Talk:Philip Kovolick

Kovolick/Cohen
I believe Philip "Little Farvel" Kovolick has been confused with "Little Farvel" Cohen. Phil "the Stick" Kovolick was also referred to in Hank Messick's bio, "Lansky," as "Little Farvel," which adds to the confusion. In Sandy Sadowsky's "Wedded to Crime," a memoir, she is befriended by Kovolick, and refers to him as just plain "Farvel."

Kovolick, according to Messick and Sadowsky, was a member of the Bugs & Meyer Mob during the 20's, along with Red Levine and others; later he became a lieutenant, bodyguard, and chauffeur to Lansky. He moved to South Florida along with Lansky and, as the Wiki article states, ended up in a steel drum, found in 1972. I've downloaded NY Times articles from the 30's & 40's under his name.

Little Farvel Cohen is also in the Times archives as a separate gangster who was indicted, along with Lepke and others, for murder. Cohen's case was separated, then dismissed, after which he was immediately convicted of a narcotics violation and sent to prison. He was then murdered in 1949.

Some additional confusion arises because Kovolick, along with Red Levine, were apparently also connected to Lepke after the Bugs & Meyer Mob broke up. Both men were arrested in June 1939 and held as well as material witnesses in the Murder Inc trial. The NY Times article states that they were associates of Lepke and on the "mob" payroll. However, Kovolick is not referred to as Little Farvel.

There is no doubt Kovolick was alive in the 60's. This is apparent from the Messick and Sadowsky books ( though riddled with inaccuracies, Messick wrote the book in 1970 ). Kovolick's wife stated he went missing in 1971, and his body was discovered in 1972.Orsinop 23:10, 27 December 2006 (UTC)


 * This same issue has been brough up on WikiPeoject Organized crime regarding a discrepency between "Murder Inc." by Burton B. Turkus and Sid Feir, which claims he was killed in 1949 and a New York Times article which reports his body was found sealed in a drum in Hallandale, Florida in 1973. MadMax 05:39, 29 December 2006 (UTC)