And Justice for All, 1954-1971 (FBI history page)

A chapter of the FBI's institutional history. It says that in 1963, "thanks in part to the FBI," Valachi became the first major Mafia turncoat to testify in public before a Senate subcommittee.

Date: 1963
Kind: agency-history
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, A Brief History of the FBI
Retrieved: 2026-10-12
Rights: Text published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on fbi.gov. A United States government work, public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105. The photograph on the page is credited "AP Photo" and is not covered by that statement; it is not reproduced here.

A chapter of the FBI’s own history of the Bureau, covering 1954 to 1971, including the Apalachin meeting of 1957 and its aftermath. It is an institutional narrative, not a record of the hearing.

It says that in 1963, thanks in part to the FBI, “the first major Mafia turncoat—Joseph Valachi—publicly spilled the beans before a Senate subcommittee.” Its photograph shows his demonstration of the oath on October 1, 1963. The photograph is credited to the Associated Press and is not a federal work, so this archive does not reproduce it. Only the FBI’s text is cited.

itemLa Cosa Nostra (FBI history page)The FBI's history essay on the Genovese family. It says that Valachi survived three attempts on his life in prison and testified before the Senate subcommittee on September 27, 1963.itemTestimony of Joseph Valachi, October 1, 1963: the initiation ceremonyValachi described the ceremony at which he said he was made a member, with Salvatore Maranzano speaking. The same day, staff presented Exhibit 8, the Masseria-Maranzano war chart.