testimony was believable and worth hearing. in testimony that i remember to this day, joe valachi described to the senate and america watching on tv the initiation ritual for the criminal organization we learned that day was called la cosa nostra. the ceremony was in italian and the new member had to take a piece of paper and burn it in his hands. i'll never forget the way he said the word "burned". in his new york accent. >> demonstrate just what you did. what? >> this piece of paper is burned. >> yeah? >> and then you light it and in your hand you say -- then they give you words in italian, but i know what it meant. >> in other words, while you were repeating the words, you were burning the paper. >> this is the way i burn if i