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BUGSY SIEGEL'S GREEN VELOUR FEDORA

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:2,500.00 - 3,500.00 USD
BUGSY SIEGEL'S GREEN VELOUR FEDORA
BENJAMIN "BUGSY" SIEGEL (1906-1947) American mobster who early on teamed up with Meyer Lansky and Charlie "Lucky" Luciano. Siegel founded what became known as "Murder, Inc.", a group of hired guns enforcing discipline in Luciano's national crime syndicate, with Siegel himself carrying out a number of "hits". As pressure built, Siegel went to the West Coast where he established himself with the help of his longtime friend, George Raft. In the mid-1940's, Siegel used syndicate money to build the first large-scale hotel/casino in Las Vegas, the Flamingo. The hotel's botched opening caused Luciano to demand the return of his investment, and when Siegel refused, Luciano arranged his execution. An exciting, excessively rare crime relic, the green velour fedora owned and worn by mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel in his prime, given to his long-time close friend, actor George Raft! The dark-green lined hat was made by Metro Felts, New York, with a wide, black band and curled rim. The hat's provenance is quite interesting: it was obtained from 40-year veteran talk-show host Joe Franklin, whose signed and notarized letter of provenance accompanies the hat, and reads in part: "…[the hat] was obtained from actor George Raft PERSONALLY by me…in 1968 over dinner [in New York]…I proudly counted Raft among my top 10 friends in show business…Raft told me that this hat was given as a gift to him by his old friend Benjamin Siegel in Los Angeles in approximately 1945. The hat…belonged to Siegel and was given to Raft when the latter expressed his admiration of it…the aforementioned item is the original and 100% authentic…". The hat is in fine condition and would be a fine addition to any crime collection!