Joseph 'Joe Cargo' Valachi was the first Mafia member to publicly acknowledge the existence of the Mafia. He is also the person who made Cosa Nostra (meaning "this thing of ours") a household name. In October 1963, Valachi (a "soldier" in New York City's powerful Vito Genovese crime family, whose primary "job" within the family was that of a driver) had testified before Arkansas Senator John L. McClellan's congressional committee on organized crime that the Mafia did exist. Wikipedia
Valachi's view was not from the top but was more a worms eye view, as he was never involved in the corporate decisions that formed its policy. www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/valachi...
Joseph Valachi (1903-1971) Informer Despite its notoriety, Joe Valachi's testimony before a Senate committee never led - directly - to the jailing of any criminal. www.carpenoctem.tv/mafia/valachi.html
The definitive Wikipedia entry for Joe Valachi. Wikipedia is the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Valachi
Valachi blew the whistle on the inner workings of the Mafia, or La Cosa Nostra. "Dis is my duty." And with those words, Valachi unveiled what many people refused to believe, thatcrime was organized. ... Valachi died in prison in 1971. Vito Genovese www.ipsn.org/valachi.html
