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Meyer Harris Cohen
Mickey Cohen
This gangster, Mickey Cohen, had a few interesting facts about him that I learned. He personally is not on my top 5 list of favorites, but I always find learning about gangsters is a little interesting.
Meyer Harris “Mickey” Cohen was born September 4, 1913, in Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. When he was a toddler, he moved to Los Angeles, California, with his widowed mother, who was a Russian-Jewish immigrant who spoke very little English. Cohen had 5 older siblings. He grew up poor in Boyle Heights, which was a tough melting pot neighborhood in L.A.
His mother was a hardworking woman. She ran a tiny grocery store, and during Prohibition, his brothers operated a drug store, and this was where Cohen learned to make bootleg alcohol. Cohen rarely went to school. This means Cohen grew up illiterate. He was barely supervised growing up. He ended up developing a skewed moral compass. Cohen was constantly looking for ways to make money. Whether it be legally or illegally. He did two stints in reform school by the age of 10. Cohen sold newspapers in the downtown financial district. He also boxed in amateur bouts.
At just 15 years old, Cohen ran away from home. He lived in Cleveland, then New York, and even Chicago. The Great Depression hit, and young Cohen boxed professionally. Later, he acted as a freelance bandit and an enforcer aligned with major mobsters. As I have learned, it seems everyone starts as an enforcer.
After some trouble in Cleveland, the mob syndicate place Cohen in Chicago. Cohen ran his own armed burglary crew and worked in small jobs on the illegal gambling circuit for the Chicago outfit. Which, if you remember, was made by Al Capone. There is no conclusive evidence that Cohen actually met Capone. Capone was in prison already by the time Cohen first arrived in Chicago. He used his time in Chicago wisely. Cohen establishes strong ties to Capone’s underworld organization.
A violent public assault involving Cohen and a rival prompted his return home to California in 1937. By this time, Cohen was in his early 20s. When he made his return to L.A. he was now hardened. He was also still illiterate and pugnacious. What a way to describe a man.
