Illegal gambling, extortion, prostitution, loan-sharking and narcotics were among the many lucrative rackets run by this 5-foot-5 villain. Tom Nolan reviews “Mickey Cohen.”
Organized crime and motion pictures grew up together in America during Prohibition. Hollywood was quick to glamorize mobsters of the 1920s and ’30s—iconic hoodlums such as Chicago’s Al Capone and New York’s Lucky Luciano—through fictional portrayals by tough-guy actors: Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney. read more By Tom Nolan for WSJ
