Mickey Cohen was a little man with a larger-than-life presence. His wardrobe and custom-built automobiles rivaled those of presidents, heads of state, and royalty. When Mickey strolled into a room, his pervasive cologne, dazzling diamond pinky ring, solid gold watch, brand new sparkling shoes, and immaculately tailored suits compensated for his pugilist’s countenance.  

     Mickey Cohen would have objected to this book’s publication. He always tried to control what was written about him, and brazenly fought all his critics. The underworld czar dogmatically denied his role in prostitution, illegal drugs, and sexual extortion rings. His blackmail targets included Marilyn Monroe, Lana Turner, and department store heir Alfred Bloomingdale. The most social of any mobster in history, Mickey bridged the gap between Hollywood, Las Vegas, and Washington. Unlike many of his criminal predecessors, Mickey had unique and likeable attributes that attracted movie stars, religious leaders, politicians, jetsetters, and international business moguls. Mickey had the ear of many powerful people, including Richard Nixon, Reverend Billy Graham, and Washington Post columnist Drew Pearson. Enemies like Robert Kennedy were relentless in trying to topple Mickey.

     Mickey Cohen committed murder while still a young man. His explanation centered on his mixed moral perspective, “I have killed no man in the first place that didn’t deserve killing by the standards of our way of life…in all of these…what you would call killings…I had no alternative. It was either my life or their life. You couldn’t call these cold-blooded killings.”

     To live the maturing American dream fostered by the media and Hollywood, robbing became second nature, and extortion a means to an end. Jewish mobsters like Mickey developed their own moral codes, justifying their perverse approach to life, while embracing mother and siblings as taught in the Talmud. Mickey’s puzzling moral compass couldn’t be pinpointed as easily as that of other criminals; he openly bragged about his ability to judge those that deserved murder, while lecturing young men about respect for family and friends. His multilayered and conflicted personality allowed him to be generous with the poor and come to the rescue of the downtrodden, never forgetting his humble origins, despite his flamboyant personal choices for housing, dining, and clothing. Mickey’s role in the history of this country can’t be dismissed as either good or evil. Some tried to murder him for one or the other, in both reality and the court of public opinion, while others celebrated him with unabashed gratitude in a way that was and still is uniquely American.  

     We should not forget Mickey Cohen’s America. Generations of amnesia-suffering witnesses have refused to admit that Jewish organized crime ever existed. The shameful portrait of Jewish gangsters is not something fearful parents and grandparents eagerly discussed with their offspring. Still, the Jewish gangster was as much a part of the Jewish-American prototype as a lawyer or doctor.