Jimmy Hoffa
James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa (February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975) was an American labor union leader and author who served as the President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) union from 1958 until 1971. He vanished in late July 1975, aged 62.
Hoffa became involved with organized crime. Hoffa was taken to jail in 1967, and sentenced to 13 years. President of the United States Richard Nixon pardoned Hoffa in 1971, but didn't let him join any labor events until 1980.
Hoffa was born in Brazil, Indiana, on February 14, 1913. He was married to Josephine Poszywak from 1936 until his disappearance in 1975. They had two children.
Hoffa vanished in late July 1975, having last been seen outside the Machus Red Fox, a suburban Detroit restaurant.[1] His disappearance gave rise to many theories as to what happened to him.
In January 2013, reputed gangster Tony Zerilli offered that Hoffa was originally buried in a shallow grave, with the plan that Hoffa's remains would later be moved to a second location. Zerilli contends, however, that these plans were abandoned, and Hoffa's remains lay in a field in northern Oakland County, not far from the restaurant at which he was last seen. Zerilli, however, denied any responsibility or association with Hoffa's disappearance. [2]
On June 17, 2013, the Zerilli information led to a property in Oakland Township in northern Oakland county owned by Detroit mob boss Jack Tocco.[3] After three days the FBI called off the dig. No human remains were found and the case remains open.[4]
In popular culture
- Hoffa was portrayed by Robert Blake in the 1983 TV-film Blood Feud, Trey Wilson in the 1985 television miniseries Robert Kennedy & His Times, and by Jack Nicholson in the 1992 biographical film Hoffa. In the 1978 film F.I.S.T., Sylvester Stallone portrays Johnny Kovak, a character based on Hoffa.
- In the 1980 comedy feature Nine to Five, complications and misunderstandings lead Lily Tomlin's character, Violet Newstead, to believe that she murdered her boss. Being accompanied by her two friends and co-workers, Doralee Rhodes and Judy Bernly (played respectively by Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda), she decides to get rid of a corpse that she thinks is her boss's body. When she tells the two ladies her plan, Doralee tells her that anyone will find the body, to which Violet responds, "Oh-hoh, crazy am I? They never found Jimmy Hoffa!"
- Homer makes several allusions to Hoffa's association with gangsters and Hoffa's mysterious disappearance in The Simpsons episode "Last Exit to Springfield."
- In the sitcom Frasier, Frasier makes a passing reference to Hoffa in the third-season episode, "A Word to the Wiseguy."
- The Aimee Mann B-side "Jimmy Hoffa Jokes" (1993, from Say Anything single) refers to her relationship with an unnamed partner as no longer being funny, much like the eponymous Jimmy Hoffa jokes.
- In the Rocko's Modern Life episode "Skid Marks", one of the lines at the DMV is labeled "Jimmy Hoffa".
- In the TV series, "House of Cards", the protagonist Frank Underwood makes a reference to Hoffa saying, "You wanna play 6 degrees of separation, you could throw in Jimmy Hoffa and the pope".
References
- ↑ "Jimmy Hoffa: FBI won't confirm dig is search for body". ABC News. 2009-09-15. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
- ↑ Santia, Mark (2013-01-13). "Reputed Mobster Says He Knows Where Hoffa Is Buried". NBC.
- ↑ Land claimed to be Jimmy Hoffa burial site owned by Jack Tocco in 1970s | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
- ↑ "Latest search for Jimmy Hoffa called off with no remains found". NBC News. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
Other websites
Media related to James R. Hoffa at Wikimedia Commons