First Italian-American Mafia member to acknowledge its existence publicly Valachi hearings
Spouse
Carmela Reina
(m. 1932)
Relatives
Gaetano Reina (father-in-law)
Allegiance
Genovese crime family
Conviction(s)
Drug trafficking (1959) Murder (1962)
Criminal penalty
15 years imprisonment Life imprisonment
Joseph Michael Valachi (September 22, 1904[nb 1] – April 3, 1971) was an American mobster in the Genovese crime family who was the first member of the Italian-American Mafia to acknowledge its existence publicly in 1963. He is credited with the popularization of the term 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 Vito Genovese were in prison together, he murdered an inmate he thought was a hitman sent by Genovese, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Valachi subsequently became an informant and government witness, and the next year testified before a 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.
Cite error: There are <ref group=nb> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=nb}} template (see the help page).
^Maas, Peter (1986). The Valachi Papers. New York: Pocket Books. pp. 61–62. ISBN 978-0-671-63173-4. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
^Lupo, Salvatore (2015). The Two Mafias: a transatlantic history, 1888-2008. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 123. ISBN 978-1-137-49135-0.
^"Their Thing, Time, August 16, 1963". Archived from the original on May 14, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
Joseph Michael Valachi (September 22, 1904 – April 3, 1971) was an American mobster in the Genovese crime family who was the first member of the Italian-American...
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one was ever charged in his disappearance. When government witness JosephValachi later visited Genovese in prison, Genovese allegedly hinted at responsibility...
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Bender" Strollo ordered a hit there. In September 1952, he met with JosephValachi for dinner. He was given a hit on Eugenio Giannini, a Bureau of Narcotics...
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