Valachi Sings a Song of the Mob: A Request by Bobby Kennedy

Joe Valachi had served in the mob as a soldier for over thirty years and had be witness to the rise of the organization that had created the Commission. Valachi had been formally brought into the Mafia in 1931 and rose through the ranks during the period in which Luciano rose to power. He had not risen far in the ranks of the organization but had collected enough information about mob activities over the years to be a walking history book of the rise of organized crime. He had "earned his bones" by taking part in a number of murders and had reached a level in which he was able to supervise small rackets, but always remained answerable to those above him in the crime hierarchy. His memory was what was to make him known through out the world as the man who spilled the beans about the structure and history of the organization.

When he began to fear that Genovese planned to have him hit, he felt betrayed after all the years he had served the organization. When he attacked an inmate that he felt was trying to carry out his sentence of death and was confronted with a return to the main body of prisoners and probably face other murder attempts, he had reached the point at which he felt he had to protect himself. He requested to speak to federal authorities explaining that he was ready to cooperate in return for federal protection. He was installed in a new prison under a false name and given protection in return for his cooperation. It took a matter of months before he really began to talk. But when he opened up he began to spin a tale that covered the entire span of modern organized crime. He knew where the bodies were buried and who was responsible for putting them there. He knew in great detail the secret history of the wars between families and factions. His knowledge of the organizational structure of the mob and its ties with the political and legitimate world answered quested that had been asked by federal authorities for years. He was not the first from the organization that had presented information to government agents, but his attention to detail was amazing. He was present at the beginning and could lead agents through the twisting past of American crime to the present day. Charts were created displaying the organizational structure of the various families and the various rules of the crime game were explained in detail.

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