Word: nostra
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When Hoodlum Joe Valachi appeared before Arkansas Senator John McClellan's Permanent Investigations Subcommittee last week, he rasped out a 31-hour rhapsody of names, crimes and Cosa Nostra syndicate secrets. Valachi's song held nothing new for U.S. lawmen: he had been holding private recitals for them for more than a year. But his testimony might provide some ideas for show biz scriptwriters...
...appearance before the committee might gain. Bobby spoke about new wiretap laws and extending immunity from prosecution for racketeers who cooperate with the Justice Department. McClellan said vaguely that he had in mind some kind of law to "prohibit membership in such a criminal and secret organization as Cosa Nostra." And Joe Valachi thought organized crime should probably be outlawed-largely because "the bosses been thinking only of themselves for years...
...separate attacks. One was a member of the Gallo gang, from which killers had been recruited for the rub-out of Albert Anastasia; the other was an ex-Gallo hoodlum who had deserted to a rival Brooklyn gang. Little wonder that many a mobster was muttering "Cosa Nostra si sta rompendo" (Our Thing is breaking...
...that bloody feud that led to the Apalachin summit meeting of Cosa Nostra higher-ups in November 1957. There the council approved Genovese's action, and he emerged as undisputed boss. For his part, Gambino inherited Anastasia's spot as a New York capo...
...Second-Class Rackets. More than internal rivalry has sapped the strength of Cosa Nostra in recent years. Its profitable trafficking in narcotics and prostitution has become too dangerous. Now it has been reduced to such second-class rackets as Shylocking (lending money at exorbitant interest rates), gambling and extortion...