Mickey Cohen

"This Sheldon kid, I think I want him dead."

―Mickey Cohen

Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen is a character in L.A. Noire. Cohen is one of main antagonists during Cole Phelps' time on the Vice desk, along with Courtney Sheldon.

Biography

Background

Meyer Harris Cohen was born on July 29, 1914 of a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City. Cohen was a boxer in his youth, he mentions this during his meeting with Jack Kelso and Courtney Sheldon.

Mickey Cohen worked for Bugsy Siegel in Los Angeles. He was Bugsy's right hand man and after Siegel's death he took over his organization.

Cohen is a powerful member of an organized crime syndicate spanning from Los Angeles to Chicago all the way back to his hometown of New York City. Always flanked by his right-hand man and bodyguard, Johnny Stompanato, Cohen is alleged to be the top kingpin of all the gangsters in Los Angeles, with a hand in the trade of everything from narcotics, to illegal weapons, to gambling.^[2]

Events of L.A. Noire

Traffic

Mickey can be first mentioned in the DLC case "A Slip of the Tongue", depending on how the interrogation goes, Steven Bigelow says "I want a mouthpiece. The organization employs a very good one. He does a great job keeping Mickey C. out on the streets". This likely means that the auto-theft racket was controlled by Mickey.

Mickey is first seen in a newspaper found in "The Fallen Idol". He is at the Mocambo meeting with Courtney Sheldon, who had orchestrated the Coolridge Heist. Mickey offered Sheldon $50,000 in return for all the army surplus morphine he and his fellow marines had stolen. Courtney refused the offer which prompted Mickey to say to an unknown associate on the phone, "I think I want him dead".

Vice

"Hang on, you're getting hasty. There's a lot of dough on offer here."

―Mickey Cohen

He apppears again in a newspaper found in "The Black Caesar", he and his gang are meeting with Sheldon and Jack Kelso. Kelso tells Cohen that they have him at enfilade, before signaling his men on the roof to shoot the ground near Cohen to show him they could have killed him. Cohen shrugs this off almost immediately, seeming more bothered about his coat and car. Kelso then says that they're going to get rid of the morphine, Cohen tries to convince them otherwise but Kelso declines. After Mickey again tries to convince him not to get rid of the morphine, Kelso threatens him. This angers Cohen and seemingly sets up the events of "Manifest Destiny".

Mickey is again seen in "The Set Up", he had made an arrangement with Carlo Arquero, manager of Albert Hammond. Hammond was set to take a dive and Mickey put a lot of money on the other fighter to win, as did a lot of powerful people. After Hammond wins the fight because he is too proud to flop, Hammond runs away. Mickey sends his men out to find him, he also makes it clear to Arquero that he want Hammond dead or he would kill Arquero. Mickey's men don't get to Hammond but Arquero does. However, detectives Cole Phelps and Roy Earle also find him and end up killing Arquero and letting Hammond go.

"Alright, have we finished flirting? You got something to discuss, Roy, or are you gonna stand around beating the meat while my lunch gets cold?"

―Mickey Cohen

Mickey's final appearance is in "Manifest Destiny". He ordered the death of Sheldon, Kelso and the rest of their unit who were involved in the Coolridge Heist. The first victim is Eddie McGoldrick who was killed in his club, the 111 Club, along with two musicians, Bittleston and Bowe. Phelps and Earle go to talk to Mickey who gives little away. They find out that he had ordered one of his men to kill Felix Alvarro. Phelps managed to kill the hitman before he could kill Alvarro. Mickey's men then kill various marines at the Post office, a diner and Grauman's Theatre, each time Phelps and Earle had managed to kill the assassins.

Case Appearances

Traffic

"The Fallen Idol" (Newspaper)

Vice

Mickey's gang

Main Article: Cohen Crime Syndicate

Mickey's gang is a criminal organization based in Los Angeles. It was originally run by infamous gangster Bugsy Siegel but after his death Mickey took over. Their main rival is Jack Dragna, but their main enemy in the game comes in the unlikely form of Courtney Sheldon and a group of former U.S. Marines.

Known Members

Johnny Stompanato - Second-in-command
Lenny Finkelstein - Lieutenant/Mickey's brother-in law
Johnny Goldberg
Frank Steiner

Quotes

"Finkelstein drug operation"

Cole Phelps: "Jack Dragna has you on the run. You're muscling the guys who stole the morphine from the ship."
Mickey Cohen: "You calling me a liar, kid? You think you can prove that in court?"
[Lack of evidence.]
Mickey Cohen: "Nice try, kid. But you're going to have to do a lot better than that."

"111 Club shooting incident"

Cole Phelps: "I think you're lying. I think the 111 Club was your men. I think you're trying to send a message."
Mickey Cohen: "I'll send you a message, kid. You better have proof that that was on of mine, or else you better have health insurance."
[Lack of evidence.]
Mickey Cohen: "All of the scratching around in that little book is cute, kid. Run along now, huh?"

Inactivity

"I think your bright spark might have blown a fuse, Roy. Hey, you still there, kid?"

Leaving

"I'm sorry, is this kid walking away from me? Back here, boychik."

Talk

"I hope you find the humps who did the 111. That kind of thing is bad for business. Goodbye, kid."
"Kid, I'm at work here on my food. I grew up poor, so I don't abide with wasting good grub."

Trivia

Mickey is based on the real-life Los Angeles gangster of the same name.
In reality, Mickey Cohen was actually born on September 4, 1913. The reason why they changed his birthday in L.A. Noire is unknown.
Like many other LA Noire actors, Patrick Fischler has appeared on Mad Men.