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Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen (September 4, 1913 in Brooklyn, New York – July 29, 1976 in Los Angeles, California) was a gangster based in L. Events 476 - Romulus Augustus, last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself Year 1913 ( MCMXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. For other uses see Gangsta. A gangster is a criminal who is or at some point almost invariably becomes a member of a persistent violent A. from the 1930s through 1970s.

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Early life

In 1913, Mickey Cohen was born on September 4 in Brooklyn, New York (although his burial plaque says 1914). Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. His mother Fanny had immigrated to the U. S. from Kiev, Ukraine. Kiev, also known as Kyiv ( Ukrainian:, Kyiv, ˈkɪjiw Russian:, Kiyev; see also Cities' alternative names) is the 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. Boyle Heights is a district east of Downtown Los Angeles on the East Side of Los Angeles California, USA Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West 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). Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized 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. Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of Boxing and Wrestling (Greco-Roman Cohen lived first in Cleveland, Ohio, where he met Lou Rothkopf, an associate of Moe Dalitz. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state Morris Barney "Moe" Dalitz ( December 25, 1899 – August 31, 1989) was a bootlegger and Racketeer who was Cohen moved later to New York, where he became associates with Tommy Dioguardi, the brother of labor racketeer Johnny Dio, and with Owney Madden. Johnny Dio (born John Dioguardi) ( April 28, 1914 – January 12 1979) was a mafioso and union boss in the Lucchese Owney "The Killer" Madden ( December 18, 1891 - April 24, 1965) was a leading underworld figure in Manhattan, most notable Finally, Cohen went to Chicago, where he ran a gambling operation for the Chicago Outfit, Al Capone's powerful criminal organization. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The Chicago Outfit shortened to " the Outfit " is a Crime syndicate based in Chicago Illinois, USA. Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone (January 17 1899 &ndash January 25 1947 commonly nicknamed Scarface, was an Italian American Gangster who

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. Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, also known as Noble Experiment, refers to a Sumptuary law which prohibits Alcohol The Chicago Outfit shortened to " the Outfit " is a Crime syndicate based in Chicago Illinois, USA. Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone (January 17 1899 &ndash January 25 1947 commonly nicknamed Scarface, was an Italian American Gangster who 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. Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone (January 17 1899 &ndash January 25 1947 commonly nicknamed Scarface, was an Italian American Gangster who While working for Jake Guzik, Cohen was forced to flee Chicago after an argument with a rival gambler. Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik ( May 20, 1886 &ndash February 21, 1956) was the financial and legal advisor and later political

In Cleveland, Cohen again worked for Lou Rothkopf, an associate of Meyer Lansky and Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state Meyer Lansky (born Majer Suchowliński, July 4, 1902 &ndash January 15, 1983) was a gangster who with Charles 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. The Flamingo Las Vegas is a hotel casino located on the famed Las Vegas Strip in Paradise Nevada and is owned and operated by Harrah's Entertainment. The Las Vegas Strip (also known as The Strip) is an approximately 4 mile (6 sportsbook (sometimes abbreviated as book or a race and sports book is a place where a gambler can wager on various Sports competitions including 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. Hoover Dam, also sometimes known as Boulder Dam, is a Concrete Arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the 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. Virginia Hill ( August 26, 1916 - March 24, 1966) was a Chicago Outfit Courier According to one account which does not 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 . The Roosevelt Hotel is a historic Spanish-style Hotel located at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood California. 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. Jack Dragna ( April 18, 1891 &ndash February 23, 1956) born Ignazio Dragna in Corleone, Sicily, was an Organized 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 . Brentwood is an affluent district in western Los Angeles, California, United States; it is not to be confused with Brentwood California, in 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. Johnny Stompanato Jr aka Handsome Harry, John Steele and Oscar ( October 9, 1925 &ndash April 4, 1958 Lana Turner ( February 8, 1921 &ndash June 29, 1995) was an Academy Award -nominated American Film 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. Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (December 12 1915 &ndash May 14 1998 was an American singer and actor Ava Lavinia Gardner ( December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an Academy Award -nominated American actress

Later years

In 1950, Mickey Cohen was investigated along with numerous other underworld figures by the US Senate Committee known as the Kefauver Commission. Between 1950 and 1951 the Kefauver Committee, officially the Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce, held all of America's attention 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. Mike Wallace (born Myron Leon Wallace on May 9, 1918) is an American journalist. 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. Alcatraz Island, sometimes informally referred to as simply Alcatraz or locally as the Rock, is a small island located in the middle of San Francisco Bay 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 had spoken out against prison abuse. Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, is a medium-security prison for men in Atlanta Georgia. He had been misdiagnosed with an ulcer, which turned out to be stomach cancer. Stomach or gastric cancer can develop in any part of the Stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs particularly the Esophagus and After his bout with surgery, he continued touring the U. S. , including television appearances, once with Ramsey Clark. William Ramsey Clark (born December 18 1927 is a lawyer and former United States Attorney General.

As an elder statesman, he even appeared on The Merv Griffin Show. The Merv Griffin Show was a long-running American Television talk show, starring singer Merv Griffin. Cohen knew everyone in Hollywood, from the entire Rat Pack to Marilyn Monroe. The Rat Pack was a group of popular entertainers most active between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson, June 1 1926 &ndash August 5 1962 baptized Norma In politics, he befriended Richard Nixon. His pal Billy Graham once asked him to appear at an evangelistic rally in Madison Square Garden. William Franklin Graham Jr KBE (born November 7 1918 better known as Billy Graham, is an evangelist and an Evangelical Christian Evangelism is the Christian practice of proselytisation. The intention of most evangelism is to effect Eternal salvation to those who do not follow the Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four Arenas in New York City.

At the time of the abduction of Patty Hearst, Cohen claimed to know facts about Hearst's abductors and other circumstances of the case. Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954) now known as Patricia Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper Heiress, 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. For other people named William Randolph Hearst see William Randolph Hearst (disambiguation William Randolph Hearst I (April 29 1863 &ndash Mickey had known William Randolph Hearst, with whom he maintained a long respectful friendship. For other people named William Randolph Hearst see William Randolph Hearst (disambiguation William Randolph Hearst I (April 29 1863 &ndash

Cohen's girlfried Liz Renay herself spent three years behind bars for refusing to squeal on him. Liz Renay, nee Pearl Elizabeth Dobbins ( April 14, 1926 - January 22, 2007) was an American Author, Actress One of his other many girlfriends, Candy Barr, served prison time for marijuana possession. Candy Barr ( July 6, 1935 &ndash December 30, 2005) was an American stripper, Burlesque exotic Two of his other favorites were Tempest Storm and Beverly Hills, the former having a bust insured with Lloyd's of London. Tempest Storm (born Annie Blanche Banks February 29, 1928) is an American stripper Burlesque star and Motion picture Actress For the film see Lloyd's of London (film. Lloyd's of London is a British Insurance market

Mickey Cohen died in his sleep in 1976 and is interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California. The Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 6001 W Centinela Avenue in Culver City California, USA. Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County California.

In popular culture

Further reading

References

External links

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