The name of Joe Valachi dominated front pages everywhere, even those of the Clarion-Ledger, in the fall of 1963. Valachi was the first member of the Mafia to squeal and squeal he did before a Congressional committee on the inner workings of La Cosa Nostra. To think it all started with Vito Genovese giving him the "kiss of death" while serving time together. Forget The Godfather, this is the real story of the mob.
Kiss of death, one might ask? Genovese gave him the infamous Sicilian warning of impending death. In revenge, Valachi broke the code of omerta and told all he knew. It was a major breakthrough, the equivalent of a KGB section chief defecting.
Valachi spoke of killings, the structure of the mob, payoffs, and other information kept secret for decades or ignored by those in power such as J. Edgar Hoover. This was the first time La Cosa Nostra was truly exposed to the nation from the inside.
More articles will be published in a future post. In case readers are wondering, Valachi died years later in prison of a heart attack at age 66.
10 comments:
Geez, once upon a time Jackson had a paper that printed news.
If you haven't read the book, "The Valachi Papers," I highly recommend it.
And a few days later, Carlos Marcello fled NOLA/Biloxi and returned to his
full-time tomato business somewhere in Jefferson Parish.
The most shocking thing I saw in those articles was the mention of George Wallace being invited to speak at Yale.
Mob? There isn't, there wasn't any Mob. Hoover said there wasn't, I believe it, and that settles it.
@9:34 The only reason that would surprise you would be if you were ignorant of Skull & Bones.
9:34: "Buckley and Wallace at Yale"
A senator remarked that Valachi had a remarkable memory and asked if he wrote these conversations and happenings down somewhere. Valachi replied (to peals of laughter) “Senator, nobody takes notes in my business”.
Is there any Mob in Mississippi? Who is The Big Guy? Or is Mississippi last again, last in Mob presence?
No mob in Mississippi? I thought that’s what the Rankin County Sheriff Office was.
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