Description:

MICKEY COHEN
(1913 - 1976) American gangster who started his career as Bugsy Siegel's bodyguard, but said to have been absent at Siegel's death on orders from Meyer Lansky. Cohen later fought for control of the Los Angeles mob, surviving many attempts made by rival Jack Dragna to 'eliminate' him, including dynamiting his home, shotgun blasts, and so on. Cohen won out once Dragna lost police protection and found himself in jail. After facing crime hearings with great aplomb, Cohen himself was finally nailed on tax charges, served ten years in jail, and then 'went straight'. Very rare A.L.S signed four times (twice as 'Mickey Cohen', twice as 'Meyer Harris Cohen'), 2pp. 4to., [n.p. but Atlanta Federal Penitentiary], Feb. 15, 1965. Cohn writes his friend Al Slaton in Texas. Slaton had previously also been jailed and had killed a man in self-defense, but devoted the rest of his life to helping ex-convicts and the mentally disabled at the Rose Garden in Temple, Texas - still a worthy charity. Cohen writes, in part: '...if I can ever be of any help to you when you hear I get out, don't hesitate to call on me...many people still inquire about me...I am not exactly what the press made out of me...I think the book you are referring to is the one that was written by my good friend Jim Vaus [a former Cohen associate, became a devout Christian and wrote 'My Father Was a Gangster']...The book that is being done about me...is not out yet...they are waiting for some matters to be cleared up...I am preparing to leave here for Los Angeles shortly for a civil suit the IRS has against me...Give my sincerest best wishes and regards to Minister Wallace Chappell and whoever else asks about me. Your Friend, who is in your corner always, if you are going right, Mickey Cohen...' Some light toning along the folds, else very good. In 1972, Cohen was released from the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, where he had spoken out against prison abuse and he spent the rest of his life advocating for prisoner rights.

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June 27, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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