The Valachi Hearings, or also commonly known as the McClellan Hearings, investigated organized crime activities across America and investigated leading mafia figures of the era such as Sam Giancana of Chicago. The hearings were initiated by Arkansas Senator John L. McClellan in 1963. The hearings were named after the major government witness against the American Mafia, Joseph Valachi.

In October 1963, Valachi testified before Senator John L. McClellan's congressional committee on organized crime, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations. He gave the American public a firsthand account of Mafia activities in the United States. According to a Justice Department official Valachi "showed us the face of the enemy."

Valachi, a low-ranking member of the New York based Genovese crime family, was the first ever government witness coming from the American Mafia itself. Before Valachi, federal authorities had no concrete evidence that the American Mafia even existed. His disclosures never led directly to the prosecution of many Mafia leaders, but he was able to provide many details of its history, operations and rituals, aiding in the solution of several uncleared murders, as well as naming many members and the major crime families.

Joseph "Joe Cargo" Valachi (September 22, 1904 – April 3, 1971), Italian American, also known as "Charles Chanbano" and "Anthony Sorge" was the first Mafia member to publicly acknowledge the existence of the Mafia. He is also the person who made Cosa Nostra (meaning "Our Thing") a household name.

Joseph Valachi was born in East Harlem, New York City, on September 22, 1904. He came from an impoverished Neapolitan immigrant family with a drunken, violent father, and would come to blame this background for his eventual entry into organized crime.

Valachi's criminal career began with a small gang known as "The Minutemen," so called for being able to carry out smash and grab burglaries and escape in under a minute. Valachi was the driver for this band, and his ability to make a quick getaway earned him a reputation as a rising star in the underworld.

In 1923 Valachi was arrested in the aftermath of a botched robbery; he subsequently pled guilty to attempted burglary and was sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment. He was released after nine months and, having been replaced with a new driver, created a new burglary gang.

La Mafia is a four-time Grammy Award-winning musical group. It has its roots in the Northside neighborhood of Houston, Texas and has charted a course as a Latin music band.

La Mafia was founded in 1980 in Houston, TX. Vocalist Oscar De La Rosa & producer/keyboardist/accordionist Armando Lichtenberger Jr. created an original style that survived various changes in the music industry. The band consists of Tim Ruiz on bass, David de la Garza on keyboards and background vocals, Joe Gonzales on drums and Viktor Pacheco on Guitar in 2007. The band has won 2 Grammys & 2 Latin Grammys was nominated in 2009 for a Latin Grammy for the album Eternamente Romanticos.

La Mafia, seeking to expand their musical horizons, began touring extensively in Mexico and Latin America beginning in the late 1980s. The practice of Mexican-American artists performing in Mexico on a large scale was unheard of before La Mafia. Back home, La Mafia has performed in front of three record-setting crowds at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at the Houston Astrodome.

Louis Thomas Fratto (July 17, 1908 – November 24, 1967), born Luigi Tomaso Giuseppi Fratto, also known as "Lew Farrell" and "Cock-eyed", was a labor racketeer and organized crime figure in Chicago, Illinois, from the 1930s to 1960s. Fratto was allegedly shifted over to become Des Moines, Iowa's, top crime boss in about 1940, until his death. He apparently replaced Charles "Cherry Nose" Gioe, who went back to Chicago.

Fratto is the brother of Frank "Frankie One Ear" Fratto, a hitman for the mob, the uncle of Rudy Fatto Jr. and Gill Vlerio, and a cousin to alleged hitman, bagman, enforcer and short-lived Chicago front boss, Felix "Milwaukee Phil" Alderisio.

Fratto's son Frank Farrell was also a passenger on the flight on which Rocky Marciano was killed. Son Johnny Fratto is a frequent guest on the Howard Stern Show, and was also in an episode of Deadliest Warrior as an expert on Al Capone.