# La Cosa Nostra (FBI history page)

Canonical: https://mobfiles.org/items/fbi-history-la-cosa-nostra/

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.

This is the FBI's history page "La Cosa Nostra." The old address /investigate/organized-crime/history-of-la-cosa-nostra now redirects to it. It is an agency narrative about the Genovese family, not a primary record. It is cited here for what the Bureau says, and the hearing transcript and court papers are filed separately.

It says that Valachi was sent to the same prison as Vito Genovese and that, "Labeled an informer, Valachi survived three attempts on his life behind bars." It says that in 1962 he killed a man he believed Genovese had sent, and was sentenced to life. It says he was recruited by FBI agents, and that "he appeared before the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on September 27, 1963 and testified that he was a member of a secret criminal society in the U.S. known as La Cosa Nostra."

The page's photo caption dates a photographed appearance to October 1, 1963. That is also a hearing day. The date field here is the year of the testimony, not a publication date for the page.

## Sources

- Federal Bureau of Investigation, History: Cases and Criminals: https://www.fbi.gov/history/cases-and-criminals/la-cosa-nostra