Inside millionaire Mafia mansions from estate dubbed ‘White House’ to £15m home where Murder Inc. mobster was shot dead
SOME of the world’s most notorious crime bosses have come home to incredible million-dollar mansions, used them to escape, and even died in them.
One was even modelled after the White House and another belonged to the mistress of the mobster boss who was shot there.
Many of the impressive mafia mansions are now private residences in affluent areas of the US.
Some were used by the criminal masterminds as family homes and others to conduct business.
A lot of them boast impressive pools, a huge number of rooms, beautiful gardens and hefty price tags.
And some of the mafia bosses even died in the luxurious homes.
PAUL CASTELLANO’S ‘WHITE HOUSE’
Staten Island’s Todt Hill – the highest naturally occurring point on the entire East Coast – is home to a 33,000 square foot mansion dubbed the “White House”.
Once home to infamous crime family boss Paul Castellano – the luxurious home was designed to resemble the President’s Washington D.C. residence.
The Gambino crime lord called it home until 1980 – when he was shot down outside of a New York restaurant.
Marked by the iconic white pillars reminiscent of the White House, with impressive balconies, four floors and two pools – it’s no wonder the property earnt a notorious nickname in the neighbourhood.
BUGSY SIEGEL’S BILLIONAIRE BOLTHOLE
Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, one of the most infamous gangsters of all time, founded Murder Inc.
The womanising mobster, immortalised by Warren Beatty in his Oscar–winning 1991 movie Bugsy, was known as one of the most “infamous and feared gangsters of his day”.
He was one of the founders and leaders of the organised crime group, Murder Inc. and became a bootlegger within several major East Coast cities, before eventually heading west to lead criminal operations in Hollywood and Las Vegas.
He built a huge mansion in California in the 1930s and the almost two acre, five-bedroom property boasted all the luxuries he, his wife and kids could want.
It boasted a swimming pool, perfectly kept gardens, six vanity rooms and a dining room that could fit 30.
He also had a trap door built into the attic which enabled him to avoid arrest several times.
While Siegel was eventually arrested for murder ion 1940 – he was acquitted.
But on June 20, 1947, Siegel, 41, was sitting in his girlfriend’s Beverly Hills mansion reading a newspaper when an unknown assailant fired multiple shots through the window, killing one of the most notorious American gangsters.
It was reportedly the home he rented for his mistress, which was put on the market for over £15 million in 2022.
AL CAPONE’S FLORIDA FORTRESS
Nestled on Palm Island in Miami Beach, the notorious gangster’s impressive mansion was snapped up at the height of his criminal success in 1928.
A Mediterranean-style villa, the vast Florida home is decked out with a pool, multiple buildings, lush greenery, high walls and a gatehouse.
Capone reportedly spent over £100,000 improving it, installing lights, and a seven-foot high wall to improve security.
He was the most infamous gangster during the Prohibition, and led bootlegging, gambling and prostitution operations.
It is rumoured that the house also came with secret tunnels and passageways which Al Capone used to avoid cops and enemies.
A bolthole escape from his criminal activities in prohibition-era Chicago, the home played host to countless infamous parties.
Although renovated in 2015, many of the 30,000-foot house’s original features apparently remain intact.
Capone spent the last years of his life, released from prison and sick, in the mansion with his wife and grandchildren before he died from heart failure.
PABLO ESCOBAR’S MEGA HOME HAUL
Pablo Escobar, notorious Colombian drug lord, was the wealthiest criminal in history dubbed “the king of cocaine”.
Escobar’s business was so big and so that in addition to planes, helicopters, cars, trucks, and boats, he even bought two submarines for transporting his cocaine into the US.
Many of his properties had hidden stashes of cash and jewellery.
The FBI were especially intrigued by his pink mansion in Miami beach, apparently worth around £13 million.
He was shot in the head by Colombian police the day after his 44th birthday after escaping prison.
But one of his sprawling properties has since been turned into a luxury hotel.
For over a decade the drug lord’s mansion in Tulum, Mexico sat empty – but it was renovated and transformed by art dealer Lio Lamca to become the Casa Malca.
From £395 a night, guests can spend the night in the stunning property.
Locals claim the “King of Cocaine”, who headed up the Medellin Cartel that brought in more than £54million per day, built the white-washed house in the 1980s.
With an estimated worth of £24billion, Escobar made the Forbes’ billionaires list of the world’s richest people seven years in a row beginning in 1987.