Sam Farkas

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For namesake of the landmark building, see Sam Farkas House.

Sam Farkas
Sam Farkas Mugshot
Mugshot of Farkas taken c. 1959
BornMay 15, 1917
New York
DiedAugust 13, 2006(2006-08-13) (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

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

  1. ^ "Simple Rites for Rummel". Daily News. December 15, 1950. p. 41. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  2. ^ Rasmussen, Cecilia (November 30, 1997). "History of Hollywood Madams Is Long Lurid". The Los Angeles Times. p. 395. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  3. ^ "Mickey Cohen pal nearly rubbed out". Daily News. January 28, 1952. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  4. ^ "Marriage". The Austin American. September 6, 1959. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  5. ^ a b Spinrad, Jack (May 6, 2024). "Speakeasy: Mob Stories from St. Petersburg". Green Bench Monthly. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  6. ^ "Former Resident Is Indicted". The News-Star. July 11, 1974. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "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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