Joseph M. Valachi (#296)

An Inventory of His Personal Papers
1964
In the John F. Kennedy Library
National Archives and Records Administration

Administrative Information
Biographical Note
Collection Overview
List of Series
Description


Administrative Information

Abstract
Papers 1964
Organized crime figure. Handwritten and typewritten manuscript of The Real Thing, which served as source material for The Valachi Papers (1968) by Peter Maas.

Access
Open.

Usage Restrictions
According to the deed of gift signed December 1980, copyright of these materials has been assigned to the United States. Documents in this collection that were prepared by officials of the United States as part of their official duties are in the public domain. Users of these materials are advised to determine the copyright status of any document from which they wish to publish.

Copyright
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excesses of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. The copyright law extends its protection to unpublished works from the moment of creation in a tangible form. Direct your questions concerning copyright to the reference staff.

Provenance
Received from Peter Maas in December 1980 (Acc. 1981-043).

Extent
About 2189 pages (10 linear inches ; 1.0 cubic foot)

Date Opened
July 1989.

Processed by
Henry J. Gwiazda, Ph.D.

Finding Aid Prepared by
Susan D'Entremont

Encoded by
James M. Roth
  

The Personal Papers of Joseph Valachi (1904-1971)

Biographical Note
In 1964, Joseph Valachi was asked by the Department of Justice to write an account of his experiences in organized crime. The manuscript is a verbatim typed transcript of these memoirs. Peter Maas was hired by the Department of Justice to edit the manuscript for publication. Maas was later prevented from publishing the manuscript, but he was allowed to publish a book in the third person, TheValachi Papers , based on the manuscript and interviews with Valachi.

Collection Overview
The papers of Joseph Valachi consist of his manuscript entitled The Real Thing: The Expose and Inside Doings of Cosa Nostra, and several items of correspondence between Valachi and Peter Maas.

List of Series
Series 1. The Real Thing: The Expose and Inside Doings of Cosa Nostra

Collection Description

Series 1. The Real Thing: The Expose and Inside Doings of Cosa Nostra .
2189 pages.
Arrangement: by type of material.

These papers document the life of Joseph Valachi from 1920 to 1964. They mainly consist of a manuscript which describes the beginnings of Valachi's life of crime and his experiences as a member of Cosa Nostra, commonly known as the Mafia. The manuscript details the inner workings of this organized crime group and the activities of many members of the New York unit of Cosa Nostra. The manuscript is unedited and is written as one would speak. For a more concise, easier to read version of Valachi's story, see The Valachi Papers , by Peter Maas, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1968.