Mystery Location No. 7: June 19, 2016

Second Clue: kitchen knife

The location is the Greenbaum murder house at 1115 West Monte Vista, Phoenix, Arizona. (A phoenix is a bird that rises from the ashes.)

On December 2, 1958, Gus and Bess Greenbaum were murdered with a kitchen knife. Their throats were cut and Gus was almost decapitated.

Gus was connected and had worked with the Chicago Outfit during Prohibition. He managed The Flamingo Hotel Casino after Bugsy Siegal was wacked and made it profitable again. Gus was respected and rubbed shoulders with VIPs like presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.

Gus was planning to retire when he was asked to manage The Riviera Casino for Tony "The Big Tuna" Accardo, but Gus refused. In April of 1955, his sister-in-law, the wife of his brother, was murdered in her bed and Gus knew that he had no choice but to manage The Riviera.

The Mob expected managers to skim, but some thought that Gus's skimming and womanizing were getting out of hand, so both Gus and his wife were wacked. Most believe that Meyer Lansky ordered the hit. But don't feel sorry for Gus, he ordered the hits on Tony Brancato and Tony Trombino for robbing a syndicate hotel.

In The Godfather, the character "Moe Greene" was named for Gus Greenbaum and Moe Sedway.

Good work, Jason.