Roy Marcus Cohn was born on February 20, 1927, in The Bronx, New York City. He was an American lawyer and prosecutor who rose to prominence in the 1950s for his role as Senator Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel during the Army-McCarthy hearings.
Cohn was educated at Columbia University and began his career as a U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor. He gained national attention for his role in the espionage trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, where he successfully prosecuted the Rosenbergs, leading to their execution in 1953.
As a prominent lawyer, Cohn represented and mentored many notable clients, including real estate developer and later U.S. President Donald Trump, during Trump's early business career. He also became a prominent political fixer in New York City in the late 1970s and 1980s.
However, Cohn's career was marred by controversy and scandal. He was disbarred by the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court in 1986 for unethical conduct after attempting to defraud a dying client by forcing the client to sign a will amendment leaving him the client's fortune.
Cohn died on August 2, 1986, five weeks after being disbarred, at the age of 59, due to AIDS-related complications. Despite his denial, it is widely believed that he had been suffering from HIV.
