Organized Crime Figure. He gained notoriety for his part in organized crime during the American Prohibition Era and the Great Depression. Born in a poverty-stricken part of New York in 1913, his Jewish mother was from Kiev, Ukraine, and could barely speak English. The youngest of six children, he, his siblings, and his widowed mother left New York for California, settling in the Jewish neighborhood of Boyle Heights. When alcohol was illegal during Prohibition, his brothers operated a drug store where he learned to make bootleg alcohol. He did not attend school regularly, sold newspapers on the street corner, and had two stints in reform school by age ten. As a teenage boxer during the Great Depression, he became involved with organized crime figures at a gym. After running away from home at fifteen, he gained self-confidence as a pro boxer in the fight clubs of Cleveland while freelancing robberies to make an income. Lifelong connections with major underworld players were forged there and in New York and Chicago. In his early twenties, he began working for legendary mobster Bugsy Siegel. By the early 1940s, he was allied with Siegel's partners Meyer Lansky and Frank Costello, approved by Lucky Luciano, and sponsored by his old Cleveland supporters, the Milano family, along with other prominent nationally ranked mobsters. In addition to traditional mob businesses, he took advantage of the movie industry by controlling unions and through blackmail. In 1947, he became the West Coast racket boss after his mentor and predecessor, Bugsy Siegel, was assassinated. At this point in his life, he learned to read as an adult. Gang war raged when Cohen disrespected the local don. He survived 11 assassination attempts and warred with the police. Although he allegedly murdered people and performed various other crimes, he was brought to trial several times yet only found guilty twice of income tax evasion, a "white collar crime." In 1951, he was sentenced to four years in federal prison for his first conviction. Upon release, he returned to his Hollywood glamor lifestyle. For his second conviction in 1961, he was sentenced to fifteen years. Two years into this sentencing, he was attacked in an Atlanta prison, receiving serious injuries that left him partially paralyzed. He was released from prison in 1972 and, gaining from his crime fame, gave television interviews and spoke freely to the press for newspaper coverage. He died of stomach cancer at age 62.