Joseph Valachi testifying before the U.S. Senate Underworld informant Joseph Valachi taking the oath as he begins testimony before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in Washington, D.C., on September 27, 1963, breaking his vow of silence to describe his role in the Cosa Nostra crime syndicate. (more) omertà Mafia code of silence Written by Urnesha Bhattacherjee Associate Editor, Britannica India Urnesha Bhattacherjee Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated May 13, 2026 •History omertà, code of silence and refusal to cooperate with legal authorities that forms one of the central pillars of southern Italian organized crime, such as the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, the Calabrian ’Ndrangheta, and the Campanian Camorra. The code forbids members from turning to official legal channels for assistance, even when they are victims of a crime. Its scope goes beyond preventing the betrayal of in-group information: Even a wrongly convicted person is expected, under omertà,...

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