Bugsy Siegel takes a turn in the second season of Boardwalk Empire -- and to one Atlantic writer, he still represents a striking historic figure -- not just as a mobster, but as a Jewish mobster:
Zegen, a young Jewish actor from the suburbs of Jersey, will be playing Bugsy Siegel in the second season of HBO's Boardwalk Empire. Ben Siegel, nicknamed Bugsy because people said he was crazier than a bedbug, is one of the most infamous Jewish gangsters. His life story is a mix of fact, fiction, and tragedy, and his murder came before he could see the full fruition of his dream—turning a patch of Nevada desert into a profitable gambling Mecca.