All language subtitles for Expedition.Files.S04E04.720p.HEVC.x265-MeGusta[EZTVx.to]

On this episode of "expedition files"...

Noah's ark, the story of a man
saving the world's creatures

from an apocalyptic
flood is one of the Bible's

most epic tales.

But is it an allegory, or is it based in fact?

Now, a jaw-dropping discovery
in the mountains of Turkey

suggests the legendary
ark may have been found.

Then, in the aftermath of
9/11, the 2001 Anthrax attacks

spread fear across america.

The sender of the deadly
letters remains unknown

until the FBI uncovers a
culprit no one expected.

And in the 1940s, mobster
bugsy Siegel is gunned down

in his Beverly Hills mansion.

For decades, his killer
remains one of the underworld's

best-kept secrets, until
an unpublished memoir

threatens to expose

the betrayal that brought him down.

In the corridors of time

are mysteries that defy explanation.

Now, I'm traveling through history itself

on a search for the truth.

New evidence.

Shocking answers.

I'm Josh gates,

and these

are my "expedition files."

Our high school football coach
had a catchphrase that he'd try

to inspire the team
with before every game.

He'd say, "you know
what makes diamonds?

Pressure."

Did it work? I wouldn't know.

I was metal detecting for
treasure behind the bleachers.

But coach what's-his-name had a point.

The most extreme
situations can lead to the most

extraordinary things.

Tonight, we pressurize three such tales,

multifaceted mysteries
born under the most intense

of circumstances.

We start with a diy project,
created under the most powerful

pressure imaginable, the
impending end of the world.

The vessel behind me is
300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide,

and 30 cubits tall.

Now, you're probably
asking yourself, what the heck

is a cubit?

Well, it's a unit of
measurement recorded in

the book of Genesis,
because this shipbuilder here

is Noah, and that is his
ark. It's a work in progress.

It's also no ordinary boat,
because god himself has

commissioned it to be
big enough to hold two of

every known animal on earth.

And according to scripture,
it's going to be completed just

in time, because the
long term forecast is, well,

let's just say, wet.

Millennia later, biblical scholars

and archaeologists will
scour the globe, searching for

evidence of a great flood
and traces of this fabled ship.

And eventually, on a
remote mountain in Turkey,

an international team of
researchers claim to make

a discovery of biblical proportions.

Could it be the true final
resting place of Noah's ark?

If you're like me, then
it's been a few years

since Sunday school.

So let's crack open the best-selling book

of all time for a quick recap.

In the book of Genesis, god is angry.

No, like really angry.

Much better.

Fed up with the wickedness,
corruption, and violence of

humanity, the rather vengeful
god of the old testament

decides to destroy his
creation and start over.

To kick off humanity 2.0, god picks Noah,

supposedly the only
righteous man on earth.

He comes to him in a vision,

instructing him on how to build

a literal lifeboat for humanity.

Divided into three decks,
with a large door on the side.

Converting our cubits, the
ark is roughly 510 feet long,

85 feet wide, and 51 feet high.

Tradition says Noah builds
the ship with the help of

his three sons, and that
once it's ready, god commands

the animals to gather,

instinctively making their way to the ark.

Noah is going to need every
last inch because god wants

every species on earth on
board, not to mention food

and supplies to ride
out the coming storm.

According to Genesis,
building the ark takes

around 100 years.

Noah is a spry 600-years-young
when the rain starts.

Accompanied by his wife, three sons,

their wives, and the
huge animal menagerie,

Noah hunkers down
for the end of the world.

For the next 40 days and
40 nights, a monstrous storm

devastates the earth.

The waters rise and all land disappears.

Scripture says after about a year adrift,

the waters recede.

And the boat comes to rest
on the mountains of ararat.

When Noah releases a
dove and it returns clutching

a freshly plucked olive
leaf, it's proof that land

and life are reemerging.

Humanity has its do-over.

Sure, there are plot holes in
this account big enough to sail

an ark through, but that
hasn't stopped countless

biblical scholars and true
believers from investigating

whether elements of the
flood and the ark are based on

verifiable historical events.

In the first century ad, Roman
Jewish historian josephus

links the biblical tale to a strikingly similar

mesopotamian account
carved on Clay tablets

some 2,000 years earlier of a great flood.

He suggests they may
be describing the same

ancient disaster, placing
the resting place of Noah's ark

in the region near the
modern-day borders of Turkey,

Iran, and Armenia, home to
a mountain known as ararat.

In 1829, French and
Armenian mountaineers make

the first recorded ascent of the remote,

nearly 17,000-foot summit,

but they report no sign of the ark.

Almost 50 years later, in 1876,
explorer James Bryce summits

the mountain and is
seemingly more successful,

reportedly returning
with a mysterious piece

of hand-hewn timber

that some will claim
is proof of Noah's ship.

It'll be 15 more minutes.

Then in October 1959,
an event unfolds that some

believe finally reveals
a real sighting of the ark.

So we're just gonna
take off from over here,

head northeast, and then once
we approach around the base of

the ararat, we take a quick look.-

Turkish air force pilot

ilhan durupinar is preparing to fly

a reconnaissance mission
near the Turkish-Iranian border.

As he flies over the
remote wilderness south of

mount ararat, he is
stunned by what looks like

a large rock formation that
seems completely at odds with

the surrounding terrain.

He snaps an aerial photo.

In addition to being about
500 feet long and 150 feet wide,

the formation seems oddly boat-shaped.

The resemblance and
dimensions aren't lost

on durupinar or his superiors.

Immediately, they notify
the Turkish government that

they might have
actually found Noah's ark.

An expedition team is scrambled.

They spend two days
looking for physical evidence of

the wooden ship, excavating
with hand tools, not to mention

other techniques like a little dynamite.

When the dust settles,
no definitive evidence

is found.

Even so, the durupinar site
will continue to fuel debate

for decades to come.

Is something buried
within the hill, or is it just

a strange rock formation?

Eighty years later, the
remote site and mysterious

formation is investigated
once again, this time with

cutting-edge technology.

And the data may show
something truly astonishing,

potential evidence of Noah's ark.

For centuries, biblical
scholars have searched

for evidence of the legendary Noah's ark.

Then, in 2019, radar scientist
Matt Daniels led a modern

expedition to the remote slopes
near Turkey's mount ararat,

where many biblical scholars
suggest the ark came to rest.

And what he discovered
there raised eyebrows.

We took a bunch of technical
experts, 3D laser scanners,

ground-penetrating radar,
all of this technical expertise

to collect data on that site
in the mountains of ararat.

The real purpose of it was
to create a high-definition,

photo realistic model
of the site and figure out

what's underneath the ground.

When we processed the data,
it was shocking because we saw

a lot of different structures,
right angles, things that

look like rooms.

We're like, "well, what is this?"

Like, what's going on here?

Everything points towards keep going.

Matt was intrigued.

The data may indicate
buried man-made structures.

Unfortunately, without permission from

the Turkish government to excavate,

the team is unable to verify

exactly what is buried
under the mountain.

But if it's really Noah's ark,
then the slopes would have to

have been flooded in biblical times.

So is that even possible?

The answer might lie in the black sea,

the nearest large body of
water capable of producing

that kind of flooding.

While mount ararat sits more
than 150 miles away today,

scientists have long questioned
whether ancient geography once

put these two regions
much closer together.

In the 1990s, an international team of

geologists and oceanographers
set out to answer the question,

did the black sea ever
experience a massive flood?

They used seismic soundings,
essentially underwater sonar to

map the seafloor, and then drilled

sediment cores, which
are long cylinders of mud

from the seabed that
preserve a layered record

of the black sea's past.

These cores revealed a
dramatic environmental shift.

In the deepest layers, scientists found

freshwater shells,
evidence that the black sea

was once an isolated freshwater lake.

Then, abruptly, those species
disappeared, replaced by

saltwater marine life.
The only explanation?

Seawater from the mediterranean
broke through, rushing in

and transforming the
lake into a saltwater sea.

The data also suggests the
water level Rose rapidly by

as much as 500 feet.

And radiocarbon dating places
this dramatic event at roughly

7,500 years ago.

According to their analysis,
a rapidly rising black sea

overflowed, dumping the equivalent

of almost 200 Niagara Falls'

worth of water a day

for 300 days, flooding
60,000 square miles,

an area that would have
included mount ararat.

Known as the "black sea deluge
hypothesis," it has been floated

as potential scientific evidence for

the biblical great flood.

And so, in 2021,

an expedition set out to test the theory.

Dr. Faruk Kaya was
the expedition leader on

the 2021 expedition.

So unlike previous
expeditions, the goal of

the 2021 effort was to not find
a boat or structure or man-made

materials, but to see if
there was marine sea life.

Dr. Kaya and his team analyzed
soil samples taken all around

the unusual rock formation.
And what did they find?

So Dr. Kaya and his team
found, through their core samples

and their testing, three different things.

They found organic sea
life, fossilized coral, seashells.

That type of material.

And then they dated this
organic sea life to the time

about the time of the biblical flood.

The slopes near mount ararat
apparently do contain evidence

of ancient marine life.

And while this supports
the conditions required for

the ark to end up there,
searchers are a long way from

proving it actually did.

Soil samples and radar
scans are continuing.

But the only way to know for
sure is to launch a full-scale

excavation of the
mysterious durupinar site.

But given the remote
location near the border of Iran,

and that it's smack in the middle

of a Turkish military zone,

that permission may take a while.

In the meantime, while
researchers hunt for

definitive answers, it's left to the faith of

millions to hold this story afloat.

Fast forward thousands
of years, and we turn from

a biblical flood to a very
different kind of threat.

It's October 15, 2001, four weeks after

the 9/11 attacks shook
america to its core.

And now, another act of terror.

But this doesn't come from the skies.

It comes in the mail.

Envelopes filled with a
mysterious white powder

start arriving at media companies

and congressional offices,

including here at the hart senate building

in Washington, D.C.

Nobody knows it yet, but one
of the most secure buildings

in the country has just been
breached by a silent killer.

Its name? Anthrax.

Over the next two
months, five people will die,

and the FBI will launch one of the largest

criminal investigations in U.S. history.

But, for years, the case will go cold.

That is, until genetic forensics
leads to a stunning revelation

and a suspect the FBI never expected.

Grant Leslie is a new intern

for south Dakota senator Tom daschle.

For her, it's just another
Monday doing her routine task

of collecting and
sorting the incoming mail.

One envelope stands out,
written in what looks like

a child's handwriting.

It's postmarked from
Trenton, New Jersey.

She opens it, accidentally
unleashing terror.

A fine, white powder bursts into the air.

Within minutes, an evacuation is ordered

and the building is locked down.

The fine powder continues
spreading, floating through

corridors and ventilation
systems, traveling

hundreds of feet into
surrounding offices.

Leslie is taken to a secure
area, placed under quarantine,

and started on a powerful
course of antibiotics.

At this point, nobody
knows exactly what's

inside the envelope.

But hours later, the tests
will confirm it's Anthrax.

These microscopic particles
are toxic spores that attack

the body, destroy tissue, and overwhelm

the immune system.

Anthrax is so lethal
that just breathing it in

can be fatal without treatment.

And the office of senator daschle

is not the only target.

A week earlier, Anthrax
spores were sent to

the Florida offices of
the national enquirer.

And Anthrax-laced letters
also arrived at nbc, abc,

CBS, and the New York post.

By the end of November,
five people will be dead.

A photo editor at American media inc.,

two postal workers in Washington, D.C.,

a New York hospital employee,

and an elderly woman in Connecticut,

all attacked through
cross-contaminated mail.

17 more will become infected,
and tens of thousands placed on

antibiotics out of fear
of possible exposure.

Investigators fear that
this is another coordinated

terrorist attack just like 9/11.

And the letters included with
the Anthrax seem to confirm it,

referencing the fateful date

alongside statements
like, "death to america."

To understand what they're
up against, the FBI turns

to the U.S. army medical research
institute of infectious diseases

at fort detrick in Maryland.

One of the first to see
the powder up close is

microbiologist Dr. Bruce
ivins, a top army Anthrax expert.

He notes that the sample
is a dry, ultra-fine powder,

so light it practically floats in the bag.

His conclusion?

This isn't the product of some amateur.

It's an expertly crafted biological weapon.

The powder is sent to a
specialized lab in Arizona,

where scientists identify it
as the particularly virulent

ames strain of Anthrax.

First isolated in 1981,
this particular strain was

distributed only to a handful
of military and government labs

for vaccines and
biological defense research.

This revelation sends shock waves

- through the investigation.
- No.

Instead of an organized terrorist network,

the evidence now suggests
that this was an inside job.

In a horrifying irony, it seems
one of the very labs tasked

with preventing Anthrax
from being used as a weapon

instead unleashed it.

The FBI builds a profile of the suspect,

perhaps a scientist with access
to the ames strain of Anthrax,

but also someone isolated, obsessive,

and fueled by grievance.

The envelopes were postmarked
in Trenton, New Jersey.

So the FBI and postal
inspectors launch an exhaustive

operation, swabbing more
than 600 mailboxes in the region.

And eventually, they'll get a hit.

This mailbox in nearby
Princeton tests positive

for Anthrax.

So, this is where the attack began.

But who is the mastermind behind it?

One name emerges that
seems to fit the FBI's profile,

Dr. Steven hat fill,

a virologist and former
army bio defense expert

from nearby Maryland.

He works at the army's
institute of infectious diseases

until 1999, where he
could have accessed

the ames Anthrax strain.

After leaving the institute,
hat fill goes to work for

a military contractor, maintaining ties to

the bio defense world.

During this period, he
also commissions a report

detailing how Anthrax could
be delivered through the mail.

And records show that
hat fill had also recently filled

a prescription for the antibiotic cipro,

commonly used to treat Anthrax
exposure, raising suspicions

that he may have been
trying to protect himself.

As investigators begin
connecting these dots,

scrutiny intensifies.

And soon, details of the
Anthrax investigation leak

into the media, placing
hat fill at the center of

a rapidly growing
storm of public suspicion.

In June, 2002, the FBI raids
hatfill's home, searching for

traces of the Anthrax spores

or the equipment used to produce them.

They even drain this nearby
pond, where they suspect

hat fill may have
dumped his lab equipment

or other evidence.

After pumping out
50,000 gallons of water,

they do recover one
thing, but far from being

incriminating, it turns
out to be a turtle trap.

In fact, not a scrap of
physical evidence ever links

Dr. Steven hat fill to the attacks.

After six years under
a cloud of suspicion,

the government
officially clears his name.

He then sues the
department of justice for

violating his privacy
and wins $5.8 million.

With hat fill no longer a suspect,

the investigation reaches an impasse.

But then, in 2007, a
scientific breakthrough

enables the FBI to track
the Anthrax spores from

the original letters back
to a single laboratory flask

and to a suspect who had
been right under their noses

from the very beginning.

For years, the FBI's hunt for
the culprit behind the deadly

2001 Anthrax attacks went nowhere.

That is, until science opened
a new path, a genetic trail

hidden in the Anthrax spores themselves.

Investigative journalist
Gregory Gordon reveals how

scientists used microscopic
evidence to close the case.

Looking at these
samples of Anthrax again

and again, they identified

some mutations in these
spores, and they thought maybe

this could be a genetic marker.

And so they searched for these
mutations in all 1,070 samples

in the FBI repository.
This took five to six years.

They finally concluded
that these mutations were

leading them to a specific
flask at fort detrick, Maryland,

the bio weapons lab.

And the owner of that flask?

- Dr. Bruce ivins.
- I don't know.

Remember him?

One of the army's top Anthrax
vaccine experts and a close

adviser to the FBI on this
case from the very beginning.

- You have to believe me.
- Now, they had to ask

a chilling question.

Was he a trusted partner,
or was he the enemy within?

Bruce ivins had a stellar reputation in

the bio defense community.

And in fact, the Pentagon had
given him a civilian award for

his work in trying to develop
vaccines to defend against

an Anthrax attack.

But in the late 1990s and
early 2000s, the funding for

ivins' program was disappearing.

And so he was kind of in a panic.

His life's work was about to disappear.

The motive that began
to emerge was something

all too simple... money.

To be exact, more funding
for ivins' bio defense research.

After the letters were
discovered and fear was

sweeping the nation,
people were afraid to even

open their mail.

There was suddenly a rejuvenation of

support for a next-generation
Anthrax vaccine,

and it was all systems go.

The program was rejuvenated.

He was back on track.

Motive? Check.

But what about means and opportunity?

And then ivins' lab records,

to the pique of investigators,

showed that in the weeks
before the first Anthrax letters were

mailed, he had spent dozens
of hours late at night working

all by himself without
any real good explanation.

So outside of the lab,

investigators found he had
been plagued with behavioral

and mental health
problems for much of his life.

He had had bouts of very
severe anger and obsession.

There was a dark side that
was dragging Bruce ivins down.

The FBI places ivins under surveillance.

They search his home,
monitor his emails,

and then deliver the final
blow, suspending his security

clearance, cutting him off
from the lab and his life's work.

In the weeks that follow,
ivins begins to unravel.

During a group therapy session,
the pressure on him becomes

too much and he
allegedly threatens to go out

in a Blaze of glory.

He was sinking into depression
as this investigation drew

to a climax.

He talked about the fact that
he was gonna end up being

the blood sacrifice of
this gigantic investigation.

He made all kinds of veiled
threats to the point where

his therapists were reporting
him to law enforcement.

But in midsummer 2008,
there was a tragic turn

in the case.

On the 29th of July,
Bruce ivins was found dead

of an overdose.

A week later, the FBI
closes the case, declaring him

the sole perpetrator. But was he?

If you look back at the
totality of the evidence,

his bizarre behavior and
his murderous threats,

and perhaps most importantly
of all, the science that it

pointed back to his flask.

It's a big arrow pointing at Bruce ivins.

- No question about that.
- Despite all the signs

pointing to Bruce ivins, doubts persist.

He denied the charges
to the end, and there was

no physical evidence tying
him to the Princeton mailbox.

Some of his colleagues also
insist he lacked the expertise

to produce such weaponized spores.

A report by the national
academy of sciences

even challenges the
claim that the Anthrax strain

came from his flask.

The FBI, though, is
convinced they got their man.

So did they?

Well, perhaps the
ultimate proof is in the mail.

Since 2001, america has
never been attacked by

weaponized Anthrax again.

It's June 20, 1947. I'm in Beverly Hills.

And this here is
Benjamin "bugsy" Siegel,

the man who put Las Vegas on the map.

He's famous for his movie
star good looks and penchant for

partying with cinema royalty.

Heck, one day, Warren
Beatty will play bugsy on

the big screen.

He's also infamous for shaking
down bookies, extorting rivals,

and murdering enemies.

But tonight, bugsy's colorful
life will come to a brutal end.

Soon, gunfire will rip through the night

and rip through Siegel.

His murder will inspire decades
of speculation, but no one will

ever be charged with the crime.

And then, some 70 years later,
a shocking claim might rewrite

everything we thought we knew

about the mob, the man, and his murder.

Brooklyn, New York, 1920.

Benjamin Siegel grows up
in a poor, Russian-Jewish

immigrant family and hates the life

of back-breaking labor waiting for him.

On the streets, he finds another path.

Siegel starts running his own
gang and becomes known for

a violent temper so explosive,

friends call him "crazy as a bed bug."

And the name sticks, bugsy.

He teams up with two gangsters,

meyer lansky and moe sedway,

building a ruthless
prohibition-era operation,

bootlegging, gambling,

and murder for hire.

Lansky is the brains.
Bugsy is the muscle.

Sedway is the loyal lieutenant.

Together, they help build
the national crime syndicate,

a loose alliance of mob
leaders meant to reduce turf wars

and run organized crime
more like a business.

In 1931, bugsy makes
his boldest power move yet,

when he brazenly guns
down feared sicilian gangster

giuseppe "Joe the boss" masseria.

With masseria gone,
bugsy and his partners rise

fast in the new mob order,
establishing a notorious

hit squad known as murder,
inc. Bugsy's power is growing.

But as the bodies stack
up, he's making some

serious enemies.

Soon, this titan of terror's
own blood will be spilled,

igniting a mystery lasting 60 years.

In the mid-1930s, gangster bugsy Siegel

moves to Los Angeles.

Wearing tailored suits,
with a matinee-idol grin,

the ruthless hitman
looks like he belongs on

the silver screen.

He even parties with Hollywood a-listers

like Clark gable and Jean Harlow.

But behind the scenes,
he's laying the groundwork for

a mafia takeover of the
west coast underworld.

Acting on behalf of the
national crime syndicate,

he pushes into the Los Angeles
rackets it wants to control,

from horse betting and illegal casinos

to prostitution rings,

demanding a cut of the profits.

Anyone who resists?

Well, let's just say bugsy

makes them an offer they can't refuse.

Bugsy takes up with Virginia hill,

a fiery southern belle,

mob courier, and
wannabe Hollywood starlet.

Their relationship is passionate
but notoriously turbulent,

marked by her wild
spending, screaming matches,

and even allegations of physical abuse.

But for all their chaos,
bugsy and Virginia share

a driving ambition

and a gambler's hunger
for high-stakes glory.

By the 1940s, bugsy is looking
beyond Hollywood for new

money-making opportunities,
and he finds them in Las Vegas.

What began as a dusty railroad
stop deep in the mojave desert

is now a city on the rise,
powered by cheap electricity

from the nearby hoover dam
and a wartime influx of workers

and more than 10,000 servicemen
stationed at a nearby base,

all eager for entertainment.

With gambling legal in
Nevada, the timing is perfect.

The once sleepy casinos along
fremont street now Blaze with

neon lights, drawing in young
gis ready to test their luck.

But to Siegel, Vegas still
lacks one thing, glamor.

He believes a luxury hotel
and casino, one worthy of

movie stars and wealthy high rollers,

could transform Las Vegas from

a frontier town into a
world-class destination.

Siegel convinces meyer lansky
and other east coast bosses to

bankroll a bold, new
venture, the flamingo hotel,

a lavish mob-financed gambling palace

rising from the Nevada desert.

Bugsy even brings in his old
New York pal, moe sedway,

to help him run the operation.

Together, they envision the
flamingo as the crown Jewel

of a new criminal empire and a source of

enormous riches.

But by the time the flamingo
opens in December 1946,

construction costs
have ballooned to over

a million dollars.

Even worse, the hotel
tanks on opening night.

The Vegas dream Siegel
sold to the mob has become

a financial nightmare.

Some of bugsy's associates,
including his former

best friend meyer
lansky and moe sedway,

suspect him of bungling their
investment, or even worse,

stealing the cash for himself.

Six months later, on the
night of June 20, 1947,

Siegel is back in L.A.

Bugsy and his friend and
mob associate, Allen smiley,

quietly read the la times,

unaware that tomorrow
they'll be front page news.

Just after 10:45 pm...

nine shots rip through

the living room window from outside.

Four of them hit bugsy.

One bullet tears through
his cheek and explodes

his left eye out of his
socket. He dies instantly.

Smiley survives with
just a graze on his arm.

But he doesn't get a look at
the shooter, who leaves behind

no trace other than
30-caliber shell casings

in the front yard,
suggesting a military-issue

m1 carbine rifle may
be the murder weapon.

With little evidence, Siegel's
murder becomes one of

the greatest unprosecuted
cases in American mob history.

Decades later, though,
explosive claims will

emerge, and the revelation
of a culprit no one saw coming.

After being gunned down
in his home in cold blood,

the murder of gangster
bugsy Siegel sits unsolved

for 60 years.

But now Claire white,
director of education at

the mob museum in Las Vegas,
believes new testimony reveals

the shocking truth of who
was actually behind the hit.

What's so fascinating about
Siegel's death is he is killed

with this military-grade rifle.

That's very uncommon
for mob hits at the time.

And he has so many
enemies, even more so

than your average mobster.

And that really does call into question

who committed this and why.

Who knew exactly where
Siegel would be that night,

when he'd be in his living
room, planted on that couch?

Some point the finger at the
person who knew him best,

his longtime girlfriend, Virginia hill.

After all, their relationship
was famously volatile.

And then there's this
rather suspicious detail.

Virginia's brother, chick
hill, who was living in.

Siegel's house at the
time and home that night,

was conveniently out of harm's
way when the shots rang out.

By this point in hill and
Siegel's relationship,

by all accounts, by all
witnesses, this is truly

an abusive relationship.

There are people going on
record saying that they have

seen hill with bruises,
they're fighting constantly,

screaming, in a way that
people are taking notice.

They know who did it.

Just a few weeks prior, in
Las Vegas, another mobster,

a man named Bernie sindler,
says that he overheard Virginia hill

and bugsy Siegel fighting,
and then later overheard

Virginia hill discussing
this with her brother.

Not chick hill.

This is another brother
with military experience.

And her brother essentially
saying, like, "if he lays

his hands on you one more
time, I'm gonna kill him."

The night of Siegel's death,
chick hill, her other brother,

is there in the house.
Maybe he's the one

who pulled open the curtain,
making it possible for someone

with a military background,
which both of Virginia hill's

brothers have, to come up
and take Siegel out for the way

that he treated their sister.

So did Virginia's brothers
decide bugsy had it coming?

It's a tempting theory,

but most experts say it doesn't hold up.

There are people who put
stock in this theory, but why aren't

the hill brothers taken
out or at least reprimanded

in some way if this was a
unsanctioned hit on one of

the higher-ranking mobsters
on the west coast, then why didn't

the mob in any way retaliate?

There's no indication
that the mob thought that

the hill brothers were
responsible, and I think equally

importantly, it doesn't seem
like law enforcement thinks

that the hill brothers are responsible.

Nothing happens to
any of the hill brothers.

But for me, the biggest
problem with the theory that

Virginia hill's brothers
took out bugsy Siegel

is what happens minutes
after Siegel is killed in L.A.

300 miles away in Las Vegas,
on the evening of June 20th,

moe sedway and Gus
greenbaum walk out onto the floor of

the flamingo, and moe sedway
says, "I'm in charge now."

How could sedway have
known if the mob wasn't at least

in some way responsible
for Siegel's death?

Unlike bugsy, who loved the spotlight,

moe sedway had a quiet
demeanor and knew how to fly

under the radar.

Could he really have organized
the murder of his old friend?

Well, it turns out there is
fresh, shocking testimony that

could answer this
question. And the source?

Moe's own wife.

Robbie sedway, the son of
moe sedway and his wife be a,

comes forward saying that
be a sedway was working

on her memoir.

And in it, she was going
to explain what happened

on the night of June 20,
1947, and tell the world

who killed Benjamin "bugsy" Siegel.

Bea passed away in 1999,
but her unpublished memoir

reportedly contained a
bombshell, namely that before

he was killed, bugsy Siegel
was planning to murder

her husband, moe.

In her account, moe uncovered
evidence that Siegel was

recklessly overspending
and even stealing from

the flamingo project and snitched on him

to syndicate leaders.

When Siegel learned
moe had exposed him,

he began plotting revenge.

Knowing his life was in danger,
moe turned to the syndicate

once more and received
their blessing to take out

Siegel in order to protect himself.

If moe was the man behind
the hit, it would certainly

explain why he and his
buddies were so prepared

to take over the flamingo.

But even if the story is true,
moe was 300 miles away in Vegas

when it all went down.

So then, who actually pulled the trigger?

According to bea's manuscript,
the person who killed

bugsy Siegel is a man named
Matthew "moose" pandza.

Moose is bea's lover.

Moose became a bodyguard
sometimes for moe.

And it would make a lot of
sense that that is who they

would task with taking out Siegel.

Moose was a hunter.

He was allegedly a very good shot.

And according to be a, he
borrowed the m1 carbine from

a friend of his who'd
just returned from the war.

Apparently the night of
the crime, he tiptoes up to

the window, opens fire...

and then quickly hightails
it to Santa Monica,

where he breaks apart
the gun, throws the barrel

into the ocean, and
throws the butt up onto

a rooftop of one of the buildings.

So, did be a sedway's
proposed memoir solve

one of the most famous mob
mysteries in American history?

With everyone directly
connected to bugsy long gone,

we may never know for sure.

And there are no shortage
of alternate theories for

who orchestrated the hit
on Siegel, including his own

girlfriend, Virginia hill.

There's also a curious
footnote to this story.

After her husband,
moe, died, be a sedway

married the supposed
trigger man, moose pandza.

I guess when it comes to
the mob, there's nothing more

romantic than a good,
old-fashioned assassination.

I'm Josh gates, and I'll see
you on the next expedition.