Word: valachi
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Dates: during 1963-1963
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Kind & Gentle. To his neighbors in Atlantic Highlands, N.J., the quiet suburban town where he lived for some 30 years and raised his two children, Genovese seemed a "kind and gentle man." But according to Joe Valachi, the underworld canary who sang for the Senate's McClellan committee, Neapolitan-born Racketeer Genovese, 65, is the "boss of all bosses." He arrived, Valachi explained, by a straightforward tactic: he had his rivals murdered...
Genovese operated mostly around New York City, specializing in gambling and narcotics. As far back as 1947, New York's Governor Thomas Dewey called him "the new king of the rackets." And king or not, he made crime pay. His wealth, said Valachi, "would break the adding machine." His estranged wife said that Genovese was worth over $30 million, mostly stashed away in safe-deposit boxes...
Ostensibly, Valachi testified to convince the Senate of the need for stronger laws against organized crime. He appeared before the committee as Attorney General Robert Kennedy's chief witness for two proposals, allowing a relaxation of strict wiretapping regulations and giving him the authority to grant immunity to informers. Both of these measures have been scarcely mentioned, and many Senators concede that Valachi has provided few substantive arguments for their approval...
...Valachi's testimony was little more than entertainment. His stories about "The Clutching Hand," "Three Finger Brown," and "Cheech" captured a large national audience and provided publicity for the committee's members, particularly its chairman, Senator John McClellan, who faces a tough reelection campaign. But they did not provide the Senators with any new information on or new insights into the nature of organized crime in the United States...
...Senators want to learn about American crime, they should do so, but they should not corrupt the Senate's legitimate powers of investigation, as they have done with Valachi performance...