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Sam Farkas
Sam Farkas (May 15, 1917August 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 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. In 1951, Farkas was one of the "gangland figures" connected to the brothel of Hollywood madam Barrie Benson. A man named Joe DiStefano, reportedly visiting from New York, tried to shoot Farkas in 1952. In 1959, Farkas married Cohen's ex-wife, La Vonne Cohen. 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". The couple moved ou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extortion
Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded threats in order to obtain an unfair business advantage is also a form of extortion. Extortion is sometimes called the "protection racket" because the racketeers often phrase their demands as payment for "protection" from (real or hypothetical) threats from unspecified other parties; though often, and almost always, such "protection" is simply abstinence of harm from the same party, and such is implied in the "protection" offer. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime. In some jurisdictions, actually obtaining the benefit is not required to commit the offense, and making a threat of violence which refers to a requirement of a payment of money or property to halt future violence is sufficient to commit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loan Shark
A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law. Description Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably expect to be able to use the legal system to collect such debts, they often resort to enforcing repayment by terms of blackmail and threats of violence. Historically, many moneylenders skirted between legal and criminal activity. In the recent western world, loan sharks have been a prominent feature of the criminal underworld. Loan sharking is not to be confused with predatory lending with extremely high interest rates such as payday or title loans, which is sometimes considered to be "loan sharking" (or, at least, unfavorably compared to loan sharking by critics) regardless of whether it is legal. A key difference between "traditional" loan sharking and predatory lending is that lenders alleged to be engaged in the latter practice are ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookmakers in many countries focus on accepting bets on professional sports, especially horse racing and association football or Indian Premier League cricket. However, a wider range of bets, including on political elections, awards ceremonies such as the Oscars, and novelty bets are accepted by bookmakers in some countries. Operational procedures By "adjusting the odds" in their favour (paying out amounts using odds that are less than what they determined to be the true odds) or by having a point spread, bookmakers aim to guarantee a profit by achieving a 'balanced book', either by getting an equal number of bets for each possible outcome or (when they are offering odds) by getting the amounts wagered on each outcome to reflect the odds. W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bodyguard
A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, wealthy people, and celebrities — from danger: generally theft, assault, kidnapping, assassination, harassment, loss of confidential information, threats, or other criminal offences. The personnel team that protects a VIP is often referred to as the VIP's security detail. Most important public figures, such as heads of state, heads of government, and governors are protected by several bodyguards or by a team of bodyguards from a government agency, security forces, or police forces (e.g., in the United States, the Secret Service or the Diplomatic Security Service of the State Department). In most countries where the head of state is also their military leader, the leader's bodyguards have traditionally been royal guards, republican guar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mickey Cohen
Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen (September 4, 1913 – July 29, 1976) was an American gangster, boxer and entrepreneur based in Los Angeles during the mid-20th century. Early life Mickey Cohen was born on September 4, 1913, in New York City to Jewish parents. Cohen's parents immigrated to the USA from Kyiv. He was first raised in New York City, moving with his mother and siblings to the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles at an early age. At 8, he earned money as a newsboy, selling newspapers on the street. One of his brothers, either Louie or Harry, would drop Mickey off at his regular corner, Soto and Brooklyn Streets (now Cesar E. Chavez Avenue). In 1922, Mickey was sent to reform school for petty crimes including shoplifting and theft. Boxing career As a teenager, Cohen began boxing in illegal prizefights in Los Angeles. In 1929, the 15-year-old moved from Los Angeles to Cleveland to train as a professional boxer with the alias of 'Irish Mickey Cohen'. His first pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territories of the United States by population, most populous U.S. state and the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 3rd largest by area. It is also the most populated Administrative division, subnational entity in North America and the 34th most populous in the world. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous Statistical area (United States), urban regions respectively, with the former having more than 18.7million residents and the latter having over 9.6million. Sacramento, California, Sacramento is the state's capital, while Los Angeles is the List of largest California cities by population, most populous city in the state and the List of United States cities by population, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dominic Faranacci
Dominic is a name common among Roman Catholics and other Latin-Romans as a male given name. Originally from the late Roman-Italic name "Dominicus", its translation means "Lordly", "Belonging to God" or "of the Master". Variations include: Dominicus (Latin rendition), Chiziterem (Igbo), Dominik, Dominick, Domenic, Domenico (Italian), Domanic, Dominiq, Domonic, Domènec (Catalan), Domingo (Spanish), Dominykas (Lithuanian), Domingos (Portuguese), Dominggus and Damhnaic (Irish); feminine forms like Dominica, Dominika, Domenica, Dominga, Domingas; as well as the unisex French origin Dominique. The most prominent Roman Catholic with the name, Saint Dominic, founded the Order of Preachers, also known as Dominican friars. Saint Dominic himself was named after Saint Dominic of Silos. Notable people named Dominic, Dominik or Dominick include: People Saints * Saint Dominic of Silos (1000–1073), Spanish monk * Saint Dominic de la Calzada (1019–1109), Spanish saint *Sain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Rummel
Samuel Louis Rummel (May 26, 1906December 11, 1950) was an American attorney and murder victim. Rummel's clients included Gardena, California poker clubs, gambling ship operator Tony Cornero, and reputed mobster and convicted income-tax evader Mickey Cohen. A shotgun blast killed Rummel outside his home in Laurel Canyon in 1950. No one was ever charged with Rummel's murder but a 2021 history of the Los Angeles underworld states that Rummel was killed on orders from Jack Dragna. Career One history of law enforcement in California in the Earl Warren era described Rummel as "a smart, able lawyer, but had devoted his life and efforts to defending people in the underworld". Rummel represented the owners of Gardena, California-based casinos in "their frequent court battles, and had won a key appeals court decision in 1941 that struck down a challenge to the clubs". Rummel owned 15 percent of the Monterey poker club in Gardena. He had also represented Tony Cornero, who ran gam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barrie Benson
Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part of the extended urban area in southern Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe, Greater Golden Horseshoe. As of the 2021 Census of Population, 2021 census, the city's population was 147,829, while the Census metropolitan areas, census metropolitan area had a population of 212,667 residents. The area was first settled during the War of 1812 as a supply depot for British forces, and Barrie was named after Sir Robert Barrie. The city has grown significantly in recent decades due to the emergence of the technology industry. It is connected to the Greater Golden Horseshoe by Ontario Highway 400 and GO Transit. Significant sectors of the city's diversified economy include education, healthcare, information technology a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
