Mickey Cohen – FBI Files, Newspapers & Photos

Description

Mickey Cohen: A Mobster’s Rise and Fall

• July 29, 1914: Mickey Cohen is born in Brownville, New York.
• Circa 1920: Mickey Cohen’s family moves to Los Angeles when he is six years old, opening a pharmacy in Boyle Heights.
• During Prohibition (dates unspecified, likely late 1920s/early 1930s): Mickey Cohen makes deliveries for his brother’s gin mill, which operates in the back of the family pharmacy.
• Circa 1923 (or shortly after): Mickey Cohen is first arrested at age nine while making a delivery for the gin mill.
• Pre-1933 (dates unspecified): Cohen becomes obsessed with boxing, has success in illegal backroom prize fights, and moves back to the East Coast to pursue a professional boxing career. During this time, he meets New York mobsters like Tommy Dioguardi, Johnny Dio, and Owney Madden.
• Post-boxing career (dates unspecified): Cohen’s street fighting skills do not translate to professional boxing success, leading him to change careers.
• Dates unspecified (after boxing): Mickey Cohen moves to Chicago to work as an enforcer for East Coast mob gambling interests.
• Dates unspecified (after Chicago): After a failed assassination attempt in Chicago, Cohen moves to Cleveland, where he works for Lou Rothkopf, an associate of Benjamin Siegel and Meyer Lansky.
• Dates unspecified (after Cleveland): Rothkopf sends Cohen back to Los Angeles to work with Bugsy Siegel. They establish the East Coast syndicate’s presence on the West Coast, introducing their style of gambling, drugs, union, and political corruption rackets.
• 1933: Mickey Cohen’s criminal arrest rap sheet begins, according to a 1960 FBI report.
• 1940s (specific dates not given): Cohen’s home and office are bugged. There is a possibility he knew about the listening devices.
• 1947: Bugsy Siegel is killed. Mickey Cohen becomes the East Coast syndicate’s main enforcer on the West Coast.
• Post-1947 (dates unspecified): Frank Carbo of the Dragna crime family asserts control over the West Coast. Cohen remains, managing their gambling interests.
• 1949: A shooting incident involving Cohen occurs.
• 1949: Memos document the bugging of Cohen’s home and office and the possibility he knew about it.
• 1950: Cohen’s Brentwood home is bombed.
• 1950: The Kefauver Commission scrutiny leads to Cohen being sentenced to four years in prison for tax evasion.
• 1960: A 280-page FBI report is compiled, summarizing various aspects of Mickey Cohen’s life, including personal history, criminal activities, associates, financial information, and more.
• 1961: Updates are issued to the 1960 FBI report.
• 1961: FBI involvement in Cohen’s tax evasion prosecution leads to a conviction and a 15-year prison sentence. He is sent to Alcatraz.
• Circa 1963 (two years into 1961 sentence): While imprisoned, another inmate attacks Cohen with a pipe, leaving him partially paralyzed. This incident later leads to a $10 million lawsuit by Cohen against the government for negligence.
• Dates unspecified (during 1961 sentence): A prison nurse smuggles contraband for Mickey Cohen, supplied by Harry Cohen, and passes out communications from Mickey Cohen.
• 1972: Mickey Cohen is released from prison.
• 1976: Mickey Cohen dies in his sleep.

Cast of Characters

• Mickey Cohen: Born July 29, 1914, in New York, he moved to Los Angeles as a child. Beginning with juvenile arrests, he became a boxer, then an enforcer for East Coast mob interests in Chicago and Cleveland, eventually serving as a key associate for Bugsy Siegel in Los Angeles. After Siegel’s death, he became the primary West Coast enforcer for the East Coast syndicate, managing gambling interests. His violent methods and high profile led to numerous attempts on his life, a bombing of his home, and multiple convictions for tax evasion, resulting in significant prison time, including at Alcatraz where he was partially paralyzed in an attack. He died in 1976.
• Tommy Dioguardi: A New York area mobster whom Mickey Cohen met during his boxing career on the East Coast.
• Johnny Dio: A New York area mobster whom Mickey Cohen met during his boxing career on the East Coast.
• Owney Madden: A New York area mobster whom Mickey Cohen met during his boxing career on the East Coast.
• Lou Rothkopf: An associate of Benjamin Siegel and Meyer Lansky, for whom Mickey Cohen worked in Cleveland before being sent back to Los Angeles to work with Bugsy Siegel.
• Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel: A prominent East Coast mobster and associate of Meyer Lansky. He brought Mickey Cohen to Los Angeles, where they established the East Coast syndicate’s rackets. He was killed in 1947.
• Meyer Lansky: An East Coast mobster, associate of Benjamin Siegel and Lou Rothkopf.
• Frank Carbo: A member of the Dragna crime family who asserted control over the West Coast after Bugsy Siegel’s death. Mickey Cohen remained to run the family’s gambling interests under Carbo’s control.
• Harry Cohen: (Relationship to Mickey Cohen not specified, possibly a relative) Supplied contraband to a prison nurse for Mickey Cohen.
• Frank Sinatra: Mentioned in cross-references within FBI files concerning Mickey Cohen, indicating a relationship or association.
• Anthony Salerno: Mentioned in cross-references within FBI files concerning Mickey Cohen.
• John Scalish: Mentioned in cross-references within FBI files concerning Mickey Cohen.
• Melvin Belli: Mentioned in cross-references within FBI files concerning Mickey Cohen, likely as Cohen’s attorney given the lawsuit mentioned.
• Patty Hearst Kidnapping: Mentioned in cross-references within FBI files concerning Mickey Cohen, implying a possible tangential connection or investigation crossover.
• Salvatore Sabella: Mentioned in cross-references within FBI files concerning Mickey Cohen