Jimmy Hoffa

Jimmy Hoffa was a very powerful leader and president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehouseman, and Helpers of America, whose mysterious disappearance, suspected of being Mafia connected, on July 30, 1975 has never been solved. Hoffa was a major figure in the Supermob, the go-betweens of the upper world and the mafia world. As the Teamster president, Jimmy had two very important voters: his members and the gangsters that helped him move up the ladder to union success. Hoffa served his gangster associates by writing them into Teamster union power and Teamster union pension-fund cash. In his Supermob role, Hoffa did more to expand the affluence of the gangs and knit them into the fabric of American life than any gangster since Al Capone.

When Hoffa lost his role as Teamster president, he also lost his role as the Supermob's biggest and most powerful figure. Of no further use to the mob, Hoffa lived on borrowed time from the moment he left the Pennsylvania prison, where he was sentenced after being convicted of fraud, bribery, and conspiracy. Instead of being a channel for the upper world, Jimmy had become nothing but trouble. He had enough information to destroy every member of the Mafia, and the Mafia knew this.1

1

The date was July 30, 1975, and it was the day Jimmy Hoffa disappeared from the face of the earth. By Thursday morning, July 31, the word had spread throughout Detroit that Jimmy had not been home the night before. This was very unusual because Josephine, Jimmy's wife, had a heart problem and Hoffa would never leave her alone. By the time the Thursday evening news was over, the rest of the public also knew that Jimmy was no where to be found. Immediate speculations of a gangland killing quickly began to form.

And then, like a complex animated puzzle the details of all of Jimmy's last known activities started to fit together to form the whole picture.

Josephine was the first piece holder to be questioned for information. She told police Jimmy left their house around 1:00 PM on July 30 headed for the Machus Red Fox restaurant on Telegraph Road. He had told her he was going there to meet with someone. He never told her who he was going to meet. At 2:30 PM Jimmy called and told Josephine that he had been stood up, and he asked if anyone had called for him. No one had called, and that is what she told her husband. She expected him home by 4:00 PM. He never made it. Jimmy always called when he was going to be late. He never called.

2

Lois Linteau, a close family friend was the next to be questioned. Hoffa made a stop at Linteau's airport limo service at about 1:30 PM. Linteau and the limo service president, Cindy Green, had left ten minutes prior to Jimmy's arrival. Hoffa allegedly drove on to the restaurant.2

At about 3:30 PM, Linteau received a telephone call from Hoffa. Jimmy had told him he was on his way to meet Tony G., Tony P., and a man named Lenny. Linteau said that Jimmy sounded furious on the phone. He also expected Hoffa to show up back at the limo service, but he never did.

At 8:00 PM, Linteau called the Hoffa home to speak with Jimmy. When Josephine told him Jimmy was not there, he thought she was joking. He hung up with Josephine and called Cindy Green and suggested that the two of them go and wait for Jimmy with Josephine.

They ended up spending the night. At 4:30 AM, Josephine woke Linteau up informing him Jimmy still was not home. Linteau and Green then went back to their office. Later that morning, Linteau went to the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox to look for Jimmy.

At 7:20 AM, July 31, Linteau arrived at the parking lot and discovered Hoffa's 1974 four-door green Pontiac Grand Ville.

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He immediately called Police Chief Bill Hanger. Chief Hanger was not in, so he left a message and called the Bloomfield Township Police. They informed him he would have to wait until 8:00 AM to have someone check it out. By 8:15 AM, Captain James Keller of the Bloomfield Township police department and Lt. Curt Grennier, head of the Departments Intelligence Section, were at the restaurant parking lot.3

The '74 Pontiac stood almost alone in the huge parking lot. It was unlocked and the keys were not in the ignition. Joe Bane was then contacted to find out if he had a set of keys to the car. He did not. He did, however call Hoffa's son in Traverse City, Jimmy P. Jimmy P. told them to force the trunk open. The car was towed to the police-station garage, and the trunk was forced open. Nothing unusual was found in the trunk.4 The Bloomfield Township police quickly explained their action of opening the trunk. "There's no question that we took this action because of the bombing of the car owned by Dick Fitzsimmons, an officer of Teamster Local 299. We frankly had to find out if a body was in that trunk."5

While the police were opening up the trunk of Jimmy's car, Jimmy P. was on a plane heading for the Oakland-Pontiac Airport. He arrived at 9:35 AM.6

4

By 11:00 AM, Jimmy Jr. was at the Bloomfield Police station telling Grennier that the family did not know why his father had not returned. Police said they'd do some more checking before having him file a missing-persons report.7

The police checked with the employees of the Red Fox, but none of them had seen Hoffa the day before. Several employees said they would have immediately known him by sight. They agreed that the short, stocky, outspoken Hoffa was hard to miss. John Miller, the manager, said that he nor the questioned employees had seen Hoffa in the restaurant in about a year. He also said there were no reservations made by Hoffa or any other teamster for that Wednesday, July 30.8

Thursday afternoon, Bloomfield Township police contacted Captain Lewis Smith, Commander of the Michigan Police Intelligence Section. According to Grennier, the state police were called in "because they're used to handling this sort of thing."

Grennier also talked to the FBI. The acting special agent in charge, Jay Bailey, said that the bureau was monitoring the case but hadn't officially