Information on Gangland Informant
Well Guarded by Government Sources
(Editor's note NewtDaoeri
lor days have been carrying
stories about Joseph Valachi,
the iorir.9r underworld execu
tioner who turned "canary"
emd now is spilling what he
knows to federal authorities.
But there has been little pub
licity about the man himself.
The following dispatch tells
what happened when a team
of UPI reporters went after
his background.)
By JACK VANDENBERG
Washington -IUPII- Joseph
Valachi is a short squat man
with a swarthy complexion
and iron-gray hair cropped
about one and one-half inches
from his forehead.
He has impassive brown
eyes, a broad nose and heavy
cheeks that create deep
creases along his jawline. His
dark eyebrows indicate the
color of his hair in younger
Cays. '
Bui you wouldn't know any
of this if you depended on the
word coming out of the vari
ous federal agencies that keep
records on men such as the
former gangland executioner.
Valachi has become such
a hot commodity at the Jus
tice Department that the lid
has been slammed tight on
all personal information about
him.
Government sources have
"leaked" the information that
Valachi was in federal cus
tody and was spilling all he
knew about Cosa Nostra, the
nation's top crime syndicate.
Valachi was in a position to
know plenty.
Long Police Record
He had a police record dat
ing back to 1918, when he
was 15. The record showed
18 arrests in a 38-year period
prior to his final arrest and
imprisonment in Atlanta, Ga
penitentiary on narcotics
charges.
It was while he was at At
lanta that Valachi, feeling
that he had been unjustly
fingered for death by his
former underworld associates,
decided to sing in an apparent
belief it was either them or
him. That was1 more than a
year ago.
Recently Justice Depart
ment sources talked willingly,
although not for attribution,
about all of this. But the flow
of information suddenly was
choked off.
There was backstairs talk
- all officially denied - that
the department was afraid it
might offend the Senate Per
manent Investigations Sub
committee, which is sched
uled to question Valachi later. J
Requests Denied
Even requests for routine
biographical information or
the criminal record of the
former gangster were denied.
"I don't think' we should
say anymore about this right
now, two sources said, al
most as if they had rehearsed
the line. "You can get all the
information you want about
him when he appears before
the Senate committee.
It did not seem to matter
that several, newspapers, in
cluding the New York Times,
already had printed stories
about Valachi's criminal rec
ord. It seemed to matter even
less that his photograph had
been published in at least one
newspaper and one national
magazine.
"The lid is on here," one
source said.
"We aren't saying anything
about Valachi right now,"
said Edwin O. Guthman, the
Justice Department's chief
spokesman. "You guys are
overplaying this story. It isn't
that big."
Even the New York police
department referred all in
quiries to "federal authori
ties." It declined to open files
for such routine information
as the place of Valachi's
birth, his height, weight or
marital status.
Guttural Voice
Before the lid was clamped
down, however, one source re
vealed that Valachi had a gut
tural voice, spoke crude Eng
lish and chain-smoked nerv
ously while telling what he
knew about Cosa Nostra.
And the New York police
department had given the
New York Times details of
Valachi's criminal record be
fore the word went out that
Firemen Injured in
Three-Alarm Blaze
Portland - (UPII - Two fire
men were injured in a S75,
000, three -alarm fire which
whipped through the Stanley
Drug Products plant here
Sunday.
Firemen Jim Timmons suf
fered facial burns and Wes
Knapp received a back injury
in a fall. Neither was hospi
talized. - Fire Bureau officials said
flie fire apparently started in
an . overheated dryer. Firm
president Stanley Bachman
said the loss included pharma
ceutical raw materials and
records valued at $50,000.
Damage to the building was
estimated at $25,000.
Mrs. Moore Begins
New Marathon Hike
Zennor; England - IUPII - Dr.
Barbara Moore, the 59-year-
old marathon hiker, Sunday
began a planned 1,000-mile
walk from Land's End to
John O'Groat's in Scotland.
Mrs. Moore made the trip
three years ago in 21 days.
In 1960 she walked from San
Francisco to New York.
everything was to be released
in Washington.
At the end of the week, one
Justice Department source
lifted the lid enough to con
firm the Times" information
and to add a little.
According to this informa
tion, Valachi is just 60 years
old and is married. He has
two children, one of whom is
married. He is about five feet
nine or 10 inches tall and
weighs about 180 pounds.
He is the son of Italian im
migrants and was born in New
York City in 1903.
During his criminal career.
his record showed, Valachi
used the aliases Antony Sorge,
Charles Charbano and Joseph
Siano.
He had been sentenced to
prison three times before he
war sent to Atlanta. Once he
drew a suspended sentence.
Most of the 18 charges levelled
against him during his 38
years in crime were dismissed.
Accused of Larceny
In 1921, Valachi was ar
rested for burglary. He was
picked up again on the same
charge two years later. Later
in 1923, he was accused of
grand larceny. The charge
was reduced to disorderly con
duct and he was sentenced to
10 days in jail.
Nine days later he was ac
cused of attempted burglary
and was sentenced to prison.
He was accused of robbery in
1925, 1929 and 1936. Extor
tion charges placed against
him in 1929 and 1934 were
dismissed in both cases.
He received a suspended
sentence for possessing policy
slips in 1936 and was arrested
for the first time on a nar
cotics charge in 1944. The nar
cotics charge was dismissed in
federal court.
Similar charges were made
against him in 1948 and 1955
but no disposition of the
cases is shown on his record.
I Ar-v!
A
SNAPS COMPANIONS - Arriving in New
York from Europe on the liner Queen Eliza
beth, Robert Steincr, 7, of Mile City, Mont.,
takes a snapshot of two of his traveli
companions, former President and M
Dwight D. Eisenhower. (UPI)
SECTION B
PAGES 1 to 8
MEDFORDtJTRIBUNE
MEDFORD, OREGON, MONDAY,- AUGUST 19, 1963
Agenda Announced For Board Meeting
Salem -IUPII- Proposed mips
for minimum standards ol
safety for airuort lirpnsine
will be the major topic at the
State Board of Aeronautics
meeting to be held Saturday
at the Eugene hotel in Eu
gene.
The meeting is being held
in Eugene to coincide with the
annual convention of the Ore
gon Pilots Association, it was
announced.
'This will provide a con-
HAS LAST LAUGH
Dallas IUPII Three men
caught siphoning eas from a
car behind the police station
explained they were "just
playing a ioke on a friend "
The car belonged In rhiof
jailer Grady McMahan.
voniont meeting among the
pjlots of Oregon, the manv
luuuiui aviation agency om
cials who will be in attend-'
ance, and the board," accord
ing to ' department director
Robert Dunn.
JS5SKEL
rjKttfKHlHWfllZlM 1
i wtm i
Rusk Urges Exchange Wi
Of Television Shows
Washington - (UPII - Secre
tary of State Dean Rusk
wants a wider exchange of
television programs between
nations, and favors an in
crease in U.S. programs on
international events. j
Rusk, in remarks published
in TV Guide magazine Sun
day, called for more pro-1
grams "devoted to the basic
forces and issues which domi-1
nate the course of interna- j
lional events today." I
IM'B
COTTON
SUMMER and FALL COLORS
SIZES 8 to 20
VALUES TO $7.98
L Pair $6.99
112 EAST MAIN
ETSW1
Y
SWIMMING
POOLS
Permanent Gunite & Con
crete type only. 3 week
completion fin a n c-i n g
available on approved
credit. FREE ESTIMATES.
Low Cost & Deluxe Pools
20 years pool experience
NORTHWEST
SWIMMING POOL CO.
1822 W. Main Ph. 773-4340
FISH STICKS lcelantic-8-oz. Pkg. 3 for Hi
SUGAR Spreckels Granulated 10-lb. Bag 51,09
MX PAPER Kitchen Charm 75-ft. Roll Hc
FACIAL TISSUE Northern-300 Count Pkgs. SO
PAPER PLATES -9- wh.te-ioo
ORANGE JUICE Golden Goblet -6-oz. Frozen for
C'SKIT MIX Fisher's-40-oz.Pkg. '
LUll CALORIE POPl2-oz.B.ttlesCa.adaDry 12 S
SUAVE SHAMPOO Reg. 60c size 3S Reg. $1 size B3
GIRLS ANKLETS 100 3 rV
SLICED
BEEF LIVER
2
CALVES
LIVER
BOILING
BEEF
BEEF
SHORT RIBS
2
PORK
ROAST
Picnic Style
CENTER CUT
PORK STEAK
CHB
39
c
Riverside
HOMOGENIZED
MILK
289
Half
Gallon
No Dep.
ff
Dutch Maid
Ice Cream
Half
Gal.
69
Rose Dale
STGATE BAKERY
Plain Cake Donuts d. 29c
Date Filled Bear Claws eh 5c
Pan Rolls .Mi , 819c
Hi-Gluten Bread ,5.,, 29c
N
local Grown
IOA Chief
Urge well filled
Golden Ears
c
Doz.
Our
Produce
li Oregon Food
FRESH!
P03CllCS Tree-ripened-wonderful with cream LBi
OrdLlgB JlliC6 '""Ou.SnoBoy Qt-
Carrots
MEDFORD-Westgate Center
MEDFORD-13th and Central
ASHLAND-Gateway Shop. Center
Wt Rcierve The Right To Limit
Pricet Effective Thru Wedneidy, Au9uit 2t .
Crisp, Snappy, Really Fresh Lb.
0
j
0