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 Mafia to acknowledge its existence publicly in 1963. He is credited with the popularization of the term Cosa Nostra.

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 who 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.

Early life

Valachi was born on September 22, 1904 in the East Harlem area of New York City, United States, to Domenico Villacci and Maria Michela Casale. His parents were impoverished Italian immigrants from Cervinara, in the region of Campania. His father was a violent alcoholic, and Valachi later blamed his background for his having turned to organized crime. In 1921, Valachi was arrested on 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.

Italian-American Mafia

In 1930, Valachi was inducted as a made man into the American Mafia. Genovese had given Franse the task of supervising his wife Anna while he hid in Italy. 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).

Valachi and Genovese were both serving sentences for heroin trafficking. On June 22, 1962, using a pipe left near some construction work, Valachi bludgeoned an inmate to death whom he had mistaken for Joseph DiPalermo, a Mafia member whom he believed Genovese had contracted to kill him. Valachi claimed a $100,000 bounty had been placed for his death by Genovese.

When Valachi decided to co-operate with the U.S. Justice Department, Attorney William G. Hundley became his protector and later stated, "We'd put dark glasses and wigs on him and take him to the Roma restaurant. He was a hell of a guy.... My days with Valachi convinced me that the Cosa Nostra was the most overrated thing since the Communist Party."

In October 1963, Valachi testified before Arkansas Senator John L. McClellan's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations, known as the Valachi hearings, stating that the Italian-American Mafia actually existed, the first time a member had acknowledged its existence in public. Valachi's testimony was the first major violation of omertà, breaking his blood oath. He was the first member of the Italian-American Mafia to acknowledge its existence publicly, and is credited with the popularization of the term cosa nostra.

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, 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. 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. 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 alongside each other.

  • Valachi is portrayed by Joe Viterelli in the 1992 film Ruby.
  • Valachi is portrayed by Richard Petrocelli in the television series Godfather of Harlem.
  • 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."

Notes

References

  • CBS News: The Congress & Cosa Nostra - Joe Valachi Hearings (1963)
  • Seize The Night: Joseph Valachi
  • Joseph Valachi at Find a Grave
  • The Dying of the Light: The Joseph Valachi Story by Thomas L. Jones.
  • Michele Vaccaro, Joe Valachi, il "primo pentito", in Storia in Rete, febbraio 2014, anno X, n. 100.