Mobster Joseph Valachi begins his testimony in an open session before the Senate, sharing insider information about how organized crime works. In September 1963, Joseph Valachi became the first ...

THE VALACHI PAPERS by Peter Maas. 285 pages. Putnam. $6.95. Joseph Michael Valachi looks a bit like a Damon Runyon gangster—the tough guy who really is all heart. Short (5 ft. 6 in.) and bandy-legged, ...

is pulp rather than a great film). The narrative is framed by scenes involving an older, imprisoned Valachi, we're yanked back in time to see his rise through the ranks as he earns the trust of older ...

Sentenced to 15 years in prison, former mob "button man" Joe Valachi (Charles Bronson) turns informant when he learns top Mafia capo Vito Genovese (Lino Ventura) has put a $100,000 contract out on his ...

For two weeks the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations received instructions in the organization of American crime from an experienced crook, Joseph Valachi. The Senators' desire to expand ...

Peter Maas, who chronicled the lives of Mafia informants, government whistleblowers and incorruptible cops during a prolific 50-year career as an author and journalist, has died at the age of 72. He ...

American author Peter Maas was probably best know for The Valachi Papers - an account of the brutal career of Joseph Valachi, a Mob soldier who decided to become a police informant. Valachi's ...

Peter Maas, who wrote convincingly about crooks and incorruptible cops in such best-selling books as “Serpico,” and “The Valachi Papers,” died Thursday. He was 72. Maas died at Mount Sinai Hospital in ...