brad lewis

Hollywood's Celebrity Gangster, The Incredible Life and Times of Mickey Cohen
Enigma Books June 2007.

Mickey Cohen was under 5’5 but in the crime world he was considered a giant especially in LA, his chosen hunting ground. His contacts were spread all over the country and included an array of politicians, newsmen and columnists, movie moguls, movie stars and mobsters all of them ready to take his calls from coast to coast. His involvement in crime related matters reads like a history of those years from 1938 to the mid-1970s when he was on the prowl. Written by a tough and knowledgeable insider Brad Lewis tells the whole Mickey Cohen story with this biography. All the whispered anecdotes, the news items and the underside of the crime rackets where Mickey operated are in this book, open to scrutiny. From Bugsy Siegel to Lucky Luciano and Albert Anastasia to Meyer Lansky and Carlos Marcello, Mickey knew them well and worked closely with them for many years. He had dealings with an array of highly unsavory characters like Jack Ruby and was involved peripherally in the JFK assassination investigation because of his close connection to Carlos Marcello. Brad Lewis has researched this biography for a decade and the result is a book that tells the definitive story of one of the toughest gangsters America ever produced.

My Father, Uncle Miltie
Barricade Books 1999.

Milton Berle was the father of American television. His early years served as a template for future variety shows and sitcoms.

Dysplasia
"A page-turning triumph from a first-time author. 'We took care of the dysplasia,' Chessman would say, knowing the patient would ask what "dysplasia" meant. Chessman would launch into how some cells just become evil and then beat up on the good cells. Left unchecked, an evil dysplastic cell continued to become more and more evil, reproducing and bringing in other bad cells, until the good cells just couldn't take it anymore. That's how Dr. Donald Gardner began to see Dr. Hank Chessman, the senior partner of the obstetric/gynecology practice. Hank invited Don into his graces and then trampled him till he mirrored Hank, or so it seemed for awhile."