Carter Roy

That could explain why Mickey Cohen was so outspoken.

He had to point fingers

so no one would get too close to finding him out.

When Johnny Stompanato died, mob boss Mickey Cohen was quick to talk to the press.

He refuted the official story that Cheryl Crane stabbed him to protect her mother from Johnny's abuse.

Mickey Cohen claimed that Johnny was never violent with Lana and the two were madly in love.

He didn't understand why Johnny was being made out to be a monster.

But perhaps he just said this to cover up his own crimes.

According to Johnny's FBI file, Johnny was Mickey's errand boy, bodyguard, a bouncer in his club, and possibly laundering Mickey's money.

He was also Mickey's main man for blackmail.

Mickey knew Johnny was, for lack of a better word, dreamy, and he knew how to seduce women.

So they came up with a plan.

Under the alias Johnny Valentine or John Steele, Johnny would target wealthy actresses and lure them into relationships, or at least a few steamy nights.

Once he gained their trust, he'd ask for money, just a hundred or two to spot him until next time.

Then these loans would get bigger and bigger, sometimes as much as $5,000, the equivalent of almost 60,000 today.

When the women refused, he'd drop the lover act.

Pay up or the world will see pictures.

You see, once Johnny seduced the women, he or one of Mickey's associates would secretly film or photograph them having sex.

Through blackmail, they'd bleed the women for all the money they were worth.

A slew of actresses were allegedly Johnny and Mickey's victims, including Marilyn Monroe.