Valachi hearings
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The Valachi hearings, also known as the McClellan hearings, investigated organized crime activities across the United States. The hearings were initiated by Arkansas Senator John L. McClellan in 1963.
Joseph Valachi testifying at the hearings with mafia organizational charts behind him
Sicilian Mafia
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The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra, also known as the Mafia, is an Italian secret criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dating back to the mid-19th century.
Valachi hearings
…Valachi was the first member of the Italian-American Mafia to acknowledge its existence publicly, and is credited with popularization of the term cosa nostra. The trial also exposed the hierarchy of the American Mafia, including the Five Families and The Commission. In October 1963, Valachi testified before…
Representation of two brigand members of Cosa Nostra towards the end of the 19th century
Sketch of the 1901 trial of suspected mafiosi in Palermo. From the newspaper L'Ora, May 1901.
Salvatore Riina
Giulio Andreotti, seven-time Prime Minister of Italy, had proven links to the Mafia.