Who Was Susan Berman’s Father? Slain Writer’s Dad Was in Mob

Calling all true crime lovers! Oxygen is coming in major clutch to satisfy our fix for crime stories via the new show Blood & Money.

The 10-episode series is set to highlight several stories that fall under the genre — think crimes motivated by money and greed, per the outlet. The series will provide commentary from the loved ones of victims and accounts from law enforcement officers and officials who worked on the cases.

The series is set to hit the small screen in mid-March with its first episode highlighting the death of writer Susan Berman, who was killed by the notorious Robert Durst. Susan’s dad just so happened to have been Mafia royalty.

Now, social media users are intrigued to learn about Susan’s background — in particular, her mobster father.

Keep reading for the full scoop.

When you think of the mob, names like John Gotti, Al Capone, and Frank Nitti may come to mind. However, the name David “Davie” Berman aka Davie the Jew rings bells, especially in the Las Vegas mob scene.

In an interview with 48 Hours, Susan shared that her father, Davie, worked for Meyer Lansky, Frank Costello, and Lucky Luciano.

Apparently, Meyer and Frank gave Davie the option of running a city of his choice and $1 million. Initially, Susan explained that Davie only wanted “train fare to Minneapolis” — the family’s hometown and Susan’s birthplace — and the approval to run the rackets in the Twin Cities before gambling was legal.

After Davie ran Minneapolis at the end of the ‘30s into the early ‘40s, he decided to sign up for the war. He returned to the U.S. as a war hero in 1945 and partnered with gangsters in owning three Las Vegas clubs: The Las Vegas Club, The El Dorado, and The Apache.

From there, Davie was a respected mobster, and his family, including Susan, reaped plenty of benefits.

But Davie suffered a heart attack during a polyp surgery in 1957, which ultimately resulted in his demise.

Interestingly, Oxygen shares that Susan inherited Davie’s fortune after his death. The Daily Mail reports that Susan inherited around $4 million.

When it comes to murder, many motives can lead someone to do the unthinkable. In the case of Robert Durst killing his longtime friend Susan Berman, folks are split on his actual motive.

The Daily Mail shares that money could have been Durst’s motive for killing Susan. After all, Susan died broke and Durst gifted her money before her passing — $50,000 to be exact, in two $25,000 gifts.

On the flip side, some people, including prosecutors, believe that the true motive wasn’t money, but rather self-preservation. Prosecutors believed that Susan had key information about the disappearance of Durst’s wife, Kathie Durst. To this day, Kathie’s body was never found.

However, Susan never made it to the witness stand as she was brutally murdered in 2000 on Christmas Eve.

After 15 years, evidence that included a handwritten note, interesting statements in the documentary The Jinx, and a confession led to Durst’s arrest and conviction, per Oxygen.