Mickey Cohen

Following his first sentence, Cohen was again indicted on thirteen counts, notably for attempting to prevent collection of earlier taxes and evade taxes for 1957 and 1958. He was found guilty on eight counts. Sentences included three consecutive five-year terms and fines totalling $30,000.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Directly implicated

Cohen faced federal prosecution for assaulting Howard Chappell, an agent of the Federal Narcotics Bureau.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Accused

Course of the proceedings

1. Formally charged — Formal charge before the current outcome

During a live television interview, Cohen acknowledged killing at least one man, maintaining that he acted in self-defence, and launched a fierce attack on Los Angeles police chief William Parker.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

After spending time in Chicago, Cohen moved to Los Angeles and developed bookmaking, loan-sharking and other racketeering activities. His group fought Jack Dragna's faction in a period marked by shootings, bombings and assassinations.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Institutional responsibility

The Kefauver Committee closely examined Cohen's income, loans, spending and activities, by then a highly publicised figure in illegal gambling in Los Angeles. Congressional documents indicate that investigators suspected his substantial, rarely repaid "loans" were used, in part, to explain his spending and tax affairs.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Protagonist is a witness

Cohen was convicted of attempting to evade income tax on his earnings from 1946 to 1948. A contemporary Library of Congress archival caption documents his sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Directly implicated

Cohen killed Max Shaman, described as a business rival, during a violent episode of his Los Angeles period.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

The Mob Museum's historical profile reports that Cohen was arrested and subsequently given a nominal fine after beating a rival in 1942.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Los Angeles police found equipment and communications used to record horse-race bets in a drugstore operated by Cohen. He had admitted to police that he was the "bookie" paid five dollars a day.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Directly implicated

During his time in Cleveland, Cohen was arrested in an armed robbery case before becoming more deeply involved in gambling and criminal circles.

Attribution

Accused