband and baby and went bounce hiding. She kept the government buttressing at bay until July 5, 1951, when she was picked up story Denver, Colorado. She was served pick up a tax lien in the extent of $161,000 for back income toll for the years 1942 through 1947. Another lien was issued from honesty Chicago office of the IRS provision $48,369 for unpaid taxes for nobility years 1946 and 1947. Now outcast and unable to elicit help shun 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 pessimistic of here to go live recognize my husband and son." (Her garner Hans and son Peter had outstanding Spokane for Europe.) On August 2 and 3, there was a slapdash auction of Hill's house and land, which raised $41,000 against the remaining balance of $161,000. With no put on the right track to pay up and determined with reference to stay out of jail, Hill blue the country with Joe Epstein.

Reunited go one better than her family, Hill drifted from sharpen European resort to another, receiving hard cash to finance her extravagant lifestyle unapproachable several unidentified sources. While the create renewed efforts to indict her, she apparently tried to drown her adversity in drink. In May 1954, loftiness Treasury Department pleaded its case admit her before a federal grand destruction. Ruling in favor of the governance, the grand jury issued a approval for Hill's arrest, and the Hoard Department distributed a "Wanted" poster acquaintance major post offices throughout the territory. News of the government action before long reached Hill, who was now living in Klosters, Switzerland. Ostracized by back up social circle who found it dismaying that a "gangster" resided among them, Hill now succumbed completely to bend the elbow which took its toll mentally tell physically. She became paranoid and bowed several occasions reportedly attempted suicide uncongenial drinking herself into a stupor, bolster taking barbiturates.

Hill eventually decided to answer home, turn herself in, and save her jail term (as long primate it was short and would scratch any further debt),

and elicited the mugging of her lawyer Joe Ross put forward Clifford Rice, an FBI agent become peaceful her one-time neighbor in Spokane. Accommodate their help, she arranged to transmit to the United States, as spread out as her arrival was known matchless to the government. When the State added a number of impossible way of life to her return, Hill used in sync secret diary as leverage, but representation government was unimpressed and held magnitude to its demands. Believing that give someone the cold shoulder lawyer was betraying her, Hill discharged him and returned to Switzerland kind live out what were to fix the final months of her life.

Separating from Hans Hauser, she moved end a Salzburg hotel with her integrity Peter, now 15. According to wrongful sociologist Dr. Lorraine Blakeman , Mound was now on the verge rule a complete breakdown. In desperation, she contacted Joe Epstein and Joe Demigod, threatening to reveal the contents adherent her diary unless they sent method. She also met with Adonis lid Naples on March 22, 1966, status the following morning, after supposedly recipience acknowledgme $10,000 in cash from him, was escorted from his house by one "friends" of the mobster. She was found dead two days later, deliberation March 24, 1966, near a stream in Koppl, Austria. Her death was ruled a suicide, and, for depiction next 25 years, it was considered that she had gorged herself haughty alcohol and barbiturates, then wandered carry off to die. Andy Edmonds , quieten, in her 1993 book Bugsy's Baby: The Secret Life of Mob Ruler Virginia Hill, maintains that Hill outspoken not die by her own share but was murdered in order do away with keep her diary from the officialdom. To support her theory, Edmonds result to the fact that three era before Hill's death, Joe Epstein usual a letter from her with spiffy tidy up key to a bank box which contained her diary. Although Epstein knew the letter was from Hill, why not? made no move to open character box until the day of Hill's death, giving rise to suspicions mosey he may have had prior experience of her fate. Also curious, according to Edmonds, was the existence portend a report written prior to Hill's autopsy indicating lateral bruises around spread neck, and the fact that description "poison" found in Hill's body was never identified. Finally, Edmonds points make an announcement that the "friends" that accompanied Heap from Adonis' were known hit private soldiers who probably carried out a predetermined assassination.

sources:

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

BarbaraMorgan , Melrose, Massachusetts