What Jewish American mobster was the inspiration for a major character in "The Godfather"?
Bugsy Siegel Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (February 28, 1906 – June 20, 1947) was a Jewish American mobster. Siegel was known as one of the most "infamous and feared gangsters of his day". Described as handsome and charismatic, he became one of the first front-page celebrity gangsters. He was also a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Siegel was not only influential within the Jewish mob but, like his friend and fellow gangster Meyer Lansky, he also held significant influence within the Italian-American Mafia and the largely Italian-Jewish National Crime Syndicate.
Frank Zito Frank Zito (February 24, 1893 – August 22, 1974) was an Sicilian-American mobster who controlled criminal activities in Central and Southern Illinois for over twenty years, providing protection from law enforcement and rival competitors from his base of operations in Springfield, Illinois. It can be debated if Zito was head of his own crime family or, he may have been a powerful capo of the Chicago Outfit with his own crew based in Central Illinois. This information is unclear and it seems as though the files on Mr. Zito lack the investigatory evidence that he was in fact the "Godfather of the Prairie." In any case, Zito was a very powerful force in Springfield and the Central and Southern areas of Illinois.