Virginia Hill
Testified to the Kefauver Committee in New York on 15 March 1951 as Mrs. Virginia Hill Hauser. FBI memoranda of 1946 and 1947 in the Siegel file record surveillance of her and Benjamin Siegel and give a background summary written after Siegel was shot at her Beverly Hills residence.
- Aliases
- Virginia Hill Hauser, Mrs. Hauser
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited records state, each labelled by kind.
On the record
- Birth year: two records — Her own testimony, 15 March 1951 (Part 7, printed page 1145): asked "you were born in 1917?" she answered "1916," and agreed she was born in Alabama. An FBI memorandum of 23 June 1947 says that, according to an affidavit filed with the New York State Liquor Authority, "she stated she was born in Bessemer, Alabama, on August 25, 1917." The two do not agree, and no birth date is set on this page.
- About 1934 — Her own testimony (printed page 1145): "I left home when I was 17, and I went to Chicago."
- 10-11 September 1946 — FBI Los Angeles memo of 12 September 1946 (Vault, Siegel Part 19): a surveillance log of Siegel, "Virginia Hill, et al" on those dates.
- 18 November 1946 — FBI memorandum (Vault, Siegel Part 13): "Benjamin Siegel and Virginia Hill are establishing permanent residence at the Last Frontier Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada," with a recommendation that "the technical on Siegel and Virginia Hill be reinstalled."
- 20 June 1947 — FBI Los Angeles letter of 1 July 1947 (Vault, Siegel Part 30): Siegel was shot in the living room at 810 North Linden Drive, Beverly Hills, "Virginia Hill's residence."
- 23 June 1947 — FBI memorandum (Vault, Siegel Part 28): "Bureau files reflect Virginia Hill is 29 years of age." The memo calls her Siegel's "paramour"; that is the Bureau's word.
- 15 March 1951 — Testified under oath before Senators Kefauver and Tobey at the U.S. Courthouse, Foley Square, New York, with her attorney present (Part 7, pages 1144 to 1170). Asked whether she got money from Siegel, she said: "Ben is his name. Yes; I got money from him" (printed page 1154).
No family or role is set. None of the records filed here gives her a role in any organization, and the FBI’s descriptions of her private life are quoted only where a page needs them, as the Bureau’s words.
Her two birth years are given side by side because the records disagree: her sworn testimony says 1916, and an FBI memo citing her own affidavit says 1917. No death record has been opened. Other witnesses’ characterizations of her in the Kefauver hearings and press clippings in the FBI file are not used. No photograph of her has been cleared for this archive: the Library of Congress print of her at the 1951 hearing carries no “No known restrictions” statement.
Records
itemKefauver Part 7: testimony of Virginia Hill Hauser (15 March 1951)Sworn testimony in New York of Mrs. Virginia Hill Hauser of Spokane, Washington. She gave her birth year as 1916, said Joe Epstein had held her money for years, said her spending came from gifts from Mexican friends she would not name, and said Benjamin Siegel gave her money and paid the down payment on a house in Florida. Pp. 1144-1170.
itemFBI Los Angeles surveillance memo on Siegel and Virginia Hill, 10-11 September 1946 (12 September 1946)A Los Angeles field-office memo to the Special Agent in Charge logging a physical surveillance of Benjamin Siegel, Virginia Hill and others on September 10 and 11, 1946, around Wilshire Boulevard and Beverly Drive.
itemFBI memorandum recommending reinstallation of a technical surveillance on Siegel and Virginia Hill (18 November 1946)An FBI office memorandum from A. Rosen to E. A. Tamm reporting that Benjamin Siegel and Virginia Hill were establishing permanent residence at the Last Frontier Hotel, Las Vegas, and recommending that "the technical on Siegel and Virginia Hill be reinstalled."
itemFBI memorandum on Virginia Hill's age and background after Siegel's death (23 June 1947)A one-page FBI memorandum to Mr. Rosen written three days after Benjamin Siegel was shot. It says Virginia Hill "is 29 years of age," cites an affidavit filed with the New York State Liquor Authority in which she gave her birth as Bessemer, Alabama, August 25, 1917, and calls her Siegel's "paramour."
itemFBI Los Angeles letter to the Director on the killing of Benjamin Siegel (1 July 1947)A Los Angeles Division airmail letter of July 1, 1947 to the FBI Director summarizing what the office had learned about the shooting of Benjamin Siegel on June 20, 1947 at 810 North Linden Drive, Beverly Hills, with the press theories of motive.
itemKefauver Committee hearings, Part 7: New York-New Jersey (1950–1951)Printed hearings of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, Part 7, New York-New Jersey: sessions in Washington and New York, July 1950 to March 1951.
itemFBI Los Angeles surveillance memo on Siegel and Virginia Hill, 10-11 September 1946 (12 September 1946)A Los Angeles field-office memo to the Special Agent in Charge logging a physical surveillance of Benjamin Siegel, Virginia Hill and others on September 10 and 11, 1946, around Wilshire Boulevard and Beverly Drive.itemFBI memorandum recommending reinstallation of a technical surveillance on Siegel and Virginia Hill (18 November 1946)An FBI office memorandum from A. Rosen to E. A. Tamm reporting that Benjamin Siegel and Virginia Hill were establishing permanent residence at the Last Frontier Hotel, Las Vegas, and recommending that "the technical on Siegel and Virginia Hill be reinstalled."itemFBI memorandum on Virginia Hill's age and background after Siegel's death (23 June 1947)A one-page FBI memorandum to Mr. Rosen written three days after Benjamin Siegel was shot. It says Virginia Hill "is 29 years of age," cites an affidavit filed with the New York State Liquor Authority in which she gave her birth as Bessemer, Alabama, August 25, 1917, and calls her Siegel's "paramour."itemFBI Los Angeles letter to the Director on the killing of Benjamin Siegel (1 July 1947)A Los Angeles Division airmail letter of July 1, 1947 to the FBI Director summarizing what the office had learned about the shooting of Benjamin Siegel on June 20, 1947 at 810 North Linden Drive, Beverly Hills, with the press theories of motive.itemKefauver Committee hearings, Part 7: New York-New Jersey (1950–1951)Printed hearings of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, Part 7, New York-New Jersey: sessions in Washington and New York, July 1950 to March 1951.