Everything about Mickey Cohen totally explained
Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen (
September 4 1913 in
Brooklyn, New York –
July 29 1976 in
Los Angeles,
California) was a
gangster based in L.A. from the 1930s through 1970s.
Early life
In 1913, Mickey Cohen was born on September 4 in
Brooklyn, New York (although his burial plaque says 1914). His mother Fanny had immigrated to the U.S. from
Kiev, Ukraine. Between 1916 and 1919, Fanny moved with Mickey and his sister Lillie to the
Boyle Heights section of
Los Angeles and opened a grocery and drug store. She sent for the rest of the family later. At age six, Cohen was selling newspapers on the street; his brothers Harry or Louie would drop him off at his regular corner. Soon Cohen and his brothers became involved in crime (Cohen's brother Sam, an
Orthodox Jew, was an exception). In 1923, at age nine, Cohen was delivering alcohol to customers from a gin mill operated by his older brother in the drug store. Cohen was arrested that same year for this activity, but avoided prosecution due to his brother's connections.
As a teenager, Cohen began boxing in illegal prizefights in Los Angeles. He eventually moved to the East Coast to train as a professional boxer, doing fights in the Midwest along the way. In New York, Cohen eventually fought and lost a match against World
Featherweight Champion Tommy Paul. Cohen lived first in
Cleveland, Ohio, where he met
Lou Rothkopf, an associate of
Moe Dalitz. Cohen moved later to New York, where he became associates with
Tommy Dioguardi, the brother of labor racketeer
Johnny Dio, and with
Owney Madden. Finally, Cohen went to
Chicago, where he ran a gambling operation for the
Chicago Outfit,
Al Capone's powerful criminal organization.
Prohibition and the Chicago Outfit
During
Prohibition, Cohen moved to Chicago and became involved in organized crime working as an enforcer for the
Chicago Outfit, where he briefly met
Al Capone. During this period Cohen was arrested for his role in the deaths of several gangsters in a card game gone bad.
After a brief time in prison, Cohen was released and began running card games and other illegal gambling operations. He later became an associate of
Mattie Capone,
Al Capone's younger brother. While working for
Jake Guzik, Cohen was forced to flee Chicago after an argument with a rival gambler.
In
Cleveland, Cohen again worked for
Lou Rothkopf, an associate of
Meyer Lansky and
Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. However, there was little work available for Cohen in Cleveland, so Rothkopf arranged for him to work with Siegel in California.
From syndicate bodyguard to Los Angeles kingpin
Mickey Cohen was sent to Los Angeles by Meyer Lansky and Lou Rothkopf to watch Bugsy Siegel. During their association Mickey helped set up the
Flamingo Hotel in
Las Vegas and ran its
sports book operation. He also was instrumental in setting up the race wire, which was essential to Las Vegas betting, a Nevada attraction perhaps only second to the
Hoover Dam. In 1947, the crime families ordered the murder of Siegel due to his mismanagement of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas; most likely because he or his girlfriend
Virginia Hill was skimming money. According to one account which doesn't appear in newspapers, Cohen reacted violently to Siegel's murder. Entering the
Hotel Roosevelt, where he believed the killers were staying, Cohen fired rounds from his two .45 caliber semi-automatic handguns into the lobby ceiling and demanded that the assassins meet him outside in ten minutes (Nash; pg. 741). However, no one appeared and Cohen was forced to flee when the cops arrived. After Siegel's death, Cohen was given control of the Las Vegas gambling operations
In later years, the Los Angeles crime syndicate was taken over by
Frank Carbo of the
Dragna family. Despite this changeover, Mickey Cohen continued to run its gambling operations. However Cohen's violent methods came to the attention of state and federal authorities investigating Dragna operations.
During this time, Cohen faced many attempts on his life, including a bombing of his home on posh Moreno Avenue in
Brentwood . Cohen soon converted his house into a fortress, installing floodlights, alarm systems, and a well-equipped arsenal kept, as he often joked, next to his 200 tailor-made suits. Cohen also briefly hired bodyguard
Johnny Stompanato before his murder by actress
Lana Turner's daughter. Cohen bought a cheap coffin for Stompanato's funeral and then sold Lana Turner's love letters to Stompanato to the press.
Stompanato ran a sexual extortion ring as well as a jewelry store. He was one of the most popular playboys in Hollywood. One time singer
Frank Sinatra visited Cohen at his home and begged him to tell Stompanato to stop dating Sinatra's actress friend,
Ava Gardner.
Later years
In 1950, Mickey Cohen was investigated along with numerous other underworld figures by the US Senate Committee known as the
Kefauver Commission. As a result of this investigation, Cohen was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to prison for four years.
When he was released, he started up all over again, and became an international celebrity. He sold more newspapers than anyone else in the country, according to author Brad Lewis. His appearance on television with
Mike Wallace in the late 50s rocked the media establishment. He ran floral shops, paint stores, nightclubs, casinos, gas stations, a men's haberdashery, and even an ice cream parlor on San Vicente Blvd. in Brentwood proper, according to author
Richard Lamparski.
In 1961, Cohen was again convicted of tax evasion and sent to
Alcatraz. During his time on "the Rock", another inmate attempted to kill Cohen with a lead pipe. In 1972, Cohen was released from the
Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, where he'd spoken out against prison abuse. He had been misdiagnosed with an ulcer, which turned out to be
stomach cancer. After his bout with surgery, he continued touring the U.S., including television appearances, once with
Ramsey Clark.
As an elder statesman, he even appeared on
The Merv Griffin Show. Cohen knew everyone in Hollywood, from the entire
Rat Pack to
Marilyn Monroe. In politics, he befriended
Richard Nixon. His pal
Billy Graham once asked him to appear at an
evangelistic rally in
Madison Square Garden.
At the time of the abduction of
Patty Hearst, Cohen claimed to know facts about Hearst's abductors and other circumstances of the case. However, journalists at the time dismissed this as way for the "gentleman mobster" to put himself back in the limelight. Mickey called Patty's father "Randy" (
Randolph Hearst), and met with him and his wife at Gatsby's, a restaurant he controlled. Mickey had known
William Randolph Hearst, with whom he maintained a long respectful friendship.
Cohen's girlfried
Liz Renay herself spent three years behind bars for refusing to squeal on him. One of his other many girlfriends,
Candy Barr, served prison time for marijuana possession. Two of his other favorites were
Tempest Storm and Beverly Hills, the former having a bust insured with
Lloyd's of London.
Mickey Cohen died in his sleep in 1976 and is interred in the
Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in
Culver City, California.
In popular culture
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mickey Cohen'.
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