[3] He was first raised in New York, moving with his mother and siblings to the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles at an early age.

[4] One of his brothers, either Louie or Harry, would drop Mickey off at his regular corner, Soto and Brooklyn Streets (now Cesar E. Chavez Avenue).

Cohen later moved to New York, where he became an associate of labor racketeer Johnny Dio's brother, Tommy Dioguardi, and as well as Owney Madden.

In 1939, Cohen arrived in Los Angeles to work under Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, a sitting boss of the National Crime Syndicate.

During their association, Cohen helped set up the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas and ran its sports book operation.

During this time, Cohen met prostitute Lavonne Weaver (working alias Simoni King), and the couple married in 1940.

[7] In 1942, while serving a six-month sentence for bookmaking, Cohen beat up Nazi sympathizers Robert Noble and Ellis Jones, who were under indictment for sedition, after the former made anti-Semitic remarks against him.

Entering the Hotel Roosevelt, where he believed the killers were staying, Cohen fired rounds from his two .45 caliber semi-automatic handguns into the lobby ceiling and demanded that the assassins meet him outside in 10 minutes.

[citation needed] Cohen's violent methods came to the attention of state and federal authorities investigating Jack Dragna's operations.

During this time, Cohen faced many attempts on his life, including the bombing of his home on posh Moreno Avenue in Brentwood.

Cohen soon converted his house into a fortress, installing floodlights, alarm systems, and a well-equipped arsenal kept, as he often joked, next to his 200 tailor-made suits.

He ran floral shops, paint stores, nightclubs, casinos, gas stations, a men's haberdashery, and even drove an ice cream van on San Vicente Boulevard in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, according to author Richard Lamparski.

His heavily armored Cadillac from this period was confiscated by the Los Angeles Police Department and is now on display at the Southward Car Museum in New Zealand.

[11] On August 14, 1963, during his time at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, inmate Burl Estes McDonald attempted to kill Cohen with a lead pipe.