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Establishing An Image : Mickey Cohen

© Ron Lombard

Establishing An Image : Mickey Cohen

It appears that Mickey Cohen was influenced as much by Hollywood as all the rest of us. He began to establish an image and made efforts to maintain that image at the beginnings of his career in crime. The first boss of the Los Angeles, California outfit of La Cosa Nostra was Joseph Ardizzone, who was in control until 1931. He was succeeded by Jack Dragna, who led the family to national prominence. Dragna got the family involved in the entertainment industry and, to this day, remains the only LA boss ever on the national commission. The Los Angeles Mafia is generally referred to as the "Mickey Mouse Mafia," not for its proximity to the Magic Kingdom, but for its utter ineffectiveness and inability to control criminal activities in its jurisdiction. The name is also given because of the cartoon war Dragna waged against Cohen. Cohen survived at least five attempts on his life, including the explosion of a pipe bomb that the Dragna family allegedly planted in his basement. Unfortunately for the Dragna family, the dynamite cache had been placed directly under a cement floor safe, causing the bomb to explode in every direction but up. The blast shattered windows throughout the neighborhood and prompted many neighbors to dub Mickey "Public Enemy Number One." Cohen, his wife Lavonne, his dog Tuffy and his maid all survived unscathed.

Cohen lived extravagantly, loved publicity and allegedly had local law enforcement agencies in his pocket. The press loved Mickey and lapped up his antics. In the Kingdom of the Mouse, one incident even earned Mickey the name "Snow White." In early 1949, Mickey heard about a 63-year-old widow being conned by radio repairman and infamous confidence man Alfred Pearson. The widow had refused to pay a padded bill for the repair of her radio. Pearson, in turn, convinced the city marshal to put the widow's $4,000 home up for auction, then acquired the property for $26.50. Cohen was so furious about the incident that he sent seven of his toughest goons to teach Pearson a lesson. While the seven thugs were busily beating Pearson to within an inch of his life, busting his skull and breaking his right arm in the process, two rookie cops arrived on the scene. Unaware of Mickey's juice, they arrested the seven goons: Neddie Herbert, Lou Schwartz, Eli Lubin, Dave Ogul, Frank Niccoli, Jimmy Rist and Happy Meltzer. Just as the seven men were being handcuffed, an amateur photographer arrived on the scene, snapped a picture and delivered it to the Los Angeles Times.The picture and the story hit the front page the next day, dubbing Mickey and his goons "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves." It was reported that not only were the Seven Dwarves released from Wilshire Station without having their arrests recorded, but their weapons were returned to them as well.

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