Sold For $118,009
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Incredibly early Prohibition-era pearl-finish 5.5 x 3.5 official mug shot photograph of legendary mobster Bugsy Siegel, pictured at the age of 22 in profile and front-facing views. The reverse bears a booking form from the “Bureau of Police, Philadelphia,’ which is filled out in a clerical hand and contains the following information: Name (“Benjamin Sagal”), Alias (“Segal, Siegal”), Age (“26”), Height (“5 ft, 8 ¼ in.”), Weight (“161 ½”), Build (“Med”), Hair (“Dark Brown”), Eyes (“Gr + Blue”), Complexion (“Med Dk”), Born (“N.Y.C.”), Occupation (“Auto Delivery”), Date of Arrest (“4/12/28”), Officer (“Det. Bur.”), and Remarks (“Susp. char.”).” In very good to fine condition, with scattered small creases.
While many have assumed that the New York Police Department took this mug shot, Benjamin ‘Bugsy’ Siegel was actually arrested in Philadelphia in April 1928 for being a suspicious character. In addition to lying about his age, Bugsy also told the authorities that he was in the auto livery business when, in reality, he and Meyer Lansky were running a bootlegging gang in New York City at the time. An amazing piece of criminalia that represents the earliest known arrest photograph of Bugsy Siegel.
