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 CourtneySheldon.
Mickey Cohen worked for BugsySiegel 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, JohnnyStompanato, 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 gamblin.