Within each family is a Boss, Underboss, lieutenant and soldiers. Cities, or in the case of New York City, portions of cities, are controlled by Families. Valachi provides the FBI with the organizational structure of the Cosa Nostra. Literally translated, Cosa Nostra translates to "our thing." The Mafia is what outsiders call the Italian crime syndicate-insiders call it Cosa Nostra. When an agent asks, early during his interviews, if the organization is the Mafia, Valachi corrects the agent. Through their recent electronic surveillance, the phrase "Cosa Nostra" has popped up occasionally but its meaning or importance is unknown. The account and details provided by Valachi, who the authorities feel has perfect retention, astounds the authorities. In an effort to play catch-up in their knowledge about the underworld, the FBI frantically collects massive amounts of intelligence via electronic bugs and wiretaps.Īt the time of Valachi's revelations, the FBI has strong suspicions that an organized crime syndicate exists but evidence is scarce and not conclusive. However, Kennedy gives the Justice Department new direction and focus is shifted to organized crime. Prior to the installation of Attorney General Robert Kennedy, the FBI's main focus had been hunting down domestic communists, neglecting the crime underworld at large. The timing for Valachi's revelations is ideal. Valachi is arrested for murder one but the charge is reduced to second degree murder when Valachi agrees to finally talk. Under the overwhelming pressure of having his life at risk, Valachi mistakes a fellow inmate for a potential assassin and kills him. He becomes suspicious that Valachi may have talked and puts a mark out on Valachi. Crime boss Vito Genovese is serving time at the same facility.
Valachi refuses to talk and is returned to the Federal prison in Atlanta. The agents hope to pressure Valachi into talking about his drug operation by threatening him with another narcotics charge.
Valachi has just begun his sentence when he is whisked away to New York by Federal agents. He largely escapes jail time, but during the latter part of his "career," he receives a twenty year sentence on a narcotics charge. Joseph Valachi is a soldier in the Cosa Nostra for thirty years. See this thread for more information."The Valachi Papers" by Peter Maas, provides an account of the internal workings of the Cosa Nostra, the Italian arm of the criminal underworld in the United States, as provided by one of its members. Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. The Valachi Papers, which told the story of Mafia turncoat Joseph Valachi, is widely considered to be a seminal work, as it spawned an entire genre of books written by or about former Mafiosi. His other notable bestsellers include The Valachi Papers, Manhunt, and In a Child's Name, recipient of the 1991 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime book. He is also the author of the number one New York Times bestseller, Underboss, about the life and times of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano. He was the biographer of Frank Serpico, a New York City Police officer who testified against police corruption.
He was born in New York City and attended Duke University. Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goo Peter Maas was an American journalist and author. Peter Maas was an American journalist and author.
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