We’ve got to keep an eye on the battle that we face – a war on workers. And you see it everywhere. It is the Tea Party. And there’s only one way to beat and win that war – the one thing about working people is, we like a good fight – Jimmy Hoffa
Did the great American Union leader of the Teamsters become a casualty in his own wars?
A little background
Hoffa was a gifted leader and he was one of the people’s face from very age when he, in 1932 protested for better pay by refusing to work against the grocery store supervisor who maltreated them. Under him, the Teamster’s Union grew unprecedented and Hoffa became very popular.
During the 1940s, Hoffa and the Teamsters were engaged in a war with rivals which led him to take help from the mob. And soon this led to the involvement of the mob with the union.
What led to the downfall was his 13-year prison sentence and his relation with mob strained. After Hoffa was pardoned by President Nixon, along with a ban on union activity till 1980, a large sum of money disappeared from the Teamster’s Pension Fund and two weeks later Hoffa Disappeared.
That fateful day
On July 30, 1975, Hoffa disappeared from the parking of Red Fox restaurant in Detroit. As per accounts, he was believed to meet there with two Mafia pioneers—Anthony Giacalone from Detroit, and Anthony Provenzano from Union City, New Jersey, and New York City. Provenzano was additionally an association chief with the Teamsters in New Jersey and had before been very near Hoffa. Provenzano was a national VP with IBT from 1961, Hoffa’s second term as Teamsters’ leader.
Upon Hoffa’s inability to return home from the restaurant by late that night, his wife reported him missing. At the point when police touched base at the restaurant, they discovered Hoffa’s vehicle, however no indication of Hoffa himself, nor any sign of what had befallen him. Broad examinations concerning the disappearance started promptly and proceeded throughout the following quite a while by a few law authorization gatherings, including the FBI. Be that as it may, the examinations neglected to indisputably decide Hoffa’s destiny. As far as concerns them, Giacolone and Provenzano were each found not to have been in the region of the restaurant that evening, and every one of them denied that they had booked any gathering with Hoffa.
Following Investigation
The FBI had a lead three weeks after the search began when police dogs discerned the scent of Hoffa in a Mercury Marquis Brougham's backseat. The vehicle was owned by Joey Giacalone, Anthony Giacalone's son, and was borrowed by Chuckie O'Brien, Hoffa's protege, who refused any participation.
A series of Teamsters representatives and reputable mob partners were called upon to testify with the convocation of a Detroit grand jury in September. None provided any significant data, however, often invoking the Fifth Amendment instead of replies.
In early 1976, in what was known as the Hoffex Memo, the FBI published a report of its results, the list of suspects including other tough-guy names like Vito "Billy Jack" Giacalone and Salvatore "Sally Bugs" Briguglio. Unfortunately, although researchers thought they were on the correct track, they did not find anyone ready or able to verify that the death of Hoffa resulted straight from mob participation.
Hoffa was proclaimed legally dead in 1982, seven years after he was last seen outside the Machus Red Fox.
Theories on what happened to Jimmy Hoffa?
There are many theories around the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, but there is a general notion that mafia was definitely involved. Many people blame it on his enmity with Tony Provenzano that started in jail. Many claims that someone close to him was also involved with the disappearance. These include his longtime friend Chuck O Brien and his confidante Frank Sheeran who even confessed to assassinating him. There is also a possibility that Hoffa was murdered at the behest of Organised Crime Figures who feared that Hoffa might open his mouth regarding the Mob’s involvement with the union, hoping to get his powers back. Let’s go into the theories in a bit of detail.
- Tony Provenzano. aka. Tony pro was the Genovese family head of the mafia, who had conflicts with Jimmy Hoffa in Pensylvania State Prison. He even threatened to kidnap his family and pull his guts inside out if he tried to become the leader of the teamsters again. He was also effecting his relation with Frank Fitzsimmons, who was Hoffa’ successor.
- Another theory suggests killing at the hand of Salvatore Briguglio, the enforcer of the teamsters. He was killed in Rolland McMasters horse farm and his body was put in a drum, and sent to a landfill in New Jersey.
- FOX News anchor Eric Shawn thinks that the trigger was pulled by long-time friend of Hoffa Frank Sheeran. In his novel’ I Hear You Paint Houses,’ the ex-mobster wrote about death. Sheeran said he and two other people picked up Hoffa and brought him to an empty house. He didn’t want to kill his friend, but he didn’t have any option; a death sentence was refusing to follow mob instructions. Sheeran lingered twice in the back of the head behind Hoffa before shooting him.
Jimmy Hoffa once said ” I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you again. The strong survive and the weak disappear. We do not intend to disappear. ” Though he has literally disappeared, his mystery continues to haunt us.
