Roy Cohn
Chances are you are too young to remember Roy Cohn. Born less than a year after Roscoe Bartlett, he made a big name for himself early in life. Those who do remember him, recall a brash young lawyer who, at just 24 years of age, was the one most responsible for convicting Ethel and Julius Rosenberg of nuclear espionage in 1951. His performance in that trial brought him to the attention of Sen. Joseph McCarthy who hired him as his chief counsel/attack dog. The ensuing congressional hearings were the subject of the film Good Night, and Good Luck and archival footage of Cohn himself appeared in that film.
Cohn went on to represent such "luminaries" as Mafia dons John Gotti and Carmen Galante, Donald Trump and the New York Yankees. He also served as an adviser to Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
When the McCarthy hearings were raging, rumors floated around Washington that Roy Cohn was a homosexual, and it was true that he had an extensive collection of stuffed animals. Cohn died of AIDS 22 years ago.
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