Mickey Cohen [organized crime]

Calvin

Welcome to the infamous edition of the Headstones and Microphones where we use AI to step into the past through a researched, first-person simulation done through creative story telling of history's most infamous people. Now, let’s meet our guest.

Calvin

Welcome to the podcast. Let’s start at the absolute beginning, where the public narrative hasn’t yet distorted who you were. When and where were you born, and what was your given name?

White Male Guest

Hi Calvin. If you want to go all the way back to day one, I was born Meyer Harris Cohen on September 4, 1913. I started life out in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.

Calvin

What was your hometown and home life like as a child?

White Male Guest

Well, Brooklyn didn't last long for me. My father passed away from tuberculosis when I was just a baby, which left my mother to fend for a big family all on her own. When I was about six years old, she moved us across the country to Los Angeles. We settled down in Boyle Heights, which was a real tough, working-class neighborhood. My mother opened up a little pharmacy to try and keep us afloat, but we grew up very poor. It was a chaotic house, with my older siblings always working on their own side hustles.

Calvin

Was there a story behind your name, or a nickname that stuck with you?

White Male Guest

Most people knew me as "Mickey," which just stuck with me from the streets and my early days in the boxing ring. Later on, when I was fighting, they'd bill me as "Irish Mickey" Cohen or even "Gangster Mickey" Cohen.

Calvin

What were you like as a child, and how many years of schooling did you actually attend?"

White Male Guest

I was a wild kid, completely out on the streets. I started hawking newspapers on the corners of LA when I was only six years old. School and I never really got along. I didn't see the point in it when there was money to be made out on the pavement. I dropped out of school altogether by the time I was ten years old. In fact, because I walked away so early, I didn't even properly learn how to read or write until I was nearly thirty.

Calvin

What’s a decision that changed everything for you, but felt small at the time?

White Male Guest

It started with my older brothers. During Prohibition, they were running a little illegal gin mill out of the back of our pharmacy. They used me as the delivery boy. It felt small at the time—just helping out the family—but carrying around that stack of cash made me realize I loved the feeling of having money in my pocket. I would roll up single dollar bills to make the stack look as thick as possible. That taste of the bootlegging life shifted my whole direction.

Calvin

Let's talk about your early run-ins with the law. Before the world knew your name for your most infamous actions, what was your very first arrest or interaction with law enforcement, and what were the consequences?

White Male Guest

I got pinched for the first time when I was only nine years old. I was caught making a bootleg delivery for that operation my brothers ran. Because of my age, my brothers managed to handle it, and I ended up getting away with just a short stint in a reform school. It obviously didn't do much to scare me straight.

Calvin

At what moment did you realize your name would never be forgotten?

White Male Guest

The real shift into national notoriety came after I partnered up with Bugsy Siegel in Los Angeles. We built up a massive West Coast crime syndicate controlling the gambling, the horse race wire services, and the labor unions. By the 1940s, the newspapers couldn't get enough of us. Every time there was a shooting on the Sunset Strip or a major federal crackdown, my name and face were splashed across front pages nationwide.

Calvin

Who do you believe betrayed you first: a person, society, or your own instincts?

White Male Guest

In my line of work, you're always keeping an eye out for betrayal. But the biggest hit came from the government turning the tables on my operation, especially when the Kefauver Commission came to town in 1950. They couldn't nail me on all the street stuff, so they used my own financial records against me to lock me up for tax evasion.

Calvin

What was your most unique habit or a random fact about you that would surprise people?

White Male Guest

People looked at me as this tough, feared mob boss, but I was absolutely terrified of germs. I had a profound phobia. I would wash my hands constantly. I also completely shunned alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. Instead of drinking at a bar, I had a custom soda fountain built into my Brentwood home where I loved making hot-fudge sundaes. I also had a pet bulldog named Toughie who slept in a miniature version of my own bed with custom monogrammed sheets.

Calvin

Did you have any known rivalries that defined your career?

White Male Guest

Absolutely. The Sunset Strip was a war zone for a while. My biggest rivalry was with the local Mafia leaders and guys like Tom Dragna's crew. They wanted me out of the picture badly, and it resulted in a lot of violence.

Calvin

What personal battles were you fighting privately while the world was watching?

White Male Guest

While I was putting on a flashy show for the public in my custom-tailored suits, I was privately dealing with severe anxieties and those intense phobias I mentioned. Later on, when I was locked up, I had to fight a literal battle for my life after another inmate savagely attacked me with a lead pipe, which left me partially paralyzed.

Calvin

When the law finally closed in, how exactly were you brought to justice? Walk me through the final arrest, the charges that ultimately stuck, and the legal outcome of your trials.

White Male Guest

The law used the tax books to take me down. My first major hit was in 1951 when I got sentenced to four years for tax evasion. Then, in 1961, they went after me again for the exact same thing. That time, they handed me a heavy 15-year sentence and shipped me off to Alcatraz. I ended up being the only prisoner ever bailed out of Alcatraz, though I had to go back to federal prison to finish my time until I was finally released in 1972.

Calvin

What would surprise people most about your ordinary, human side?

White Male Guest

Probably how much I loved the domestic, quiet life when I was at home. I was married to my wife, Lavonne, for a long time starting in 1940. I took meticulous care of my things. My closets were perfectly organized with hundreds of custom shirts, socks, and handkerchiefs all lined up in neat order. I liked luxury, but I liked things spotless and quiet.

Calvin

When, where, and how did you pass away?

White Male Guest

I passed away on July 29, 1976, at the age of 62. It happened in Los Angeles, California, due to complications following a surgery for stomach cancer.

Calvin

Calvin, do you have any closing remarks about the interview or the stories you shared that you would like to share with the listeners before signing off?

White Male Guest

I'll just say this: the papers loved to print the wild stories, the flashy suits, and the explosions. But behind all the noise, I was just a kid from Boyle Heights who figured out how to survive the only way he knew how. Thanks for letting me clear the air.

Calvin

And that wraps up another conversation from beyond the grave. Thanks for joining us on The Headstones and Microphones Podcast. Remember—Do better with the life you have been given and choose to do good in this life. Please help spread the word by sharing and following the pod.