Sam Farkas
Sam Farkas | |
|---|---|
 Mugshot of Farkas taken c. 1959 | |
| Born | May 15, 1917 New York |
| Died | August 13, 2006 (aged 89) Los Angeles County, California |
| Criminal charge | |
Sam Farkas (May 15, 1917 – August 13, 2006) was a bookmaker and bodyguard, best known for his criminal affiliation with Mickey Cohen. A mobster of 20th-century California, Farkas was indicted by a U.S. federal government organized-crime task force on multiple criminal charges in 1974.
Biography[edit]
Farkas was described as Cohen's bodyguard in 1950 when he, Cohen, and one Dominic "Highpockets" Faranacci attended the funeral of Cohen's murdered lawyer, Sam Rummel.[1] In 1951, Farkas was one of the "gangland figures" connected to the brothel of Hollywood madam Barrie Benson.[2] A man named Joe DiStefano, reportedly visiting from New York, tried to shoot Farkas in 1952.[3] In 1959, Farkas married Cohen's ex-wife, La Vonne Cohen.[4] At some point in the 1960s, Farkas and his wife lived in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood, and his next-door neighbor later recalled that "he always wore a sport coat to hide the gun I occasionally glimpsed in the holster just under his left arm".[5] The couple moved out of the building after it was machine-gunned by men in black cars.[5]
In 1974 Farkas was indicted by the U.S. government on multiple charges including extortion and loans sharking.[6] Farkas was described by the Los Angeles Police Department as a "major bookmaker".[7] Farkas died in Los Angeles County, California, in 2006.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ "Simple Rites for Rummel". Daily News. December 15, 1950. p. 41. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
- ^ Rasmussen, Cecilia (November 30, 1997). "History of Hollywood Madams Is Long Lurid". The Los Angeles Times. p. 395. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
- ^ "Mickey Cohen pal nearly rubbed out". Daily News. January 28, 1952. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
- ^ "Marriage". The Austin American. September 6, 1959. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
- ^ a b Spinrad, Jack (May 6, 2024). "Speakeasy: Mob Stories from St. Petersburg". Green Bench Monthly. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
- ^ "Former Resident Is Indicted". The News-Star. July 11, 1974. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
- ^ "12 Indicted in L.A. Crime Crackdown". The Los Angeles Times. July 10, 1974. p. 19. Retrieved 2024-06-09. & "12 Indicted in L.A. Crime Crackdown". The Los Angeles Times. July 10, 1974. p. 19. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
- ^ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JGN7-HZ2 : 12 January 2021), Sam Farkas, 13 Aug 2006; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
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