The New York Times - October 23, 1986
Joseph Berger

The tributes were paid to Mr. Cohn at a memorial service at Town Hall. He was also called a loyal friend, a man who relished humor and "had an almost insatiable interest in gossip," a patriot who deeply loved the United States and saw the Soviet Union as a "hideous enemy."

In the 1950's, Mr. Cohn was the chief counsel to Joseph R. McCarthy's Senate investigations into Communist influence in the United States. His later career as a prominent lawyer ended in disbarment. He died Aug. 2 at the age of 59.

Among the more than 500 people who attended were former Mayor Abraham D. Beame of New York, City Council President Andrew J. Stein, the former Tammany leader Carmine DeSapio, the former Brooklyn Democratic leader Meade Esposito, the publisher Rupert Murdoch, the television personality Barbara Walters, the cosmetics industrialist Estee Lauder, the real estate owner Lewis Rudin, the New York Times columnist William Safire and several judges.

Harsh Words for the Press

Two of the eulogists recalled Mr. Cohn's ability to call on friends in the media, but others spoke of how the press had sought to hurt him. Mr. Cohn's partner at the New York law firm of Saxe, Bacon & Bolan, Thomas A. Bolan, said that Mr. Cohn's "political enemies tried to shoot him down," and that his "foes in the media painted him as ruthless, unscrupulous and insensitive."

Mr. Cohn, Mr. Bolan acknowledged, could be "blunt and abrasive" in dealing with his adversaries, but he also was a man who "had an obsession to help people in trouble." Mr. Bolan recalled the many cases Mr. Cohn took on without compensation and how, near death, he wept because he could not finish helping a friend through a difficult matter.

The businessman William D. Fugazy spoke of Mr. Cohn's zest for life even as death approached. "He still hopped the tables, worked the crowd, despite a whispering campaign about his life style and affliction," Mr. Fugazy said.

In the last months of his life, Mr. Cohn denied rumors that he was suffering from AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, saying he had liver cancer. His death certificate listed as a secondary cause of death "underlying HTLV-3 infections." Most scientists believe the HTLV-3 virus is the cause of AIDS, which is statistically most common among homosexual men and intravenous drug users.

Disbarred on Grounds of Ethics

Mr. Cohn was disbarred June 23 in a unanimous decision by a five-judge panel of the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court, which found his conduct in several legal cases unethical.

Mr. Fugazy assailed those who sought to have Mr. Cohn removed from the bar. "They tried to exact a pound of flesh from one of its most brilliant members," he said.

United States Senator Chic Hecht of Nevada and Mr. Bolan praised Mr. Cohn for alerting the country to the dangers of Communism. "The liberal establishment," Mr. Bolan said, "never forgave Roy." What Mr. Bolan called the "hatred and lust for revenge" that followed barely subsided, he said.

Mr. Cohn was praised for his ability to argue cases and for his quick mind and excellent memory. He was also gently chided for a habitual reluctance to spend long hours preparing for a case. The political consultant Roger Stone recalled that Mr. Cohn, while riding to a trial, once scolded him for not being prepared for a television interview about Ronald Reagan's Presidential campaign. Moments afterward, Mr. Cohn turned to an associate and said, "What's this case about, anyway?"

The service ended with the singing of "God Bless America," which Mr. Bolan said was Mr. Cohn's favorite song.

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