Joseph Valachi

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Joseph Valachi
Italian-American Mafia member to acknowledge its existence publicly
Valachi hearings
Spouse
Carmela Reina
(m. 1932)
Relatives
Drug trafficking (1959)
Murder (1962)
Criminal penalty15 years imprisonment
Life imprisonment

Joseph Michael Valachi (September 22, 1904

cosa nostra.[3]

Valachi was convicted of drug trafficking in 1959, and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment. In 1962 while he and Genovese family boss

U.S. Senate committee in what became known as the Valachi hearings. He disclosed previously unknown information about the Italian-American Mafia, including its structure, operations, rituals, and membership. His testimony was the first major violation of omertà, the Mafia's code of silence, and the first concrete evidence that the Italian-American Mafia existed to federal authorities
and the general public. Valachi died in prison on April 3, 1971.

Early life

Valachi was born on September 22, 1904

alcoholic, and Valachi later blamed his background for his having turned to organized crime.[1]

Career

Minutemen

Valachi's criminal career began with a small gang, known as the Minutemen, which was so called for carrying out

grand larceny charges, and in 1923, he was arrested in the aftermath of a botched robbery. He pleaded guilty to attempted burglary and was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment at Sing Sing but was released after he had served only nine months.[5] Valachi returned to discover he had been replaced with a new driver by the Minutemen and so he formed a new burglary gang.[6]

Italian-American Mafia

In 1930, Valachi was

Anthony "Tony Bender" Strollo
. In July 1932, Valachi married Carmela Reina, the eldest daughter of Gaetano Reina.

In 1953, boss Vito Genovese allegedly ordered the murder of mobster Steven Franse.[7] Genovese had given Franse the task of supervising his wife Anna while he hid in Italy.[7] Outraged over Anna's potential love affairs and her lawsuit against him, Genovese ordered Valachi to set up Franse's murder.[8] On June 18, 1953, Valachi lured Franse to his restaurant in the Bronx, where Franse was strangled to death by Pasquale Pagano and Fiore Siano (Valachi's nephew).[8]

Federal testimony

Valachi was convicted of narcotics violations in 1959 and sentenced to 15 years in prison.[9] Valachi's motivations for becoming an informer had been the subject of some debate: Valachi claimed to be testifying as a public service and to expose a powerful criminal organization that he had blamed for ruining his life, but it is also possible he was hoping for government protection as part of a plea bargain in which he was sentenced to life imprisonment instead of death for a murder, which he had committed in 1962 while in prison for his narcotics violation.[9]

Valachi and Genovese were both serving sentences for

FBI handlers, Valachi came forward with a story of Genovese giving him a kiss on the cheek, which he took as a "kiss of death."[11][12][13] Valachi claimed a $100,000 bounty had been placed for his death by Genovese.[14]

When Valachi decided to co-operate with the

In October 1963, Valachi testified before

Although Valachi's disclosures never led directly to the prosecution of any Mafia leaders, he provided many details of

history of the Mafia, operations and rituals; aided in the solution of several unsolved murders; and named many members and the major crime families. The trial exposed American organized crime to the world through Valachi's televised testimony.[18]

After the Justice Department first encouraged and then blocked publication of Valachi's memoirs, a biography, heavily influenced by the memoirs as well as interviews with Valachi, was written by journalist Peter Maas and published in 1968 as The Valachi Papers,[19] forming the basis for a later film of the same title, starring Charles Bronson in the titular role.

Death

On April 3, 1971, Valachi died of a

heart attack while he was serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, La Tuna, in Anthony, Texas.[20] Marie K. Jackson of Niagara Falls, New York, claimed Valachi’s body and he was buried four days later at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Lewiston, New York.[21][22] Valachi was introduced to Jackson by a mutual friend, and it is rumored that she was his mistress. It was later learned that Valachi had listed her as his executor and beneficiary. Valachi and Jackson are buried along side each other. [23]

In popular culture

  • The Valachi Papers, 1968 book by Peter Maas
  • The Valachi Papers, 1972 film based on the book; Valachi is portrayed by Charles Bronson
  • Francis Ford Coppola, in his director's commentary on The Godfather Part II (1974), mentioned that the scenes depicting the Senate committee interrogation of Michael Corleone and Frank Pentangeli are based on Valachi's federal hearings and that Pentangeli is like a Valachi figure.[24]
  • In The Simpsons episode "Homie the Clown", there is a scene where Homer, having been kidnapped by the mob for resembling Krusty the Clown, attempts to explain that he's not actually Krusty with a fake name. Homer inadvertently stumbles upon Joe Valachi's name, whom the mobsters instantly recognize as "The same Joe Valachi who squealed to the Senate about organized crime."
  • Godfather of Harlem, portrayed by Richard Petrocelli
  • In Mark Winegardener's authorized sequel to The Godfather, The Godfather Returns, one of the Corleone family caporegimes, Nick Geraci, goes underground and writes a book about his experiences, titled Fausto's Bargain.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c September 22, 1904, is a birth date most commonly used,[1] however, September 22, 1903, is a birth date that has also been cited.[2]

References

  1. ^ from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  2. .
  3. ^ a b c "Their Thing, Time, August 16, 1963". Archived from the original on May 14, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  4. ^ "Wedding acts, Domenico Villacci and Maria Casale (1897, April 5). Record no. 13". State Archives of Avellino. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Maas, pp. 38–42.
  6. ^ Maas, pp. 42–43.
  7. ^ a b Sifakis pp. 172
  8. ^ a b The Dying of the Light: The Joseph Valachi Story by Thomas L. Jones (TruTv Crime Library)
  9. ^ a b c "History of La Cosa Nostra". fbi.gov. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  10. .
  11. .
  12. ^ Kelly, G. Milton (October 1, 1963). "Valachi To Tell Of Gang War For Power". Warsaw Times-Union. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  13. ^ "The rat who started it all; For 40 years, Joe Valachi has been in a Lewiston cemetery, a quiet end for the mobster who blew the lid off 'Cosa Nostra' when he testified before Congress in 1963". buffalonews.com. October 9, 2011. Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  14. ^ Adam Bernstein (June 14, 2006). "Lawyer William G. Hundley, 80". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  15. ^ "Killers in Prison", Time, October 4, 1963. "Killers in Prison - TIME". Archived from the original on May 16, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2019..
  16. ^ "The Smell of It", Time, October 11, 1963. ""The Smell of It" - TIME". Archived from the original on May 16, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2019..
  17. ^ Raab, Selwyn (2005). Five Families. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 135–136.
  18. ^ His Life and Crimes, Time, January 17, 1969. Archived July 13, 2012, at archive.today.
  19. Newspapers.com
    .
  20. ^ "Valachi buried Upstate". The New York Times. May 8, 1971. Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  21. ^ https://historiclewiston.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Valachi-Buried-in-Lewiston.pdf
  22. ^ https://historiclewiston.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Valachi-Buried-in-Lewiston.pdf
  23. .

External links