Sunday, November 10, 2024
Kindle version cracks top-100 lists
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
November 2024 issue of Informer
The Treacherous World
of Joseph Valachi
A rare primary source into Castellammarese War-era Mafia history, Joseph Valachi also described the early gangland of East Harlem, Manhattan and the Bronx, and provided a unique soldier-level view of New York-area organized crime from Prohibition to Apalachin. An early FBI informant, Valachi was the focus of a best-selling book and a popular movie, as well as televised Senate testimony and a lengthy autobiography. Yet, a great deal of the true Valachi story has remained untold.
Now, 60 years after Valachi put pen to paper to tell his story, a team of historians from around the globe is revealing long hidden aspects of his life and investigating the individuals who influenced him.
Contributors to the issue: Thomas Hunt (U.S.), Steve Turner (U.K.), Fabien Rossat (France), Jon Black (U.K.), Thibaut Maïquès (France), J. Michael Niotta PhD (U.S.), Thom L. Jones (New Zealand), Patrick Downey (U.S.), Ellen Poulsen (U.S.).
This Informer issue features articles on various phases of Valachi's existence in and out of "cosa nostra," bios of those who played important roles in his life and background of his time and place. The issue is illustrated with photos, documents and maps.
In addition to Informer's traditional print and electronic magazine formats, this issue is available in hardcover, paperback and ebook formats.The magazine and e-magazine editions total about 260 pages, and the book editions are about 500 pages. The available formats are compared in this table.
Type | Identifier | Dimensions | Color? | Seller | Price (USD) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
MAGAZINE LAYOUTS | |||||
Print Magazine | ISSN: 1943-7803 |
8 1/4" x 10 3/4" 262 pg incl covers |
Yes | MagCloud |
$62.00 |
PDF EMagazine1 | ISSN: 1944-8139 |
N/A | Yes | MagCloud |
$20.00* |
BOOK LAYOUTS | |||||
Print Hardcover2 | ISBN5: 9798340925138 |
6" x 9" x 1.5" 500 pages |
No | Amazon |
$32.95 |
Print Paperback2 | ISBN6: 9798340935007 |
6" x 9" x 1.25" 500 pages |
No | Amazon |
$24.75 |
Kindle EBook3 | ASIN: B0DJD793GL |
N/A | No |
Amazon |
$15.75 |
EPUB EBook4 | GGKEY: EYCX505E9B9 |
N/A | No | GooglePlay |
$15.75 |
1 - PDF document reader - such as Acrobat Reader - required. 2 - The printed books are indexed. (Ebooks/Emagazines can be searched.) 3 - Kindle device or Kindle reader software required. 4 - EPUB device or reader software - such as Calibre - required. 5 - Print hardcover also has ASIN: B0DJX7678D. 6 - Print paperback also has ASIN: B0DJXBBZ2F. * - PDF e-magazine is free with print magazine purchase. |
Issue contents
Introduction: Betrayal ranks among the worst emotional wounds in the human experience. The pain of betrayal probably impacts every person's life to some degree. But in Joseph Valachi's life story, betrayal became a strong and recurring theme...This section runs 5 magazine pages / 8 book pages.
It includes a map, an image, endnotes.
The issue contains the following articles and columns (click for additional information):
- Growing up Valachi
- The Murder Stables (Jon Black)
- Mafia minor leaguers (Thibaut Maïquès)
- Mystery victims
- How a mafioso is 'made' (J. Michael Niotta PhD)
- 'Little Apples'; big lie (Patrick Downey)
- Killing of off-dury officer linked to Valachi kin (Thomas Hunt, Ellen Poulsen)
- Valachi and women
- Valachi and 'the French Connection' (Fabien Rossat)
- Murder by Mistake
- Was Valachi insane?
- Valachi and the FBI rechristened the Mafia
- DOJ vs FBI
- Testimony was 'a mixed bag'
- Minor characters in the Valachi epic (Hunt, Steve Turner)
- Elusive Crime Figures (Hunt, Turner)
- Getting the story printed
- End of Days (Thom L. Jones)
- Valachi's exit
- Last will and testament of Joseph Valachi
- Marie Jackson mysteries remain
- Valachi's life: the motion picture
- Historians review 'Valachi papers' movie
- New books
Feature 1
Growing up Valachi
East Harlem boy becomes Mafia soldier
As the newborn “Giuseppe Vilacio” took his first breath in autumn 1903, his East Harlem community was home to an already substantial and still growing population of first- and second-generation Italian Americans...
18 magazine pages / 34 book pages.
Includes sidebar articles on New York Catholic Protectory; Anthony Valachi; John Valachi; Filomena, Maddalena, Antonetta Valachi.
Map, documents, images, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 2
The Murder Stables
A menacing maze of run-down structures played a significant role in the East Harlem childhood of Joseph Valachi. The structures, built and rebuilt over time from discarded building debris, packing crates and old sheet iron, stood at the corner of First Avenue and East 108th Street. They included junk and rag collection shops, wagon storage and other business uses. At the heart of the ramshackle complex was a boarding stable infamous for criminal activity. Due to its presence, the cluster of shacks acquired an evil reputation and became collectively known as the “Murder Stables”...
10 magazine pages / 17 book pages.
Map, images, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 3
Mafia minor leaguers
East Harlem gangsters became 'mobbed up'
5 magazine pages / 10 book pages.
Images, sources.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 4
Mystery victims
Two killed due to underworld deal were not identified by Valachi
Consiglio |
4 magazine pages / 7 book pages.
Image, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 5
How a mafioso is 'made'
Comparing underworld induction ceremonies of different times and places
5 magazine pages / 10 book pages.
Images, sources.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 6
'Little Apples'; big lie
We weren't told the truth about Valachi's early Mafia murder contract
Reggione |
4 magazine pages / 7 book pages.
Images, documents, sources.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 7
Killing of off-dury officer linked to Valachi kin
Officer Loreto |
6 magazine pages / 12 book pages.
Images, sources.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 8
Valachi and women
5 magazine pages / 10 book pages.
Images, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 10
Murder by mistake
Saupp was fatally beaten because he physically resembled a mobster
11 magazine pages / 16 book pages.
Images, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 9
Valachi and 'the French Connection'
Frank Caruso, Vincent Mauro, Salvatore Maneri |
On December 27, 1961, Joseph Valachi, a member of the Genovese Crime Family, and ten codefendants were convicted of importing into the United States $150 million worth of heroin. Sentenced to twenty years for this affair, it was the end of Valachi’s long racketeering career. A few months later, he would become the first penitent to publicly testify to the existence of Cosa Nostra in the U.S. While Valachi had been an important link in the drug operation, that link was near one end of a vast chain – a multinational trafficking network that the general public would later know (thanks to Director William Friedkin's 1971 film) as The French Connection...
11 magazine pages / 18 book pages.
Images, map, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 11
Was Valachi insane?
Joseph Valachi’s rationality and emotional stability were questioned by a number of sources on a number of occasions. Some issues were raised by Valachi’s history, actions and comments; some by the underworld colleagues he publicly betrayed; some by a critical press...
7 magazine pages / 13 book pages.
Sidebar articles on Counting up the 'crazies,' Lipton's troubles.
Images, document, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 12
Valachi and the FBI
rechristened the Mafia
J. Edgar Hoover |
7 magazine pages / 13 book pages.
Images, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 13
DOJ vs FBI
Government agencies squabbled over the release of Valachi's information
Robert Kennedy and J. Edgar Hoover |
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and its parent Department of Justice had very different ideas of what to do with informant Joseph Valachi and the organized-crime data he provided. In a feud that lasted a year, each agency worked to block and undermine the other and eventually made its own secret publicity arrangements...
8 magazine pages / 14 book pages.
Sidebar articles on Courtney Allen Evans, Miriam Ottenberg
Images, documents, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 14
Testimony was 'a mixed bag'
Valachi's televised appearances amounted to something less than a law enforcement triumph
12 magazine pages / 22 book pages.
Sidebar article on Early slot machine opposition.
Images, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Brief bios
Minor characters in the Valachi epic
Joseph Valachi came into contact with many interesting people, on both sides of the law, during his lifetime. He discussed dozens in his autobiography and in interviews with author Peter Maas, which became the foundation of The Valachi Papers. Though minor characters in the Valachi life story, many are deserving of the special attention of crime historians. In this section, we look at a number of these individuals, providing a summary of what Valachi had to say about them, as well as the data we have been able to assemble from historical records...
(Biographies of Judge Matthew Thomas Abruzzo, Frank “Big Dick” Amato, Ludwig “Dutchman” Augustine, Brother Abel, Frank “Chic 99” Callace, Edward “Eddie Starr” Capobianco, Angelo Caruso, Stephen “Buck Jones” Casertano, Joseph “Muskie” Castaldo, Carmine “Dolly Dimples” Clementi, Ettore “Eddie” Coco, Vincent “Doc” D’Anna, John “Johnny Dee” DeBellis, Dominick “Dom the Sailor” DiQuarto, Michael DiBenedetto, Assoc. Warden Marion Jesse Elliott, Stephen Franse, Narcotics Agent George H. Gaffney, Eugene “Gene” Giannini, Peter “Thomas O’Neill” Heslin, Peter “Muggin” Leone, Frank “Cheech” Livorsi, Samuel “Sam Medal” Medaglia, Nick Paduano, Michael “Little Apples” Reggione, John “Bum” Rodgers, John “Curley” Russomano, “Sadie,” Fiore “Fury” Siano, Innocenzio “John the Bug” Stoppelli, Giuseppe “Diamond Joe Peppe” Viserti, Tony “Sharkey” Zaccaro.)
86 magazine pages / 163 book pages.
Images, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Just One More Thing
Elusive Crime Figures
Identities of some Valachi underworld associates remain frustratingly uncertain
Our plan to define the vaguely described characters in Joseph Valachi’s life story encountered a few significant obstacles. While we were able to establish the identities and outline the activities of many of the individuals Valachi referred to in his autobiography and other statements, a number of individuals continue to be frustratingly unknown...
6 magazine pages / 12 book pages.
Endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 15
Getting the story printed
Deemed dangerous, Valachi's autobiography was suppressed by the White House
Peter Maas |
6 magazine pages / 13 book pages.
Sidebar articles on Peter Maas, Notes to Maas.
Images, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Mob Corner
End of Days
La Tuna Federal Prison |
It’s hard work being Joe Valachi.
Sitting in his prison cell, just this side of the Texas border from Ciudad Juarez, he spends his days in reflection. A lot...
4 magazine pages / 8 book pages.
Images, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 16
Valachi's exit
Much was omitted from official reports
The New York newspapers of April 4, 1971, reported that Joseph Valachi had died of a “heart attack” the previous day. The New York Daily News suggested, “It was an incongruously peaceful end for a professional killer who had run with the mobs since he was 15…” While the final narcotic-dulled seconds of Valachi’s troubled life must have been tranquil, his last moments of full consciousness were tortured...
3 magazine pages / 6 book pages.
Image, document, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 17
Last will and testament
of Joseph Valachi
Joseph Valachi composed his last will and testament in the spring of 1967, while he was in the Federal Correctional Institution at Milan, Michigan. In contrast with the extraordinarily lengthy autobiography he wrote in 1964-1965, the will was just a page and a half. It was penned about a year after Valachi – desperately unhappy over his transfer to Milan and the government’s withdrawal of permission to publish his book – tried to take his own life. The bruises he suffered in the attemped hanging had healed, and author Peter Maas was moving ahead with plans to publish Valachi’s story, but the famous informant still had death on his mind...
3 magazine pages / 5 book pages.
Document, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 18
Marie Jackson mysteries remain
Much about the relationship between Joseph Valachi and Marie Katherine Jackson still remains a mystery more than five decades after it concluded with Valachi’s passing...5 magazine pages / 11 book pages.
Image, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Feature 19
Valachi's life: the motion picture
Benefited from Godfather movie coattails but suffered in comparison with it
6 magazine pages / 10 book pages.
Images, endnotes.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Opinion
Historians review
'Valachi Papers' movie
With Justin Cascio, Scott Deitche, Thibaut Maïquès, Ellen Poulsen, Fabien Rossat and Thomas Hunt
Informer asked a number of crime historians a set of questions about the popular 1972 movie, The Valachi Papers...
6 magazine pages / 10 book pages.
Images.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Crime history bookshelf
New books
3 magazine pages / 5 book pages.
Images.
Click for more information on this Informer issue.
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
2024 Mag, eMag editions available
The standard 8.25" by 10.75" magazine is printed in color and "perfect-bound." At 262 pages, including covers, it is Informer's largest issue to date. The print magazine, ISSN 1943-7803, is priced at $62.00. The electronic magazine, ISSN 1944-8139, is readable in PDF-compatible applications. It is priced at $20. (Purchasers of the print magazine receive the electronic version for free.)
Thursday, October 3, 2024
Preorder Valachi issue ebooks
Ebook editions of Informer's November 2024 issue, The Treacherous World of Joseph Valachi, can be preordered now through Amazon (for Kindle-compatible readers) and Google Play Books (for EPUB readers). The ebooks will be downloadable on Oct. 30. (Magazine, e-magazine, hardcover book and paperback book formats also will be available at that time.)
Both ebook editions are priced at $15.75.
Electronic (PDF, color, 262 pages) magazine - $20;
Paperback book (6" x 9", b&w, indexed, about 500 pages) - $24.75;
Hardcover book (6" x 9", b&w, indexed, about 500 pages) - $32.95;
Magazine (8.25" x 10.75", color, 262 pages) - $62.
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
New advertisement
This advertisement will appear for the first time in Informer's November 2024 issue.
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New advertisement
This advertisement will appear for the first time in Informer's November 2024 issue.
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New advertisement
This advertisement will appear for the first time in Informer's November 2024 issue.
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New advertisement
This advertisement will appear for the first time in the book editions of Informer's November 2024 issue.
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Thursday, July 25, 2024
Valachi issue is coming together
Much of the Valachi-focused 2024 issue of Informer is already in place. There's still about a month to go before the articles deadline of Aug. 30 and two months before the advertising deadline of Oct. 1. The issue will be released on or before Nov. 1. (It looks like this will be a very hefty issue.)
Caution: Video below contains still news images of scenes of gangland violence.
Monday, June 10, 2024
Valachi betrays his oath
Joseph Valachi described his Mafia induction ceremony to a Senate subcommittee. His testimony was broadcast on television in the autumn of 1963. (Video has been edited.)
"This is my doom. This is the promise I'm breaking...
Even if I talked, I should never talk about this.
And I'm doing so."
Joseph Valachi is the focus of the next issue of Informer, scheduled for release in November of 2024.
Friday, May 24, 2024
Sixty years ago: 'The Real Thing'
Sixty years ago...
In May 1964, the FBI distributed to its field offices an English translation of an early version of Nick Gentile's personal Mafia history, Vita di Capomafia. (This version apparently was from a manuscript prepared by Gentile many years before an edited and updated Vita was published in Italy near the end of 1963. See our October 2020 issue for more information.)
Perhaps inspired by that informative Gentile work, the U.S. Department of Justice in June 1964 persuaded its Mafia informant Joseph Valachi to begin writing his own autobiography. Valachi penned a revealing and often bitter memoir of more than a thousand pages, which he called, The Real Thing.
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Valachi's world to be 2024 focus
Informer's autumn 2024 issue will focus on the personalities, events, locations, murders and betrayals in the treacherous world of Joseph Valachi.
The issue release is scheduled for Nov. 1, 2024. The articles submission deadline is Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. The advertising deadline is Oct. 1, 2024.
If you're interested in contributing your work to this issue or in purchasing an advertisement, let us know as soon as possible.