Jimmy Hoffa began his career early in manual labor jobs, eventually becoming the president of the teamsters. However, after being sentenced to 13 years, to be served at the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary in Pennsylvania, his sentence was commuted by Richard Nixon in 1971. By 1975, Hoffa had disappeared and the mystery began.
James Riddle Hoffa. Source: (AP/colorized).
Hoffa’s family moved to Detroit in 1924, the city he would call home for the rest of his life. At 14, he dropped out of school and began working to support his family. When he began working at a Kroger grocery store, he started to work with his coworkers to organize a union. When he refused to work for an abusive shift foreman, he left the grocery chain. He ended up first becoming an organizer for Local 299 of the Teamsters, and then becoming the organizer for the Michigan teamsters, although he was never a trucker. In 1952, he became the national vice president, taking the presidency of the IBT in 1957, when then-president Beck was imprisoned.
His Brief Prison Stint
Hoffa’s connections to organized crime were, in part responsible for his rise, and these connections attracted the attention of the federal government. Robert Kennedy began a campaign to bring down Hoffa in 1961, after he was appointed Attorney General. Hoffa was indicted for jury tampering in 1963, leading to his 13-year sentence in Lewisburg. After Nixon commuted his sentence, he had plans to stage a comeback with Local 299.
The Meeting That Didn't Go According To Plan
7/19/1957-Detroit, MI- James R. Hoffa, Detroit Teamsters' leader, shown with his family after arriving back in Detroit 7/19. Hoffa was acquitted in Washington of bribery and conspiracy charges. Left to right: son James, 15, daughter Barbara Ann, 18 and hi
On July 30, 1975, Hoffa planned to meet with Anthony “Tony Jack” Giacalone from Detroit, and Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano, two Mafia honchos, at the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. He called his wife at 2:15 to tell her that Giacalone had stood him up and he would be home to grill steaks for dinner at 4. He also called his friend Louis Linteau to complain about the two men’s absence. Despite his promise to his wife, he did not return home that day; at 7 a.m. the next morning, his wife called their son and daughter to let them know he was missing. At 7:20, Linteau went to the restaurant and found Hoffa’s Pontiac Grande Ville, unlocked, after which he alerted the police.
Dead Ends
The restaurant where it happened.
After the police and FBI began their investigation, witnesses reported they saw Hoffa in the back seat of a maroon “Lincoln or Mercury” with three other people. Joey Giacalone, the son of Anthony Giacalone, owned a maroon Mercury Marquis Brougham, and during the course of the investigation, police dogs detected Hoffa’s scent in the back of Joey Giacalone’s car. However, this lead went nowhere. They also matched DNA from Hoffa’s hair with a strand in Joey Giacalone’s car, but it was possible Hoffa was in the car at another time. Anthony Giacolone and Tony Provenzano were also cleared, as they were nowhere near the restaurant on the day Hoffa disappeared.
Uncertain Theories
Hoffa at trial testifying 8/11/58. Source: (news.sky.com/colorized)
In September, with the investigation at a standstill, they convened a grand jury, but the Teamsters and reputed mob associates offered no helpful information, instead often claiming their 5th Amendment rights.
In 1976, the FBI released their official report, the “Hoffex Memo,” which claimed the New Jersey Teamsters had arranged a hit to prevent Hoffa from returning to power. However, this was never confirmed, and over the years, a number of theories behind Hoffa’s disappearance have emerged. According to one theory, Russell Bufalino ordered the hit, and Salvatore “Sally Bugs” Briguglio, Gabriel Briguglio, Thomas Andretta and Charles “Chuckie” O’Brien (someone Hoffa trusted) lured Hoffa away from the restaurant. O’Brien had borrowed Joey Giacalone’s car incidentally. Keith Corbett, a former US Prosecuting Attorney, has suggested that O’Brien did not participate, but instead, it was Vito “Billy” Giacalone.
Murder Location Is Unknown
Jimmy Hoffa-teamsters. (colorized).
Another component of the mystery is the location of the murder. It did not happen in the restaurant parking lot,as there would have been witnesses, and so his murderers lured him to another location. One suggestion was that he was murdered one mile away at the house of Carlo Licata, son of Nick Licata.
Where Did His Body Go?
Teamsters Union president James R. Hoffa leans on the window sill as he watches the scene outside his cell in Chattanooga, Tenn., Monday morning May 5, 1967. Source: (AP photo Charles Kelly/colorized).
However, this also leaves questions as to the last resting place of the body. A number of possible locations have emerged: nearby waste incinerators and a crematorium in Detroit, a Jersey City landfill, and buried on the farm of one of Hoffa’s enemies. One of the more outlandish claims was that Hoffa’s body parts were buried in the cement foundation of the former Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. However, there was nothing to back these claims, and they didn’t bother to look for his remains when the stadium was torn down in 2010.
With no definitive answers about his disappearance, Jimmy Hoffa was declared dead on July 30, 1982.
