Joe Valachi
Joseph Michael "Joe" Valachi (born September 22, 1904 in East Harlem , New York City , † April 3, 1971 in El Paso , Texas ) was an American Mafioso and is the so-called " Genovese family " in New York City added.
He became generally known for the fact that he was in principle the first member of the American Cosa Nostra to break the imperative of silence - the omertà - and to testify as a key witness in October 1963 before a committee of inquiry of the United States Congress .
Life
Early years
Joseph Michael Valachi was the son of Maria and Dominick Valachi, who emigrated to New York City from Naples . He was one of 17 children, the family was accordingly poor and took what they could get, which probably also included illegal activities. One day his younger brother Johnny was found dead in the street, and it remained unclear whether he had been the victim of an accident or whether the police had beaten him to death.
His eldest brother Anthony Valachi, two other siblings and his grandmother were admitted to a mental institution. At the age of 11 he threw a stone at his teacher, and Valachi went to a reform school for difficult children. He left school at 15 and worked with his father at 107 Street near the East River with the garbage collectors.
At 18, he became a member of a street gang known as the "Minute Men" for their skillful behavior, and Valachi was embroiled in hundreds of thefts without being brought to justice for the next four years.
That changed, however, when he broke into a shop in August 1923; he was caught by the police and shot in the arm. On October 26, 1923, he had to begin his first nine-month prison sentence in Sing Sing . When he was released, he resumed his burglar career but started his own small group. However, he was discovered again by the police during a break- in. During the persecution, he was hit in the head with a bullet and had to be treated by an "underground doctor" (well-known in his circles) who did not report gunshot wounds to the police for a fee.
After he had recovered, he tried to pull off a robbery with others in "upper" Manhattan , and although the escape was successful, the police were able to trace the lead back to Valachi, so that he was back in Sing Sing in April 1925 to serve a three-year-old Prison sentence was served.
After a short time in custody, he was attacked by Peter LaTempa , who wounded him almost fatally from behind with a knife. It took 18 stitches to close the wound. The background to this was the fact that the group around Ciro Terranova wanted to have recognized Valachi as the driver of a car who was involved in a (victimless) drive-by shoot a few months before he was imprisoned in the Sicilian territory. Valachi has always denied its involvement in this campaign. The background to the suspicion was his work as a getaway driver for an Irish gang, which made him suspicious in the eyes of traditional Mustache Petes . Through the mediation of Dominick "The Gap" Petrilli this mistake was cleared up, but Valachi never forgave the client Ciro Terranova for this attack.
This almost fatal attack changed his life. Not only did he learn to read and write and catch up on his school-leaving certificate, he also came into contact with Alessandro Vollero , who was serving a life sentence because he had the (step) brother of Ciro Terranova, Nicholas Morello , in the Mafia in 1916. Camorra war had killed. This now introduced him to the secrets of organized crime with Italian characteristics, which also included the important distinction between Sicilians and non-Sicilians.
On June 15, 1928 Valachi was released, initially worked as a thief and burglar again and again gathered a small group around him; from "missions" of two to three nights each could achieve an income of up to $ 1,500 per capita.
Contact with the Cosa Nostra
Through Dominick Petrilli the contact to Girolama Santucci , better known as Bobby Doyle , who in turn introduced him to Gaetano "Tommy" Gagliano , ended Valachi's career as a simple thief and began as a mobster and mafioso in the Cosa Nostra . Together with Gagliano, he committed numerous break-ins and armed robberies.
On November 5, 1930, Valachi was allegedly involved in the murder of Alfred Mineo and Steve Ferrigno , which initially brought about a decisive turning point in the War of Castellammare . He became the partner of Anthony Strollo and Bobby Doyle ; the trio got into gambling and they initially started operating 20 slot machines. When Lucky Luciano got into trouble with Michael "Little Apples" Reggione , it was Joe Valachi and Peter Maione who murdered Reggione together.
Joe married Valachi on September 18, 1932, and his wedding was one of the few public appearances at which his childhood friend Gaetano Gagliano , boss of one of the Five Families , was ever seen.
Valachi continued to partner with Anthony Strollo. When this also ran some night clubs in Greenwich Village , he received the Greenwich Village . On September 20, 1952, Eugenio Giannini was murdered in East Harlem on Strollo's instructions by Valachi, Fiore Siano , and Joseph and Pasquale Pagano . In Valachi's nightclub, Stephen Franse was strangled to death by Valachi on June 19, 1953 because he was suspected of being a police informant.
In prison he also met Vito Genovese , who came to believe that Valachi was a government informant. When Joseph Saupp was transferred to his cell, he mistakenly believed him to be a confidante of Genovese who had come to murder him, and he was killed. Since he now feared that he would be sentenced to death for it, he was obviously looking for a deal with the judiciary .
Pentito
Valachi was the first member of the Cosa Nostra who, as Pentito, admitted the existence of organized crime in the USA and thus violated one of the main rules - silence (" Omertà "). This was the first time that the name “La Cosa Nostra” was used publicly.
Originally, Valachi only wanted to make statements about drug trafficking, but Justice Minister Robert F. Kennedy also asked Valachi about the organization of the criminal Sicilians. Instead of going to court, Kennedy then cited Valachi to the United States Congress , and his testimony was given at an October 1963 hearing. What was special about the hearing was that Kennedy also allowed film and television cameras to reach a wide audience.
Among other things, Valachi stated during the hearing that Francesco Scalice, who was shot by unknown killers in front of a fruit and vegetable shop on June 17, 1957, was murdered on behalf of Albert Anastasia . One of those directly involved is said to have been Jimmy Squillante . According to Valachi, Anastasia accused him of “trading” with membership in the Cosa Nostra: gangsters paid Scalise 50,000 US dollars instead of “proving themselves” through murder .
With Valachi's help, 317 members of the Cosa Nostra were identified and exposed; In the 3 years from 1963 to 1966 alone, more convictions were pronounced as a result of his statements than in the 30 years before.
"... a significant addition to the broad picture ... gives meaning to much that we already know and brings the picture into sharper focus."
"... a considerable addition to the big picture ... gives meaning to a lot of what we already know and sharpens our view of the overall context."
The end
Valachi was guarded by up to 200 US marshals while he testified before Congress. In 1966 he undertook in prison a suicide attempt , but which failed. Valachi wrote down his memoirs with the help of the journalist Peter Maas , which Maas published in 1968 as “The Valachi Papers”.
He died of a heart attack on April 3, 1971, surviving his former boss Vito Genovese, who had offered $ 100,000 in bounty for the murder of Joe Valachis .
Adaptations
Based on the book, the film The Valachi Papers was shot in 1972 with Charles Bronson as Joseph Valachi and Lino Ventura as Vito Genovese, director was Terence Young . The film shows the events described by Valachi and Maas in a very simplified way.
Documentation
2012: In the Mafia Network - The FBI's secret files : The key witness: Joe Valachi; First broadcast Germany ( ZDF ) May 27, 2013 (OT: Mafia's Greatest Hits: Joseph Valachi; first broadcast UK June 20, 2012)
Quotes
"In the circle in which I travel, a dumb man is more dangerous than a hundred rats."
"In the circles in which I frequent, a silent [en:" dumb "= originally" stupid "but also - as here -" dumb "] man is more dangerous than a hundred rats."
literature
- Peter Maas : The Valachi Papers . HarperCollins , 1968, ISBN 978-0-06-050742-8 .
Web links
- Seize the Night: Joe Valachi on www.carpenoctem.tv (English)
- Joe Valachi in the database of Find a Grave (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Valachi_Papers.html?id=dzAZAAAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y
- ^ "His Life and Crimes" at www.time.com. Original article in Time magazine January 17, 1969
- ↑ Biography of Anthony Strollo ( memento of February 6, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) on www.angelfire.com (English)
- ↑ Their Thing at www.time.com. Original article in Time magazine from August 16, 1963. (English)
- ↑ Seize the Night: Joe Valachi ( Memento of the original from December 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on www.carpenoctem.tv (English)
- ↑ Cosa Nostra Informer Joseph Valachi Dies
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Valachi, Joe |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Valachi, Joseph Michael |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American mafioso |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 22, 1904 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | East Harlem , New York City |
| DATE OF DEATH | 3rd April 1971 |
| Place of death | El Paso , Texas |