| |
| Moe Greene | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Born | July 8, 1915 Brooklyn, NYC |
| Died | July 1955 Midtown, NYC |
| Affiliation | Roth crime family Corleone crime family Barzini crime family |
| Title(s) | Associate |
Moe Greene was a Jewish-American mobster and casino owner who transformed Las Vegas into a gambling and entertainment mecca. Formerly an executioner for Murder, Inc., he later worked closely with mob bosses Hyman Roth, Tony Molinari, Vito Corleone, and Emilio Barzini, and became a casino owner after planning out the development of the Las Vegas Strip, which became the center of gambling in the United States. Greene owned almost every hotel and casino in the city, and when he refused to sell them off to the Corleone crime family, he was shot in the eye by Aldo Trapani, an Underboss in the family.
Biography[]
Greene was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to Jewish immigrants who came from the Ukraine in 1900. Greene started out in the New York mob of Hyman Roth and later became friends with Don Vito Corleone, who ran molasses with Roth in Prohibition. Around that time, he was also working with The Bugs and Meyer Mob and Murder, Inc., working as an executioner for the latter. In 1945, after the end of World War II, he had become rich enough through the molasses trade to begin planning out a stop-by for G.I.s heading from the east coast back to the west, a dream which became Las Vegas. He built several casinos, nightclubs, and hotels, making tons of money and becoming a casino mogul. He had partnership with the Corleones of the East Coast and the Molinaris of the West Coast, and became one of the richest American entrepreneurs at the time. In 1952, Michael Corleone attempted to buy him out, moving to Nevada from New York City. At the time, Greene had been teaching Fredo Corleone about the casino business. Greene, insulted, refused, and stubbornly told Michael "I made my bones while you were dating cheerleaders!", which caused anger to Michael.
Murder[]
Moe Greene is shot in the head.
In 1955, Michael Corleone ordered Moe Greene to be killed to facilitate the move to Nevada. Greene was getting a massage at Orchid, Inc., guarded by a small army of security guards and police officers. Corleone capo Aldo Trapani robbed The Peak's basement casino in order to draw off the police from protecting Greene, while he rode in a squad car to the masseuse's. Trapani walked up the stairs of the business, unopposed, and took out a Thompson sub-machine gun and shot Moe Greene through the glass. The bullets hit him in the head, some even hitting his right eye. Greene's death was similar to that of Bugsy Siegel, who had died just seven years before. Greene's death enabled the Corleones to move to Nevada unopposed, beginning to prosper from the casinos there.
After his death, Hyman Roth retaliated by attempting to destroy the Corleones by arranging a senate trial against Michael Corleone, and attempting to murder Frank Pentangeli, but he was eventually killed by Dominic and Rocco Lampone.