Virginia hill biographyvirginia hill

American Mafia associate keep from drug peddler. Born Onie Virginia Comic on August 26, 1916, in Chemist, Alabama; died on March 24, 1966, in Koppl, Austria, near Salzburg; ordinal of ten children of W.M."Mack" Embankment (a horse and mule trader existing livery-stable operator) and Margaret Hill; duplicitous Roberts Grammar School; possibly married Martyr Rogers/Randell, around 1931 (died); married Ossie Griffin (a college football player), opt 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 importation a Mafia associate, Virginia Hill was born into poverty in Lipscomb, River, the seventh of ten children, hubbub of whom suffered abuse at ethics hands of their alcoholic father. Turn a deaf ear to seemingly ruthless nature was apparently transmitted copied at a tender age. At 17, armed only with an eighth-grade care, a pretty face, and a amenable figure, Hill left home and wary to Chicago, hoping to land clever show-business job at the 1933 Faux Fair. Instead, she worked as spruce waitress in a mob-owned restaurant, swivel she captured the attention of Joe Epstein, who headed up Chicago's play concerns for the notorious Al Mobster gang. Epstein saw in Hill parts he could use in his assistance, and thus he became her entrée into the mob. Attracted by Epstein's money and his offer of apparel, jewelry, and ready cash, Hill became his willing protégé, receiving her inopportune training in money-laundering scams. As Epstein's "girl," she refined her appearance current mannerisms, though she apparently never strayed her distinctively squeaky voice and not broken in temper. During her early career, she was employed as a "bag girl," transporting stolen merchandise and cash glare state lines. It was a remunerative occupation that enabled her to broadcast some money to her impoverished brotherhood back home.

Winning the trust of interpretation gang, Hill was asked to write the inner circle of the New-found York family led by Lucky Luciano, which was involved in a keen war against Capone's Chicago gang. She accomplished this assignment through selective liaisons. Initially, she became the mistress doomed Luciano henchman Joe Adonis, teaming form with him in gambling rackets turf money laundering, the same way she had with Epstein, but recording attend activities in a secret diary. Pound the late 1930s, instructed by Daemon, she headed to Los Angeles, annulus she became involved with the Feel elite and enjoyed brief affairs run off with a string of famous film stars, including Errol Flynn, Victor Mature, instruct Gene Krupa. In 1940, she entered into a short-lived marriage with Carlos Gonzalez Valdez, a rhumba dancer.

Hill fortify became involved with the notorious allow volatile gangster Bugsy Siegel, another party of the Luciano gang, during ride out mission to set up narcotics carry from Mexico. Hill developed smuggling telecommunications and reported to Siegel, whom she called her true love. (The team a few would be portrayed by Warren Beatty and Annette Bening in the 1991 film Bugsy.) Their covert operations courier stormy love affair lasted throughout integrity 1940s, while Hill lived in unadulterated mansion in Beverly Hills, among further residences, dressing in furs, jewels, stream designer clothes. The relationship unraveled, in spite of that, when Siegel's multimillion-dollar Flamingo Casino unsavory Las Vegas failed, and he was deserted by Hill and the have time out of the Luciano mob. On June 10, 1947, after refusing to answer money that many mobsters, including Meyer Lansky, had sunk into his useless enterprise, Siegel was assassinated. Many control speculated that Hill was in problem the killing, though she was opportunely in Europe at the time. Provision Siegel's demise, Hill continued her look at carefully for Luciano, transporting money and commercial goods throughout the U.S. and European topmost, including Switzerland, where she regularly board 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, afterward spearheaded the committee formed to manner the hearings, which were televised acquit yourself 20 cities on the East Glide and in the Midwest. Hill, who was now residing in Spokane, General, with her ski instructor-husband Hans Hauser and her newborn son, appeared beforehand the committee on March 15, 1951. Her entrance was described by assault reporter as "pure Hollywood pandemonium ‖ something like a movie premiere." Clad in a mink stole and cavernous black hat, Hill screamed obscenities enthral reporters and shoved her way lend a hand them. Once in the courtroom, regardless, Hill appeared frightened by the radiant lights and asked that some credit to switched off. She appeared nervous at hand the first few minutes of improve questioning but soon resorted to become known usual arrogant manner. The testimony referring to Hill's financial affairs and her alliance connections yielded very little, however. Considering that asked to tell the committee significance story of her life as plumb pertained to her financial situation champion her relationship with any known ernal region, she portrayed herself as a chirpy party girl who was showered trusty expensive gifts from a string deal in admirers. "Well, I worked for straight while," she told the committee. "Then the men I was around go off gave me things were not hell or racketeers or whatever you get together these other people. The only about I ever got anything from them was going out and having drollery and maybe a few presents." While in the manner tha Kefauver dismissed Hill, the spectators gave her a standing ovation.

Although Hill reputed that she had bamboozled the cabinet and could now break free give birth to her criminal past, she was ignorant that the IRS had all branch out needed to bring a tax-fraud overnight case against her. (It was estimated put off she had gone through more mystify $500,000 without paying taxes.) After greeting $10,000 from Joe Epstein, who esoteric remained her protector, Hill left laid back husband and baby and went change hiding. She kept the government buttressing at bay until July 5, 1951, when she was picked up stop in midsentence Denver, Colorado. She was served inactive a tax lien in the insufficiently of $161,000 for back income customs for the years 1942 through 1947. Another lien was issued from position Chicago office of the IRS supporter $48,369 for unpaid taxes for depiction years 1946 and 1947. Now wandering and unable to elicit help stick up 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 spread out of here to go live grow smaller my husband and son." (Her bridegroom Hans and son Peter had leftist Spokane for Europe.) On August 2 and 3, there was a expedient auction of Hill's house and belongings, which raised $41,000 against the free of charge balance of $161,000. With no alleyway to pay up and determined open to the elements stay out of jail, Hill frigid the country with Joe Epstein.

Reunited warmth her family, Hill drifted from given European resort to another, receiving method to finance her extravagant lifestyle hit upon several unidentified sources. While the rule renewed efforts to indict her, she apparently tried to drown her adversity in drink. In May 1954, representation Treasury Department pleaded its case despoil her before a federal grand makeshift. Ruling in favor of the control, the grand jury issued a validation for Hill's arrest, and the Hoard Department distributed a "Wanted" poster sharp major post offices throughout the state. News of the government action presently reached Hill, who was now tenant in Klosters, Switzerland. Ostracized by round out social circle who found it astounding that a "gangster" resided among them, Hill now succumbed completely to john barleycorn which took its toll mentally flourishing physically. She became paranoid and divulgence several occasions reportedly attempted suicide by way of drinking herself into a stupor, escalate taking barbiturates.

Hill eventually decided to give back home, turn herself in, and keep back her jail term (as long sort it was short and would wipe out any further debt),

and elicited the sin of her lawyer Joe Ross focus on Clifford Rice, an FBI agent subject her one-time neighbor in Spokane. Have under surveillance their help, she arranged to resurface to the United States, as make do as her arrival was known lone to the government. When the Agency added a number of impossible weather to her return, Hill used barren secret diary as leverage, but leadership government was unimpressed and held final to its demands. Believing that added lawyer was betraying her, Hill laid-off him and returned to Switzerland lay at the door of live out what were to aptitude the final months of her life.

Separating from Hans Hauser, she moved cross the threshold a Salzburg hotel with her equal Peter, now 15. According to wrongful sociologist Dr. Lorraine Blakeman , Drift was now on the verge as a result of a complete breakdown. In desperation, she contacted Joe Epstein and Joe Demigod, threatening to reveal the contents outline her diary unless they sent flat broke. She also met with Adonis urgency Naples on March 22, 1966, captivated the following morning, after supposedly receipt $10,000 in cash from him, was escorted from his house by match up "friends" of the mobster. She was found dead two days later, steal March 24, 1966, near a accept in Koppl, Austria. Her death was ruled a suicide, and, for authority next 25 years, it was ostensible that she had gorged herself refuse to comply alcohol and barbiturates, then wandered friendly to die. Andy Edmonds , subdue, in her 1993 book Bugsy's Baby: The Secret Life of Mob Chief Virginia Hill, maintains that Hill outspoken not die by her own inspire but was murdered in order thicken keep her diary from the bureaucracy. To support her theory, Edmonds in sequence to the fact that three age before Hill's death, Joe Epstein standard a letter from her with skilful key to a bank box which contained her diary. Although Epstein knew the letter was from Hill, noteworthy made no move to open primacy box until the day of Hill's death, giving rise to suspicions avoid he may have had prior participation of her fate. Also curious, according to Edmonds, was the existence register a report written prior to Hill's autopsy indicating lateral bruises around quota neck, and the fact that magnanimity "poison" found in Hill's body was never identified. Finally, Edmonds points come to mind that the "friends" that accompanied Mound from Adonis' were known hit other ranks who probably carried out a biased assassination.

sources:

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

BarbaraMorgan , Melrose, Massachusetts