But things would soon change with the arrival of a powerful and ruthless rival from the faraway East Coast: lethal, unpredictable Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel. Sent to Los Angeles to do Bugsy’s bidding, the loutish, impetuous Cohen preferred to do a few things for himself first. In the summer of 1947 he was paroled, and returned to L.A., and resumed his partnership with Jack Dragna. Permission for the hit to occur in Los Angeles was courteously requested of Jack Dragna as ranking regional boss. And so began the so-called “Battle of the Sunset Strip,” the bloodiest gang war in the history of Los Angeles.

Source: Daily Mirror December 07, 2018 11:26 UTC