American Mafia History Website

Following is a chronological collection of events relating to the life, career, disappearance and death of James Riddle Hoffa, one-time leader of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. To obtain source references, click on the document icon for the timeline entry. To skip ahead in the listing, click on a year below:

1882 Feb 18	Owen County, IN USA
John Cleveland Hoffa	Birth of John Cleveland Hoffa (father of James Riddle Hoffa) to Jacob Henry and Nancy Jane Asher Hoffa in Owen County, Indiana. John has two older brothers, James and Charles.
1898 Dec	Kansas City, MO USA
George Innis	The Team Drivers International Union of the United States and Canada is organized at a convention at Kansas City. George Innis becomes president of the union.
1899	, Midwest USA
	AFL charter. Nine midwestern team driver locals request and receive a charter from the American Federation of Labor (AFL) as the Team Drivers International Union. The union includes workers and small business owners. The owners quickly begin to control the union.
1899 Oct 23	Detroit, MI USA
	Thirty delegates and union officials attend the second annual convention of the Team Drivers International Union at Detroit, Michigan. At the time, the union has about 5,000 members in 36 branches.
1900 - Return to Top
1902	Chicago, IL USA
Albert Young	Teamster union fractures. Team Driver locals in Chicago begin a rebellion of worker-led locals against the owner-dominated Team Drivers International. Albert Young emerges as leader of the Teamster National Union, which limits membership to non-owner teamsters, helpers and owners of no more than a single horse team.
1903	,   USA
Samuel Gompers	American Federation of Labor (AFL) President Samuel Gompers urges the two teamster union factions to merge.
Samuel Gompers
1903 Aug 03	Niagara Falls, NY USA
- Cornelius P. Shea - E.L. "Ed" Turley	Merger. A Teamsters Joint Convention is held at Niagara Falls. Members of the breakaway Teamster National Union are more numerous and succeed in limiting the merged group to workers, helpers and owners of no more than a single horse team. Former Team Drivers International president, Cornelius P. Shea of Boston, is selected as leader of the new International Brotherhood of Teamsters. E.L. Turley is selected as general secretary-treasurer.
1903 Aug 22	,   USA
- Cornelius P. Shea - Samuel Gompers	The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with Cornelius P. Shea as its president, is granted a charter by the Samuel Gompers-led American Federation of Labor (AFL).
1904	,   USA
	The Teamsters union includes about 56,000 members.
1907 Aug 09	Boston, MA USA
- Cornelius P. Shea - Daniel J. Tobin	Tobin elected. Blamed for friction within the Teamsters union and for cash deficits, Cornelius P. Shea loses his reelection bid as president. The new union president is Daniel J. Tobin.
Dan Tobin
1909 May 15	Jessup, IN USA
- John C. Hoffa - Viola Riddle	John Cleveland Hoffa and Viola Riddle are married.
1910 - Return to Top
1913 Feb 14	Brazil, IN USA
- James R. Hoffa - John C. Hoffa - Viola Hoffa	Birth in Indiana. James Riddle Hoffa is born to John C. and Viola Riddle Hoffa of Brazil, Clay County, Indiana. He is the third child and second son born to the Hoffas. His older siblings are Jennetta and Billy. Another sibling, sister Nancy, is born about two years later.
1917 May 07	New York, NY USA
Anthony Provenzano	Anthony Provenzano, later known as "Tony Pro," is born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to Sicilian parents Rosario and Josephine Dispenza Provenzano.
1918 Mar 21	, MI USA
Josephine Poszywak	Birth in Michigan of Josephine Poszywak, future wife of James Riddle Hoffa.
1919 Jan 02	Detroit, MI USA
Anthony Joseph Giacalone	Anthony Giacalone. later known as "Tony Jack," is born to Jack and Antoinette Ciaramitaro Giacalone in Detroit, Michigan.
1920 - Return to Top
1920 Oct	Brazil, IN USA
- John C. Hoffa - Viola Hoffa - Jacob H. Hoffa	Death of father. John Cleveland Hoffa dies at the age of 38, when James R. Hoffa is 7 years old. Viola moves the family into rooms over father-in-law Jacob Henry Hoffa's blacksmith shop.
James Hoffa
1921	,   USA
	Membership in the Teamsters union stands at about 83,000.
1921 early	Brazil, IN USA
- Viola Hoffa - Jacob H. Hoffa	Jacob Henry Hoffa is ailing and can no longer work. Viola Hoffa moves the family and her father-in-law Jacob into a small home in a poor area of Brazil, Indiana, known as "Stringtown."
1921 Aug	Brazil, IN USA
- Jacob H. Hoffa - Viola Hoffa	Jacob Henry Hoffa dies at age 73. Viola Hoffa soon moves her family to a two-room house in Clinton, Indiana.
1924	Detroit, MI USA
Viola Hoffa	Looking for steady employment, Viola Hoffa moves her family to a three-room apartment, ground floor rear, in a four-family building in Detroit.
1926 Aug 06	Cleveland, OH USA
- Jackie Presser - William Presser	Jackie Presser is born in Cleveland, Ohio. His father William "Bill" Presser works as a salesman. Bill Presser later becomes an organizer for the Teamsters union.
1927 Sep	Detroit, MI USA
James R. Hoffa	James R. Hoffa drops out of school at age 14 and gets a job as a stockboy at Frank and Cedar's department store in Detroit.
1929	Detroit, MI USA
James R. Hoffa	James R. Hoffa, 16, finds work at Kroger food warehouse on Green Street in Detroit. He becomes aware of arbitrary and abusive management.
1930 - Return to Top
1931 May	Detroit, MI USA
- James R. Hoffa - Sam Calhoun - Bobby Holmes	First strike. Hoffa organizes his first workers strike at Kroger food warehouse. Workers group elects Sam Calhoun as its president, Hoffa as its vice president and Bobby Holmes as its secretary-treasurer. The group votes to affiliate with the Teamsters Union. Teamsters officials take note of Hoffa's activities. Hoffa later leaves Kroger employment to become organizer with Teamsters Joint Council 43.
Bobby Holmes
1932	Detroit, MI USA
	Teamsters weak in Detroit. Teamsters union is virtually non-existent within Detroit. There are only two locals and about 500 members. Local 299 in the city is under trusteeship, controlled by administrators in Indianapolis IN. Nationally, Teamsters membership has declined from 83,000 in 1921 to 78,000 in 1932.
1932 about	Detroit, MI USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan	In Hoffa's early days with the Teamsters union, he becomes friends with Owen Bert Brennan. (Brennan will later become head of Teamsters Local 337 in Detroit.)
1934	Hackensack, NJ USA
Anthony Provenzano	Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano quits school at age 17 and takes a $10 a week job driving a truck out of terminal at Hackensack, New Jersey.
1935	Detroit, MI USA
- James R. Hoffa - Ray Bennett - Bert Brennan	Local 299 business agent. Ray Bennett appoints Hoffa to the position of business agent of financially troubled Teamsters Local 299. Owen Bert Brennan, serving as trustee of Local 299, is said to have helped Hoffa attain the position. Hoffa is supposed to earn $25 a week in the job, but there are seldom sufficient funds to pay him.
James Hoffa
1935	Detroit, MI USA
James R. Hoffa	Violent year. Hoffa later recalls the problems of 1935, his first year as Local 299 business agent. He says opponents "sent the Purple Gang against us in 1935 and it was a real bloody business of bombings and beatings." He estimates that he was beaten by policemen or strikebreakers "at least two dozen times" in the year.
1936 May	Detroit, MI USA
- James R. Hoffa - Josephine Poszywak	James R. Hoffa meets Josephine Poszywak while walking a picket line in Detroit.
1936	Seattle, WA USA
Dave Beck	Seattle based Teamsters general organizer Dave Beck reaches a regional contract between truckers and trucking companies in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.
1936 Sep 24	Bowling Green, OH USA
- James R. Hoffa - Josephine Poszywak	James R. Hoffa and Josephine Poszywak marry at Bowling Green, Ohio.
1936 late	Minneapolis, MN USA
- James R. Hoffa - Dan Tobin - Red O'Laughlin - Farrell Dobbs	Concerns about Dobbs. Teamsters general president Dan Tobin is uneasy about the socialist/communist leanings of Minneapolis Teamsters Local 574 leader Farrell Dobbs and his associates Vincent, Grant and Miles Dunne and Karl Skoglund. Detroit leader Red O'Laughlin sends Hoffa to Minneapolis to assist in membership drive.
1937	,   USA
James R. Hoffa	Assault and battery. James R. Hoffa is fined $10 after being convicted of committing assault and battery on a picket line.
1938 spring	Minneapolis, MN USA
- James R. Hoffa - Farrell Dobbs	Dobbs' successes. Farrell Dobbs forms the Central States Drivers Council. With Hoffa leading his organizational drive, Dobbs' influence spreads to 46 locals in 11 states. Dobbs works to set up a uniform contract for all drivers in interstate trucking.
Farrell Dobbs
1938	Detroit, MI USA
Barbara Hoffa	Daughter Barbara Ann is born to James Riddle and Josephine Poszywak Hoffa.
1938	Seattle, WA USA
Dave Beck	Seattle Teamster leader Dave Beck creates the Western Conference of Teamsters, a grouping of Teamster locals in eleven western U.S. states and British Columbia
1940 - Return to Top
1940 Apr 06	Detroit, MI USA
- James R. Hoffa - Josephine Hoffa - Barbara Hoffa	James R. Hoffa, wife Josephine and one-year-old daughter Barbara Ann, reside at 16154 Robson Avenue in Detroit.
1940	Minneapolis, MN USA
- Farrell Dobbs - Mike Healy - James R. Hoffa	Dobbs resigns. Farrell Dobbs resigns from leadership of the Central States Drivers Council and returns to his original role as head of a Minneapolis local. Mike Healy becomes council president with Hoffa serving as negotiating chairman. Soon after, the Teamster locals across Michigan are organized into the Michigan Conference of Teamsters and Hoffa is moved back into Michigan to serve as chairman of the conference.
1940 Dec 13	Detroit, MI USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan	Indictments: anti-trust. A 23-man federal grand jury issues indictments for violation of Sherman Anti-Trust laws against Teamster Local 337 President Owen Bert Brennan, Business Agent James R. Hoffa, Local 337 and leaders of several Detroit area wastepaper businesses. The defendants are charged with "combining and conspiring to eliminate waste paper wholesalers." Hoffa later pleads nolo contendere to a lesser charge of conspiracy to monopolize the wastepaper trades. He is convicted and fined $50.
Bert Brennan
1941	Detroit, MI USA
James P. Hoffa	A son, James P. Hoffa, is born to James Riddle and Josephine Poszywak Hoffa.
1941	, NJ USA
Anthony Provenzano	Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano works as a shop steward for the Teamsters union.
1941 Mar 24	Detroit, MI USA
- James R. Hoffa - James O'Laughlin	Produce blockade. James R. Hoffa and union organizer James O'Laughlin are involved in a Teamsters truck blockade at the Detroit Union Produce Terminal, interrupting food deliveries to wholesalers and retailers in eastern Michigan and parts of Ontario and northwestern Ohio. Large trucks are parked in the way of all entrances and exits of the terminal. More than $250,000 in perishable food remains at the terminal. Hoffa makes clear the Teamsters opposition to non-union workers being used to load union trucks. An independent union of terminal employees is arranged, but Hoffa says the Teamsters will not recognize the union.
1941 May 19	Detroit, MI USA
- James R. Hoffa - Josephine Hoffa - James P. Hoffa	A son, James P. Hoffa (also referred to as James Hoffa Jr.), is born to James R. and Josephine Hoffa in Detroit, MI.
1941 Jun 06	Detroit, MI USA
- James R. Hoffa - Thomas J. Donahue	Teamsters Business Agent James Hoffa announces that a planned strike of 3,000 steel haulers in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan has been postponed at the request of Michigan Labor Mediation Board Chairman Thomas Donahue. Representatives of the Teamsters and the 150 companies affected are negotiating in Detroit.
1941 Jun	Minneapolis, MN USA
- Farrell Dobbs - Daniel J. Tobin - Dave Beck	AFL vs CIO. A turf war rages in Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN, between forces of the AFL and the CIO. Teamsters President Daniel Tobin, embarrassed by the Trotzkyite positions of Farrell Dobbs and his associates, puts the Minneapolis local intro trusteeship and sends Dave Beck to take it over. Dobbs attempts to move his union truckers to the more liberal CIO.
1941 Jul 15	St. Paul, MN USA
Farrell Dobbs	Dobbs indicted. Former Teamsters leader Farrell Dobbs, national secretary of the Socialist Workers Party, is among 29 people indicted by a St. Paul federal grand jury for advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government. Dobbs associates, Vincent, Miles and Grant Dunne and Carl Skoglund, are also named in the indictment. The development is considered a significant setback for the CIO in its war against the AFL.
1941 Aug 23	Detroit, MI USA
James R. Hoffa	Transit strike ends. Friction between the AFL and CIO is evident as a four-day strike of Detroit streetcar and bus employees concludes with a tentative agreement. Hoffa and leadership of the AFL Teamsters have been pushing for acceptance of a deal proposed with the city.
1942 Jan 30	Detroit, MI USA
James R. Hoffa	Racketeering accusations. Teamsters union is accused of racketeering against produce companies delivering their own products to Detroit wholesale market. Hoffa insists the union has not acted improperly. But produce companies say the union and the wholesale market refused to let them unload in Detroit unless they made payments to the Teamsters
1942 Jun 21	, MI USA
- Anthony Giacalone - Anthony Provenzano - Jennie Provenzano	Anthony "Tony Jack" Giacalone, 23, of Detroit, marries Jennie Provenzano, 19, of Saginaw, Michigan. Jennie is the daughter of Jack and Rose Prezzato Provenzano of Saginaw. She is believed to be a relative of Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano.
Anthony Giacalone
1943	,   USA
James R. Hoffa	James R. Hoffa is appointed as one of three trustees who examine the financial records of the international Teamsters union each year.
1944	,   USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bill Presser - Owen Brennan	Presser's jukebox union. James R. Hoffa and Owen "Bert" Brennan assist Bill Presser (father of Jackie Presser) of Cleveland in the creation of a jukebox workers union in Detroit.
1944 May 31	Detroit, MI USA
James R. Hoffa	Bakery drivers back to work. Hoffa announces that striking bakery drivers in Detroit have voted to resume deliveries. The decision follows a vote earlier in the day in which Local 202 of the United Automobile Workers (CIO) decided to end their strike.
1945 Nov 20	Detroit, MI USA
James R. Hoffa	UAW strike. James R. Hoffa announces that the Teamsters Union are supportive of the strike by 70,000 United Automobile Workers (CIO) at General Motors in Detroit. The workers are seeking a 30 percent wage increase. The strike is also supported by the Detroit Building Trades Council and the Railway Brotherhoods.
1946 Apr 30	Detroit, MI USA
	Independent Detroit grocers. About 6,000 retail grocers and meat dealers oppose Teamsters Union efforts to force them to pay dues to the Grocers Association and/or pay permit fees for delivery of their food items. About 20 of the grocers have filed complaints with city authorities relating to alleged Teamsters extortion.
1946 May 10	Detroit, MI USA
James R. Hoffa	Independent Detroit grocers. Hoffa announces, "The strike is on," after learning that thousands of area retail grocery and meat dealers refused to pay membership to AFL unions in order to receive wholesale deliveries. Hoffa had demanded that all the businesses have their clerks join the Retail Clerks Union whether they wished to or not. In addition, he required that any merchant making his own pickups of food must have the delivery done by Teamsters or must pay to join the Teamsters union. Hoffa announced that his strike startegy against the merchants would be "to pick them off, one at a time."
1946 May 14	Detroit, MI USA
- George B. Murphy - James R. Hoffa	Independent Detroit grocers. Detroit grocers and butchers win a temporary restraining order against striking Teamsters. Judge George B. Murphy functions as a one-man grand jury, investigating charges of extortion against the Teamsters. James R. Hoffa pleads not guilty to charges of extortion. Hoffa is named as a defendant in a $500,000 lawsuit brought by the merchants against the Teamsters union.
1946 Jun 28	Detroit, MI USA
- James R. Hoffa - W. McKay Skillman	Hoffa to stand trial. Recorder's Judge W. McKay Skillman states that James R. Hoffa worked to create a monopoly in the Detroit food handling businesses. Hoffa is ordered to stand trial on extortion charges.
1946 Aug 17	Detroit, MI USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan	Indictments: extortion and conspiracy. Teamsters Business Agent Hoffa, Food and Beverage Drivers Local 337 President Bert Brennan and 16 other leaders of the Teamsters union are indicted for extortion and conspiracy to violate state labor laws. Charges relate to Teamsters demand that retail grocers buy union permits to operate their own trucks. Hoffa later pleads guilty to a lesser charge of labor law violation (misdemeanor). He is fined $500, placed on two years' probation and ordered to return $7,600 collected from grocers.
1950 - Return to Top
1951	,   USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bill Presser	Hoffa and Presser. Hoffa and Bill Presser interact regarding a vending machine business venture. Presser joins Teamsters union.
1952	Cleveland, OH USA
- Bill Presser - James R. Hoffa - N. Louis "Babe" Triscaro	Presser leads Ohio Teamsters. With backing from Hoffa, Bill Presser becomes leader of Teamsters Joint Council 41 and the Ohio Conference of Teamsters. He obtains a charter for Teamster local 410-A and pushes into Akron from his home territory of Cleveland, organizing vending machine operators. In the Joint Council, Presser shares authority with N. Louis "Babe" Triscaro, Mafia associate and Hoffa friend.
Bill Presser
1952 Oct 17	Los Angeles, CA USA
- Dan Tobin - Dave Beck - James R. Hoffa	Hoffa helps elect Beck. At the Teamsters convention, Dan Tobin steps down after 45 years as president. Dave Beck is elected new president. Hoffa, a former Beck opponent, has a change of heart and swings the Midwest delegation toward support of Beck. Hoffa is selected as ninth vice president.
1952 Oct	Los Angeles, CA USA
- James R. Hoffa - N. Louis "Babe" Triscaro - Joseph Glimco - Aladena "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno	Hoffa and Glimco. At the Teamsters convention, Hoffa seeks the backing of Chicago labor rackets leader Glimco for a proposed Teamsters executive board member. Hoffa meets Glimco by first having Cleveland labor racketeer Babe Triscaro introduce him to Jimmy Fratianno, and then having Fratianno introduce him to Glimco.
1952	New York, NY USA
- Dave Beck - John J. O'Rourke	O'Rourke disciplined. Teamsters President Dave Beck seeks to have powerful New York Teamsters leader John J. O'Rourke removed from office because he has not fought the infiltration of racketeers into his Local 282. Beck eventually lets the matter go with a warning and reduces the membership of O'Rourke's local to 400.
1953	New York, NY USA
- Dave Beck - Paul Hall - George Meany	Teamsters vs Longshoremen. Teamsters President Dave Beck and Seafarers International Secretary-Treasurer Paul Hall lobby AFL President George Meany to oust the corrupt International Longshoremen's Association from the AFL. Beck begins working to establish an alternative union on the New York City docks.
1953	New York, NY USA
- James R. Hoffa - John "Johnny Dio" Dioguardi - Thomas L. Hickey	Dio's taxicab local. James Hoffa and John Dioguardi work to move a Dioguardi taxicab local from the United Auto Workers union into the Teamsters, undercutting official Teamsters efforts by New York regional leader Thomas Hickey to establish a taxicab local.
John Dioguardi
1953 Jun 16	Detroit, MI USA
- James R. Hoffa - John "Johnny Dio" Dioguardi - Rosario "Russell" Bufalino	Hoffa and Dioguardi. Federal agents listen in on a telephone conversation between Hoffa and New York labor racketeer John Dioguardi of the Lucchese Crime Family. The two men speak of Dioguardi's efforts to organize New York City taxi drivers, of Dioguardi men sent to Detroit to do "that work" [installation of electronic listening devices] and of law enforcement efforts to indict Northeast Pennsylvania Mafioso Russell Bufalino.
1953, summer	Detroit, MI USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan - Bernard Spindel	Wiretapping. James R. Hoffa and Owen Bert Brennan commission Bernard Bates Spindel to install electronic listening devices in the Teamsters Union headquarters building, 2741 Trumbull Avenue in Detroit. The telephonic interception devices allowed Hoffa and Brennan to eavesdrop on office conversations of union officials, employees and agents.
1953 Oct	Detroit, MI USA
- James R. Hoffa - Dave Beck - Miles N. Culeihan - Arthur W. Griffiths - Frank Fitzsimmons - Louis C. Linteau - Daniel J. Keating	Indictments: extortion and soliciting bribes. Judge Miles N. Culeihan, functioning as a one-man grand jury, indicts six Teamsters officials for extorting payments and soliciting bribes. The six officials were Local 247 President Michael E. Nicoletti and business agents Sam Morosso and Anthony Liuzzo, Local 614 President Daniel J. Keating and business agent Louis C. Linteau, and Local 299 Vice President Frank Fitzsimmons (also vice president of the Michigan Federation fo Labor). They are on trial before Recorder's Judge Arthur W. Griffiths. Teamsters President Dave Beck announced disciplinary measures against all the indicted leaders except Fitzsimmons. James R. Hoffa, a leader in Local 299 as well as in regional and international offices of the Teamsers, announced that all officers of Detroit Local 247 and Pontiac Local 614 were suspended until the conclusion of the trial. He explained that no action was taken against Fitzsimmons or Local 299 because no evidence had yet surfaced of their wrongdoing.
1953 Nov 24	Flint, MI USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan - Josephine Poszywak - Alice Johnson - Elliott R. Beidler - Allen Dorfman	Test Fleet uncovered. House Labor and Education Subcommittee conducts hearings into Teamsters Union affairs. It finds that, following their forceful cancellation of a 1948 strike against Commercial Carriers Corporation, Teamsters officials James R. Hoffa and Bert Brennan financially benefited from the creation of a company named Test Fleet that did business with Commercial Carriers. Test Fleet was run by Elliott Beidler, who was a full-time accountant with Commercial Carriers. Test Fleet leased to Commercial Carriers at substantial profit equipment that it had purchased from Commercial Carriers. Test Fleet stock was in the names of Josephine Poszywak (the maiden name of Hoffa's wife) and Alice Johnson (the maiden name of Brennan's wife). Beidler was instructed through Poszywak and Johnson when "dividend payments" were expected. One of the women would call him and tell him to "Call a meeting of the board of directors." Chicago insurance broker Allen Dorfman refused to testify regarding cash exchanges between his firm and the Teamsters union.
1953 Nov 25	Chicago, IL USA
- James R. Hoffa - Paul Dorfman - Allen Dorfman - Rose Dorfman - William McKenna	Insurance payments. Witness Paul J. Dorfman, AFL officer from Chicago, refused to confirm or deny Congressional investigator William McKenna's estimate that more than $1 million in commissions were paid by the Teamsters over a four-year-period to a Chicago insurance company controlled by his wife Rose and his son Allen. McKenna suggested that part of the moneys paid from the Teamsters Central States Welfare Fund, the Michigan Conference of Teamsters and Teamsters Chicago Local 1031 were channeled back to James R. Hoffa and other Teamster officials.
1953 Nov 27	Detroit, MI USA
James R. Hoffa	Hoffa questioned. James R. Hoffa appeared before a Congressional subcommittee to answer questions about his business ventures, Local 299 finances and the selection of a high-priced insurance agency from which kickbacks were apparently obtained. In his testimony, Hoffa stated that nearly all the books and records of Local 299 had been destroyed. He said his local typically provided him blank checks for conducting union business. He noted that his recommendation for the insurance company to handle the Teamsters welfare fund accounts may have had much higher administrative expenses than other bidding companies but had lower premiums. He outlined business ventures including a Flint, Michigan, brewery, a Columbus, Ohio, harness racetrack, and boys and girls camps in Wisconsin. Questioned about his personal finances, Hoffa said he received $15,000 a year from Local 299 and $6,000 a year from the international union. He claimed debts totaling $38,000.
1954 Feb 19	Washington, DC USA
- Wint Smith - James R. Hoffa - William E. Bufalino	Congressional condemnation. A special House of Representatives subcommittee, headed by Rep. Wint Smith, recommends in a report that James R. Hoffa be cited for contempt of Congress and sends transcripts of Hoffa's testimony to Attorney General Herbert Brownell, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit and the Detroit District Attorney's Office. The subcommittee also charged, "The Teamsters Union, Local No. 985, through its president, William E. Bufalino, is the principal offender and perpetrator of the racketeering, extortion and gangsterism which was disclosed by the hearings." The report notes that the union conducted bombings of car wash companies and jukebox and vending machine companies in efforts to establish monopolistic control in those fields.
1954 Oct	New York, NY USA
- John J. O'Rourke - Dave Beck - James R. Hoffa - Thomas L. Hickey - John E. Strong	O'Rourke elevated. Despite John J. O'Rourke's earlier falling out with Teamsters International President Dave Beck, O'Rourke (president of Local 282) is installed as head of the union negotiating committee as a contract between drivers and truck operators in New York and New Jersey is about to expire. It is said that James R. Hoffa placed O'Rourke in the role, moving out Thomas L. Hickey, who had worked with Beck to establish an alternative to the International Longshoremen's Association on the New York docks. (O'Rourke opposed the effort and supported the ILA.) Hickey and Local 807 President John E. Strong had previously put in place a five-year no-strike pact credited with bringing stability to the region's trucking industry. O'Rourke was known to have personally lengthened a work stoppage in 1948 by demanding extra concessions from employers.
John O'Rourke
1954 Oct 15	New York, NY USA
	New York strike. At 12:01 a.m., 24,000 truckers in New York and New Jersey go on strike. Teamsters say they will use a divide and conquer approach and intend to sign contracts with individual companies will to meet their demands. Truckers are seeking a 25-cent per hour increase.
1954 Oct 20	New York, NY USA
	Strike ends. Trucking companies generally agree to the truckers' demand of a 25-cent per hour increase. Employers drop a $10 million damage lawsuit against the Teamsters and against several companies that folded to the union in the opening days of the strike. Industry spokesmen warn of increased prices of goods in the region and of secret company payoffs to union officials in order to avoid the wage increase.
1954 Oct 21	Seattle, WA USA
- Dave Beck - James R. Hoffa - Thomas L. Hickey - John J. O'Rourke	Beck says he's still in charge. In a profanity-laced press conference, Teamsters International President Dave Beck disputes rumors that he has ceded control of the union to Vice President James R. Hoffa. Journalists suggested that Hoffa had supplanted Beck when he replaced Beck loyalist Thomas Hickey as New York Teamsters negotiating committee head with longtime Beck opponent John O'Rourke. According to Beck, "I listen and take advice from men of ability, but I make the decisions."
1954 Dec 05	New York, NY USA
- John E. Strong - Thomas L. Hickey - George E. Hanley - Joseph Dina - John J. O'Rourke - James R. Hoffa	Anti-racket leaders reelected. Teamsters Local 807 votes to retain the existing anti-rackets leadership of President John E. Strong and Secretary-Treasurer John L. Hickey. During the campaign, the New York City Anti-Crime Committee announced that organized crime had set aside a fund of between $25,000 and $50,000 to oust the Strong-Hickey regime and install George E. Hanley and Joseph Dina. The commitment of the 10,000-member local (with substantial operations at the New York waterfront) is viewed as a setback for the plans of ILA-ally John O'Rourke and his supporter James Hoffa.
Thomas Hickey
1955	,   USA
- James R. Hoffa - John Dioguardi - Dave Beck	Hoffa and Dioguardi. Teamsters President Beck assigns Hoffa to resolve a jurisdictional conflict with Dio, who is organizing for the United Auto Workers union. Hoffa later refers to this - inaccurately - as his first interaction with Dioguardi.
1956 Aug	Seattle, WA USA
- Dave Beck - Dwight Eisenhower - Adlai Stevenson	Backing Republicans. Teamsters President Dave Beck is vocal in his support of U.S. President Eisenhower's reelection, while most other labor union leaders endorse Democratic nominee Adlai Stevenson.
1957 - Return to Top
1957	Detroit, MI USA
- Robert F. Kennedy - Pierre Salinger - Carmine Bellino - James R. Hoffa - Charles O'Brien	'Blood feud' begins. Robert F. Kennedy, chief counsel of the U.S. Senate's McClellan Committee, appears at the Detroit headquarters of Teamsters Local 299 in the company of committee Chief Investigator Pierre Salinger and committee Chief Accountant Carmine Bellino. They demand access to Local 299 documents. Local President James Hoffa refuses. The group returns the next day with a subpoena. Hoffa challenges the subpoena as too broad and wins a court battle. A precise list of documents sought by the committee is assembled and presented to Local 299. Photocopies of the documents are generated and delivered to Kennedy by Hoffa aide Charles "Chuckie" O'Brien with a demand that Kennedy sign a receipt for each document. Hoffa later says these events were "the start of what was to become a blood feud."
1957 Feb 08	Washington, DC USA
- James R. Hoffa - John L. McClellan	McClellan Committee. Hoffa sends a letter about his business activities in response to a request by the Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field led by Senator John L. McClellan.
Sen. John McClellan
1957 Mar 13	Washington, DC USA
- James R. Hoffa - John Cye Cheasty - Hyman I. Fischbach - James Splain	Bribery. Agents of the FBI are watching as McClellan Committee investigator John Cye Cheasty hands James R. Hoffa a collection of documents taken from the committee files. Agents arrest Hoffa with the documents in his possession. He is taken before U.S. Commissioner James Splain and charged with violating federal bribery statutes. Hoffa reportedly hired Cheasty through Miami attorney Hyman I. Fischbach (Fischbach also was arrested) to work his way into the committee and obtain information on the committee's Teamsters investigation. Hoffa allegedly paid Cheasty a $1,000 down payment plus $2,000 more when the documents were delivered and promised to pay a total of $18,000 for Cheasty's assistance. Early on, Cheasty reported Hoffa's intent to federal officials and cooperated with the investigation.
1957 Mar 19	Washington, DC USA
- James R. Hoffa - Hyman I. Fischbach	Indictment: bribery. A federal grand jury indicts both James Hoffa and Florida attorney Hyman Fischbach for their alleged roles in the bribery of a rackets committee investigator.
1957 Mar 29	Seattle, WA USA
Dave Beck	Beck suspended from AFL-CIO. The AFL-CIO executive council votes to suspend International Teamsters President Dave Beck from his position as an AFL-CIO officer. It also orders an inquiry into the affairs of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
1957 Mar 29	Washington, DC USA
- James R. Hoffa - Hyman I. Fischbach	Trial date set. James Hoffa and Hyman Fischbach appear before U.S. District Judge Richmond B. Keech and enter pleads of not guilty to bribery charges. Trial is scheduled for May 27.
1957 Apr 03	New York, NY USA
James R. Hoffa	Grand jury. James Hoffa is called to testify before a federal grand jury in New York City regarding his alleged use of illegal wiretaps in the Detroit Teamsters headquarters.
1957 Apr 16	Galveston, TX USA
Dave Beck	Beck huddles with lawyers. Teamsters President Dave Beck, accused of using $320,000 of union funds for his personal purposes, meets with the union executive committee and attorneys in Galveston to decide how best to respond to investigations by the AFL-CIO and Senate rackets committee. Beck tells the press he has no plans to retire from the Teamsters presidency and intends to run for another five-year term in September.
1957 Apr 22	Washington, DC USA
James R. Hoffa	Motion to dismiss. James Hoffa's attorneys ask court for a dismissal of indictment accusing him of conspiring to plant a spy on the Senate rackets committee. They claim the grand jury was unfairly influenced by the government. They also request a six-month postponement in Hoffa's May 27 trial date.
1957 Apr 30	Seattle, WA USA
Dave Beck	Teamsters President Dave Beck is indicted on charges of federal tax evasion.
1957 May 06	,   USA
- Dave Beck - Frank Brewster - Sydney Brennan	Corrupt Teamsters officials. The AFL-CIO charges Teamster President Dave Beck and Vice President Frank Brewster (Beck and Brewster are known as "B and B") with using union funds for personal purposes and with using their union positions for personal advantage. The organization charged Vice President Sydney Brennan of Minneapolis with corrupt activities - accepting money from a company employing union workers. AFL-CIO also accused the entire Teamsters union leadership with failure to take adequate action against the three corrupt officials.
1957 May 10	,   USA
James R. Hoffa	Trial date postponed. Federal District Judge Buhnita Chelton Matthews refuses to dismiss charges against James Hoffa but allows a postponement in the start of trial for 21 days until June 17.
1957 May 14	New York, NY USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan - Bernard Spindel	Indictment: wiretapping. A federal grand jury indicts James R. Hoffa and two others on charges of conspiring to install electronic listening devices in the Teamsters Union headquarters building, 2741 Trumbull Avenue in Detroit. Also named in the indictment were Bernard Bates Spindel, who allegedly installed telephonic interception devices in 1953, and Teamsters Local 337 President Owen Bert Brennan. Hoffa and Brennan were charged with "inducing" Spindel to place devices so they could eavesdrop on office conversations of union officials, employees and agents. Spindel's services reportedly were recommended to Hoffa by contacts in New York.
1957 May 14	,   USA
Dave Beck	Teamsters union public relations advisers recommend removing President Dave Beck from office. A five-man committee of the Teamsters general executive board is considering the recommendation.
1957 Aug 02	Washington, DC USA
- John L. McClellan - John Dioguardi - James R. Hoffa	Paper locals. Sen. John L. McClellan announces that New York racketeer John Dioguardi will be allowed out of prison long enough to testify before the Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field. McClellan states that Dioguardi worked with James R. Hoffa to create corrupt Teamster locals in New York City.
Dioguardi
1957 Aug 07	Washington, DC USA
- Harry Reiss - David Consentino - Arthur Santamaria - John Dioguardi - James R. Hoffa - Martin Lacey - John O'Rourke	Won't testify. A series of Teamster officials, including New York City Local 284 leaders Harry Reiss, David Consentino and Arthur Santamaria, refuse to provide testimony to the Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field (McClellan Committee). Committee members state that the Teamsters officials cooperated with James R. Hoffa and John Dioguardi in setting up memberless dummy union organizations - known as "paper locals" - for the purpose of generating votes to oust New York regional head Martin Lacey and install John O'Rourke. The witnesses invoke their Fifth Amendment rights.
1957 Aug 17	Washington, DC USA
James R. Hoffa	James R. Hoffa sends a telegram to the McClellan Committee stating that he wishes to read a prepared statement before being questioned by the committee on Aug. 20.
1957 Aug 20	Washington, DC USA
- James R. Hoffa - George S. Fitzgerald - Robert F. Kennedy	McClellan Committee. James R. Hoffa appears before the McClellan Committee accompanied by his attorney, George S. Fitzgerald of Detroit. He is questioned primarily by Committee Counsel Robert F. Kennedy.
1957 Aug 23	Washington, DC USA
- John L. McClellan - James R. Hoffa - John Dioguardi	Dismissed. Sen. John L. McClellan abruptly dismisses witness James R. Hoffa, vice president of the Teamsters union, after Hoffa claims he does not remember whether he cooperated with racketeer John Dioguardi in creating paper locals in New York City to enhance the union power of Hoffa, Dioguardi and their allies.
1957 Aug 23	Washington, DC USA
- John L. McClellan - James R. Hoffa - Paul Ricca - John Dioguardi - Joseph Glimco - N. Louis "Babe" Triscaro - Angelo Meli - William Presser	Conflicts of interest. Sen. John L. McClellan releases a statement critical of James R. Hoffa and outlining 48 Hoffa conflicts of interest. McClellan notes questionable loans and investments, including the Test Fleet company; the purchase of Chicago mobster Paul Ricca's home by Teamsters Detroit Locals 299 and 337; Hoffa's long relationship with New York mobster John Dioguardi and Hoffa's efforts to aid Dioguardi's establishment of a corrupt taxi drivers union in New York; Hoffa's endorsement of trustee Joseph Glimco, a close associate of Chicago mob leaders Tony Accardo and the late Frank Nitti; his long relationships with Cleveland underworld figure N. Louis "Babe" Triscaro, Detroit mobster Angelo Meli; and corrupt Cleveland union official William Presser.
1957 Aug 23	Seattle, WA USA
- Dave Beck - James R. Hoffa	Beck denial. Teamsters union President Dave Beck denies that he issued charters for phony locals in New York in 1955, disagreeing with James Hoffa's testimony before the Senate rackets committee. "I personally did not know anything about the issuance of those charters until ater they were issued," Beck stated.
1957 Aug 23	New York, NY USA
- James R. Hoffa - Thomas L. Hickey - Martin T. Lacey - John J. O'Rourke	Shifting blame. James R. Hoffa attempts to blame his Teamsters rivals in New York City, Thomas Hickey and Martin Lacey, for permitting charters to be issued to phony locals. He notes that the men were responsible for overseeing Teamsters activities in the region. (Hoffa neglects to point out that the locals provided voting strength to oust Lacey from his post as president of Joint Council 16 and have Hoffa ally John J. O'Rourke elected in his place.)
1957 Aug 27	Washington, DC USA
James R. Hoffa	Ethics criticism. AFL-CIO Ethical Practices Committee specifically names James Hoffa in a report critical of the Teamsters leadership. Contents of the report are not yet released.
1957 Sep 09	Washington, DC USA
- George Meany - James R. Hoffa	Ouster threatened. AFL-CIO President George Meany plans to oust the Teamsters union from the AFL-CIO is James Hoffa is elected its president. Meany warns that unions selecting corrupt officers after their wrongdoing has been exposed are 'not going to be in the family of organized labor."
George Meany
1957 Sep 17	Washington, DC USA
	Ethics report. AFL-CIO Ethical Practices Committee releases report finding that Teamsters have violated ban on corrupt leadership.
1957 Sep 19	Washington, DC USA
James R. Hoffa	Lawsuit filed. Thirteen Teamsters union members, mostly from the New York area, file suit in federal court in Washington, D.C., to block election of new officers at the upcoming convention of the union in Miami Beach, Florida. The plaintiffs state that more than 80 percent of the convention delegates have been hand-picked by the union executive committee in order to rig the election for president in the favor of James R. Hoffa.
1957 Sep 20	Washington, DC USA
- James R. Hoffa - F. Dickinson Letts	Rigged election. A group of Teamsters members from New York attempt to block union elections planned for Miami Beach, Florida, on Sept. 30, arguing that the elections are rigged to ensure that Hoffa becomes union president. Federal District Court Judge F. Dickinson Letts in Washington, D.C., orders the union by Sept. 27 to show cause why the elections should not be postponed.
1957 Sep 25	Washington, DC USA
	Cleanup deadline. AFL-CIO allows Teamsters union one month to oust corrupt leaders or face expulsion.
1957 Sep 25	New York, NY USA
James R. Hoffa	Indictment: perjury. A federal grand jury in New York indicts James Hoffa on five counts of perjury. It charges that he gave false testimony to the grand jury during testimony April 3 regarding his illegal use of wiretaps in the Teamsters Detroit headquarters.
1957 Sep 27	Washington, DC USA
F. Dickinson Letts	Injunction granted. Federal Judge F. Dickinson Letts grants a temporary injunction blocking election of officers at the Teamsters convention scheduled to begin Sept. 30 in Miami Beach, Florida. Hours later, Teamsters officials appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia.
1957 Sep 27	Miami Beach, FL USA
- John Dioguardi - Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo	Push out paper locals. A five-man special investigating committee of the Teamsters union recommends ousting the officers of six racketeer-controlled locals in New York City, as well as denying convention seats and votes to delegates of those locals. The locals originally were chartered through the efforts of New York organized crime figures John "Johnny Dio" Dioguardi and Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo. Five of the six locals are found to be working under contracts far below union standards in a hodge podge of industries normally covered by other unions.
1957 Sep 28	Washington, DC USA
- Martin F. O'Donoghue - F. Dickinson Letts	Injunction lifted. Acting on a Teamsters appeal filed by attorney Martin F. O'Donoghue, the Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia revokes the temporary injunction against Teamsters officer elections that was granted by District Court Judge F. Dickinson Letts.
1957 Sep 28	Washington, DC USA
- James R. Hoffa - John L. McClellan	More accusations. Sen. John L. McClellan's rackets committee releases 34 additional charges of wrongdoing against Teamsters Vice President James R. Hoffa. Hoffa is accused of using union funds to his own advantage and of handling his personal interests to the membership's disadvantage. Twelve charges relate to Hoffa's handling of $2 million in Teamsters funds.
1957 Sep 29	Washington, DC USA
- John L. McClellan - Dave Beck - Martin F. O'Donoghue	Illegally selected delegates. Sen. John L. McClellan sends a telegram to Teamsters President Dave Beck, informing Beck that the Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field has in its files evidence that some Teamsters convention delegates have been chosen illegally. McClellan offers to provide the union with the evidence. Beck assigns the union's Washington-based attorney, Martin F. O'Donoghue to review it.
1957 Sep 30	Miami Beach, FL USA
- James R. Hoffa - Thomas J. Haggerty - William A. Lee - Thomas L. Hickey - John Shelley - John F. English - Dave Beck	Five-man race. Teamsters convention opens in Miami Beach, Florida. James R. Hoffa leads in a five-man race to succeed Dave Beck as union president. The other candidates are Thomas J. Haggerty of Illinois, William A. Lee of Illinois, Thomas L. Hickey of New York and John Shelley of California. Haggerty is the only candidate who has called for the convention to launch an investigation to eliminate corruption from the union. Teamsters Secretary-Treasurer John F. English is running unopposed for reelection.
1957 Sep 30	Washington, DC USA
	Injunction sought. Lawyers for a New York Teamsters group ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate the injunction against Teamsters elections at the Miami Beach convention.
1957 Oct 01	Washington, DC USA
Earl Warren	Last appeal fails. Earl Warren, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, denies a petition to halt the Teamsters elections. Warren finds "no sufficient reason" for the requested "drastic action."
1957 Oct 03	Miami Beach, FL USA
- Dave Beck - James R. Hoffa	Early retirement. Teamsters President Dave Beck announces that he will retire six weeks ahead of schedule - on Oct. 15 - in order to turn the union reins over to his likely successor, James R. Hoffa. Hoffa-allied delegates defeat a proposal to change the Teamsters constitution to automatically eject any president found guilty of serious wrongdoing.
Dave Beck
1957 Oct 04	Miami Beach, FL USA
James R. Hoffa	Hoffa leads Teamsters. With 1,208 votes out of the 1,700 delegates, James R. Hoffa wins the presidency of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Delegates to the Hoffa-dominated Teamsters convention begin electing a slate of Hoffa-approved executives. Hoffa requests additional time from AFL-CIO to prove that Teamsters union is clean of racketeer influence. Deadline is Oct. 24. Before the union vote, the Senate rackets committee subpoenas the full records of the convention's credentials committee.
1957 Oct 05	Miami Beach, FL USA
- Thomas L. Hickey - John J. O'Rourke - James R. Hoffa	Hickey out. Teamsters vote to replace Thomas L. "Honest Tom" Hickey as vice president in charge of Teamsters affairs in New York metropolitan region with James Hoffa ally John J. O'Rourke. The vote is 1,105 to 133.
1957 Oct 07	Washington, DC USA
- James R. Hoffa - Robert F. Kennedy	Maid burns records, dies of heart attack. A Teamsters attorney tells McClellan Committee investigators that subpoenaed records relating to the election of James Hoffa as Teamsters president have been destroyed accidentally. He states that a maid at the Eden Roc Hotel gathered the papers of the Teamsters convention credentials committee and put them into an incinerator. McClellan counsel Robert Kennedy asks for the maid's identity so she can be interviewed. He is told that the maid suddenly died of a heart attack. Later, Hoffa announces that the records, believed to have been burned, were found in a garbage bin and were sent to investigators in Washington.
1957 Oct 09	New York City, NY USA
- Joseph Curcio - George Baker - James R. Hoffa - John Dioguardi	Obstruction, false statements. A federal grand jury indicts Joseph Curcio of Flushing, Queens, and George Baker of Brooklyn on charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice amd making false statements to the Treasury Department. Curcio is noted to be a close associate of both James Hoffa and John Dioguardi.
1957 Oct 11	Washington, DC USA
F. Dickinson Letts	Injunction requested. Thirteen New York-area Teamsters renew their fight against the recent union elections. They ask Judge F. Dickinson Letts for an injunction barring James R. Hoffa and others elected at the convention from taking office. Letts defers action until Oct. 14.
1957 Oct 14	Washington, DC USA
- F. Dickinson Letts - James R. Hoffa - Dave Beck	Restraining order. Federal Judge F. Dickinson Letts issues a temporary restraining order preventing James Hoffa and others elected at the recent Teamsters convention from taking office. Hoffa planned to take over the $50,000 a year post from Dave Beck on Oct. 15 or 16. Beck, whose term officially runs until Dec. 1, agreed to leave office early.
1957 Oct 15	Washington, DC USA
- Martin F. O'Donoghue - Dave Beck - James R. Hoffa	Beck will stay. Teamsters attorney Martin F. O'Donoghue states the union will make no effort to contest the temporary restraining order by Judge F. Dickinson Letts. He announces that Dave Beck will remain as Teamsters president until Hoffa is permitted to take office.
1957 Oct 21	Washington, DC USA
- F. Dickinson Letts - Martin F. O'Donoghue	Wants quick trial. Teamsters attorney Martin F. O'Donoghue's motion to dismiss the temporary restraining order is denied. O'Donoghue asks for an early trial regarding the Teamsters election, so new officers can take their jobs. Judge F. Dickinson Letts considers appointment of a receiver to supervise union business.
1957 Oct 23	Washington, DC USA
- F. Dickinson Letts - James R. Hoffa	Preliminary injunction. Judge F. Dickinson Letts finds that Hoffa and others arranged or tolerated a conspiracy to rig the recent Teamsters election. He signs a preliminary injunction temporarily barring Hoffa and other officers from taking their posts. Letts refuses to name a master in equity to supervise union affairs. Hoffa attorneys plan to appeal.
1957 Oct 24	Washington, DC USA
- George Meany - James R. Hoffa - John F. English	Suspended from AFL-CIO. James R. Hoffa and two other Teamsters officials meet with the executive council of the American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). Following the meeting, the council votes 25-4 to suspend the Teamsters union from the AFL-CIO. Learning of the vote, Hoffa storms from the building. Voting against the suspension were executive council members John F. English, secretary-treasurer of the Teamsters; Herman Winter, president emeritus of the Bakery and Confectionary Workers; Maurice A. Hutcheson, president of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners; and William C. Doherty, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers. The council decision was announced at a press conference held by AFL-CIO President George Meany. Teamsters are ordered to remove James Hoffa as president and to correct abuses and corrupt influences cited by the Ethical Practices Committee.
1957 Oct 26	Washington, DC USA
- F. Dickinson Letts - James R. Hoffa	Injunction appealed. Teamsters attorneys appeal a court order barring James Hoffa from taking over as union president. They argue that Judge F. Dickinson Letts abused his authority in granting an injunction.
1957 Nov 04	Detroit, MI USA
- Nathan W. Shefferman - Dave Beck	Ensuring labor peace. McClellan Committee learns that nine companies in Flint, Michigan, area cured labor problems by paying $27,770 to Nathan W. Shefferman's labor relations committee in Detroit between 1954 and 1956. Shefferman, friend of outgoing Teamsters President Dave Beck, reportedly used much of the money to entertain Teamsters officials.
1957 Nov 04	Washington, DC USA
James R. Hoffa	Injunction upheld. United States Court of Appeals upholds the preliminary injunction preventing James R. Hoffa from taking over as Teamsters president.
1957 Nov 09	Washington, DC USA
James R. Hoffa	Stonewalled. Senate rackets investigators receive 20 form letters from Teamsters officials in Iowa and Minnesota stating that demanded financial and elections records could not be provided. Investigators learn that James Hoffa, leader of Central Conference of teamsters, endorsed the form letter response to hinder a probe into the selection of Teamster convention delegates.
1957 Nov 12	New York City, NY USA
- John Dioguardi - Anthony Corallo - Dave Beck - James R. Hoffa	Racketeers remain. Report indicates that racketeers John Dioguardi and Anthony Corallo remain in charge of six Teamster locals in New York. They were supposed to have been ousted from the union a month earlier by a trustee appointed by Dave Beck. The locals - reportedly phony organizations without membership or valid union function - were created to support James Hoffa's control of New York Teamsters Joint Council.
Anthony Corallo
1957 Nov 13	Westwood, NJ USA
- Martin T. Lacey - John J. O'Rourke	Lacey dies. Martin Lacey, who opposed racketeer influence in the Teamsters, dies in his sleep. Lacey opposed Hoffa forces in the New York area, but left his union post in January and was replaced by Hoffa ally John J. O'Rourke.
1957 Nov 21	Washington, DC USA
Robert F. Kennedy	Subpoenas for election records. McClellan Committee Counsel Robert Kennedy announces that subpoenas will be issued to compel 40 Midwestern Teamster locals to turn over records relating to their selection of convention delegates.
1957 Nov 22	New York City, NY USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan - Bernard Spindel	Wiretapping trial. Trial of James R. Hoffa, Bert Brennan and Bernard Spindel begins in New York City federal court before Judge Frederick vanPelt Bryan. The three men are accused of illegal wiretapping of Detroit Teamster offices between 1953 and 1957. Defense attorneys argue unsuccessfully that start of trial should be delayed indefinitely because of prejudicial remarks made by McClellan Committee Counsel Robert Kennedy.
1957 Nov 23	Seattle, WA USA
Dave Beck Jr.	Beck Jr. larceny. Dave Beck, Jr., 40, son of Teamsters President Dave Beck, Sr., is convicted in a Seattle Superior Court on two counts of grand larceny. Beck Jr. pocketed the $4,650 from his sale of two Cadillacs owned by the Teamsters union.
1957 Nov 26	New York City, NY USA
- John Dioguardi - James R. Hoffa - Bernard Spindel -Terence F. McShane	Wiretapping trial. Prosecution evidence indicates that New York racketeer John Dioguardi helped arrange the wiretapping at Detroit Teamster offices to assist James Hoffa. FBI agent Terence McShane testifies that Bernard Spindel admitted to him last July that he installed the wiretaps for Hoffa in 1953. Spindel reportedly went to Detroit at Dioguardi's urging. Defense argues that Hoffa installed the listening devices to oversee the activities of business agents accused of improper conduct.
1957 Nov 27	New York City, NY USA
- Terence F. McShane - Bernard Spindel - James R. Hoffa - John Dioguardi - Bert Brennan	Wiretapping trial. FBI Agent Terence McShane continues to testify regarding statements made to him by defendant Bernard Spindel. Spindel reportedly was paid $250 by John Dioguardi to travel to Detroit and tap telephone lines. Hoffa met Spindel at Detroit airport, took him on tour of Teamsters headquarters and gave him keys to building. Spindel found seven phone taps already in place and removed them. Hoffa believed they were placed by the government. Spindel placed seven phone taps and installed microphones in conference rooms. These were connected to a switchbox in Hoffa's desk and to two tape recorders in a closet in Hoffa's office. Spindel later instructed Hoffa and Bert Brennan in the use of the equipment.
1957 Dec 02	Seattle, WA USA
Dave Beck	Beck Sr. embezzlement. Teamster President Dave Beck goes on trial before Judge George H. Revelle in Seattle Superior Court for embezzling $1,900 from the union. He is charged with keeping the proceeds of the sale of an automobile legally owned by the Teamsters. His son was convicted on similar charges 10 days earlier.
1957 Dec 06	Atlantic City, NJ USA
James R. Hoffa	Ousted from AFl-CIO. Convention of AFL-CIO votes by 5-to-1 margin to expel the Teamsters union. Before vote, the federation offered to retain the Teamsters if James R. Hoffa would abandon his effort to become union president. Hoffa requested time to consider his position, but the AFL-CIO moved ahead with the vote.
1957 Dec 13	New York City, NY USA
- John Dioguardi - John J. McNamara	Dio extortion. Teamsters official John McNamara and racketeer John Dioguardi are convicted in General Sessions Court of extortion against two retail stationery companies. They conspired to use union influence to extort $11,500 from the companies over a three-year period. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 8, 1958.
1957 Dec 14	Seattle, WA USA
Dave Beck	Beck grand larceny. In Seattle Superior Court, Teamsters President Dave Beck, Sr., is convicted of of grand larceny. He faces a possible sentence of up to 15 years.
1957 Dec 18	New York City, NY USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan - Bernard Spindel	Wiretap case against James Hoffa, Bert Brennan and Bernard Spindel goes to the jury.
Bernard Spindel and Hoffa
1957 Dec 20	New York City, NY USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan - Bernard Spindel	Wiretap jury deadlocked. Wiretap jury reports to trial Judge Frederick vanPelt Bryan that it is hopelessly deadlocked. It has been deliberating since Dec. 18. Eleven members of the panel favor conviction of defendants James Hoffa, Bert Brennan and Bernard Spindel. One member holds out for acquittal. U.S. Attorney Paul Williams announces that he will retry the case as soon as possible.
1957 Dec 24	New York City, NY USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan - Bernard Spindel	Wiretap retrial scheduled. U.S. Attorney Paul Williams announces that a retrial of the wiretapping charges against James Hoffa, Bert Brennan and Bernard Spindel had been scheduled for Jan. 6, 1958.
1958 - Return to Top
1958 Jan 06	New York City, NY USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan - Bernard Spindel	Wiretap retrial. Federal Judge Archie O. Dawson announces that the new wiretapping trial of James Hoffa, Bert Brennan and Bernard Spindel will begin Feb. 3. Defense attorneys are being changed.
1958 Jan 08	Washington, DC USA
Frank Connors	Rigged election. Teamster election trial in Washington, D.C., hears additional testimony that the 1956 local elections were rigged to send pro-Hoffa delegates to the national convention. Frank Connors of Carlstadt, New Jersey, testifies that some union members were not allowed to vote in 1946 local officer elections and that some non-members were permitted to cast ballots. Membership was prevented from having a say in the selection of delegates to the national convention, he testified.
1958 Jan 23	Washington, DC USA
- F. Dickinson Letts - James R. Hoffa	Board of monitors. Fight over national Teamsters elections is resolved with a compromise consent order signed by Judge F. Dickinson Letts. James Hoffa is permitted to take the office of Teamsters president. However, a board of three monitors- yet to be named - will be installed to supervise union activities.
F. Dickinson Letts
1958 Jan 31	Washington, DC USA
- Nathan Cayton - Godfrey P. Schmidt - L.N.D. Wells Jr. - James R. Hoffa	Board of monitors. Members of the three-man board overseeing Teamsters activities will be Nathan Cayton, retired judge; Godfrey P. Schmidt, attorney who represented anti-Hoffa Teamsters; and L.N.D. Wells, Jr., attorney for Dallas Teamsters. James Hoffa may petition the court to discharge the monitors after a period of one year. The board is to protect the rights of members, counsel with the union's exectuve board, draft model by-laws and establish accounting methods to protect union funds.
1958 Feb 03	New York City, NY USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan - Bernard Spindel	Wiretap retrial. Federal Judge John M. Cashin delays the start of the wiretapping retrial until Feb. 24, as new defense lawyers have been hired. James Hoffa is represented by Henry Singer. Bert Brennan is represented by George S. Fitzgerald. Bernard Spindel is represented by Edward H. Levine.
1958 Feb 10	Miami, FL USA
- James R. Hoffa - Dave Beck	Health rumors. Unconfirmed reports from Miami, Florida, indicate that 45-year-old James Hoffa has suffered a mild heart attack during a series of Teamsters meetings. Teamsters are considering whether to evict President Dave Beck from his Seattle home. The union purchased the home from Beck for $163,000 but allowed him to continue living there rent-free.
1958 Feb 11	New York City, NY USA
John J. O'Rourke	O'Rourke wins again. Hoffa ally John J. O'Rourke is reelected by an overwhelming majority to the leadership of Teamsters Joint Council in New York. Voting results are held for examination by the Senate Select Committee on Improper Practices in the Labor or Management Field.
1958 Feb 12	Detroit, MI USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan	Dissolving Hobren. James Hoffa announces that he is dissolving the Hobren Corporation of Detroit. The firm, formed with friend Owen Bert Brennan and owned by their wives, got Hoffa and Brennan in trouble with Senate investigators.
1958 Feb 20	Seattle, WA USA
Dave Beck	Beck to prison. Seattle Superior Court Judge George H. Revelle sentences Teamsters President Dave Beck to state prison for up to 15 years for stealing $1,900 from the union. The 15-year maximum is required by law. Judge Revelle and prosecutors said they would recommend a three-year minimum sentence be imposed by the State Board of Prison Terms and Paroles.
1958 Mar 12	Chicago, IL USA
- James R. Hoffa - Harold Gibbons - William V. Bradley	Teamsters and Longshoremen. James Hoffa and Teamsters Vice President Harold Gibbons meet in Chicago's Shorelands Hotel with William V. Bradley, president of the East Coast International Longshoremen's Association. Hoffa and Gibbons pledge Teamsters support to ILA efforts to organize the ports of Chicago and other Great Lakes cities.
1958 Mar 19	New York City, NY USA
- John Cunningham - James R. Hoffa - John Cancelleri	Hoffa opponent withdraws. John Cunningham withdraws as a candidate for secretary-treasurer of New York Milk Wagon Drivers Union Local 584. He pledges his support to John Cancelleri. Cunningham had led the effort to block James Hoffa from assuming the Teamsters presidency.
1958 Mar 25	Washington, DC USA
James R. Hoffa	'Hoodlum empire.' The U.S. Senate rackets committee labels James Hoffa the boss of a "hoodlum empire" and said he was surrounded by men who used union funds for the benefit of thugs.
1958 Mar 27	New York City, NY USA
- James R. Hoffa - Ike Bogin - John Cancelleri - Max Liebler - John Cunningham	Hoffa ally wins. Ike Bogin, ally of James Hoffa, wins election as secretary-treasurer of New York Teamsters Local 584. The local includes more than 2,500 members who drive for independent milk dealers. Bogin defeats John Cancelleri, supported by Hoffa opponent John Cunningham.
1958 Apr 14	New York City, NY USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan - Bernard Spindel - John M. Cashin	Wiretap retrial. Federal Judge John M. Cashin postpones the start of the wiretapping retrial of James Hoffa, Bert Brennan and Bernard Spindel because the Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field is conducting hearings into Teamsters activities. Cashin notes, "Hoffa and the Teamsters are intertwined like links in a chain."
Bernard Spindel
1958 Apr 30	New York City, NY USA
John J. O'Rourke	O'Rourke stricken. Hoffa ally John J. O'Rourke has a heart attack during a "stormy" meeting of Teamsters Local 282 at Roosevelt Auditorium, 100 East 17th Street, in New York City. O'Rourke, who is president of the local and president of New York Teamsters Joint Council 16, collapses and is taken to Columbus Hospital in critical condition. His wife tells the press that O'Rourke has had several heart attacks in the past.
1958 May 14	Washington, DC USA
- Nathan Cayton - F. Dickinson Letts	Board of monitors. Nathan Cayton resigns from the three-man Board of Monitors overseeing Teamsters activities. Cayton submits his letter of resignation to Judge F. Dickinson Letts. Cayton, a retired judge, says he has other business that requires his attention.
1958 May 20	New York City, NY USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan - Bernard Spindel - Thomas F. Murphy	Wiretap retrial. The retrial of James R. Hoffa, Bert Brennan and Bernard Spindel on wiretapping charges begins before Judge Thomas F. Murphy.
1958 May 23	Washington, DC USA
- F. Dickinson Letts - Martin F. O'Donoghue - Robert F. Kennedy - Nathan Cayton	Board of monitors. Judge F. Dickinson Letts names former Teamsters attorney Martin F. O'Donoghue to be the neutral member and chairman of the three-man Board of Monitors over the Teamsters. He replaces former judge Nathan Cayton, who resigned. McClellan Committee Counsel Robert Kennedy objects to the appointment of O'Donoghue, as he defended the Teamsters in the early rounds of the lawsuit that brought about the establishment of the Board of Monitors. Kennedy says, "I should think it would have been possible to find somebody of competence in the United States who had not been directly connected with the Teamsters."
1958 May 30	Washington, DC USA
- Louis Fratto - James R. Hoffa - Robert F. Kennedy	Fratto called. McClellan Committee issues summons for appearance of Louis "Lew Farrell" Fratto of Des Moines, Iowa. A former beer distributor from Chicago, Fratto also was allegedly involved in gambling operations in Des Moines. He was earlier questioned by the Kefauver Committee and the Federal Housing Administration investigating committee. According to McClellan Committee Counsel Robert Kennedy, Fratto is an associate of Teamsters President James Hoffa.
Louis Fratto
1958 Jun 05	New York City, NY USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan - Bernard Spindel - Thomas F. Murphy	Wiretap juror excused. A female juror in the ongoing wiretapping case against James Hoffa, Bert Brennan and Bernard Spindel meets privately with Judge Thomas F. Murphy. Following the meeting, the judge meets with attorneys in the case and all decide that the juror should be excused from further service. She is replaced by an alternate juror.
1958 Jun 09	New York City, NY USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan - Bernard Spindel - Thomas F. Murphy	Second juror excused. A second female juror is excused from the wiretapping case against James Hoffa, Bert Brennan and Bernard Spindel. She reportedly complained of illness.
1958 Jun 18	New York City, NY USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan - Bernard Spindel - Thomas F. Murphy	Wiretap retrial. Testimony concludes in the wiretapping case retrial against James Hoffa, Bert Brennan and Bernard Spindel. Judge Thomas F. Murphy is expected to give the case to the jury on June 23.
1958 Jun 19	Philadelphia, PA USA
- James R. Hoffa - Raymond P. Cohen	Cohen investigated. Cooperating with the Board of Monitors, James Hoffa approves a special hearing board to consider charges against Hoffa ally Raymond P. Cohen. A union-appointed trustee of Philadelphia Local 107, Cohen was criticized by the McClellan Committee for charging the local at least $241,926 over a 45-month period.
1958 Jun 23	New York City, NY USA
- James R. Hoffa - Bert Brennan - Bernard Spindel - Thomas F. Murphy - Catherine Barry - Robert F. Kennedy	Wiretap acquittal. After seven hours of deliberations, a jury acquits James Hoffa, Bert Brennan and Bernard Spindel of wiretapping charges. Hoffa remains under indictment for five counts of perjury. Following the trial, Judge Thomas F. Murphy reveals that the FBI for two weeks has been investigating possible jury tampering in the case. Juror Catherine Barry of the Bronx reported being contacted at home by someone identifying himself as a labor writer. She reported the contact to the FBI and to the trial judge. She was excused from the jury panel in the first week of June. Hoffa later said the jury tampering accusations were concocted by Robert Kennedy, bitter over the acquittal.
1958 Aug	Union City, NJ USA
Anthony Provenzano	Provenzano elected. Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano becomes leader of Teamsters Union Local 560, Union City, New Jersey, following the death of local founder John J. Conlin.
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1959 Jul 06	Washington, DC USA
- Walter A. Dorn - Anthony Provenzano - Michael Communale - Anthony Castellito	Provenzano demanded payments. Walter Dorn, president of Dorn Transportation Company, testifies before the U.S. Senate McClellan Committee. Dorn says he was pressured by Teamsters Local 560 President Anthony Provenzano to make $14,000 in retainer payments to Michael Communale, assistant prosecutor in Hudson County, NJ. Communale was responsible for prosecuting labor racketeering cases in the county. Dorn says he never met Communale or made use of his legal services. Dorn says he made payments at meetings in Weehawken, NJ, attended by Tony "Three-Finger" Castellito.
Hoffa and Anthony Provenzano
1959 Jul 06	Washington, DC USA
Anthony Provenzano	Provenzano won't answer. Called to testify before the McClellan Committee, Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano refuses to answer questions. He cites the Fifth Amendment 44 times, reading his refusal from a piece of paper. Provenzano appears unconcerned by the questioning, smoking cigarettes and chewing gum during the inquiry.
1959 Jul 07	Washington, DC USA
- Michael Communale - Anthony Provenzano - Lawrence A. Whipple - Walter A. Dorn - James R. Hoffa	Communale fired. Michael Communale testifies before the McClellan Committee. He admits receiving $14,000 from Walter Dorn of Dorn Transportation, but he denies it was related to ensuring labor peace. He admits doing nothing for the "retainer." During the day, Hudson County NJ Prosecutor Lawrence Whipple dismisses Communale from his assistant prosecutor post. McClellan Committee states that James Hoffa achieved the Teamsters presidency by making alliances with mobsters and now "does not dare to break with them."
1959 Jul 29	Hudson County, NJ USA
Anthony Provenzano	Provenzano indicted. A Hudson County NJ grand jury indicts Anthony Provenzano of Hackensack NJ on two bribery charges. Provenzano is president of the New Jersey Joint Council of Teamsters. He is charged with accepting $1,500 from Walter A. Dorn and $2,500 from Arthur Pitman, president of the Pitman Trucking Company. Provenzano is scheduled for arraignment on Aug. 11.
1959 Sep 02	Washington, DC USA
- James R. Hoffa - Joseph Glimco - Harold Gross - Anthony Provenzano	Dismissals sought. The Board of Monitors asks Teamsters President James Hoffa to remove the presidents of three Teamsters locals: Joseph Glimco, Local 777 of Chicago; Harold Gross, Local 320 of Miami; and Anthony Provenzano, Local 560 of Hoboken NJ. The monitors recommend that all three be removed from office immediately and placed on trial before union boards.
1959 Nov 05	Jersey City, NJ USA
- Anthony Provenzano - John J. Conlin	Reformers in NJ. A reform group within Teamsters Local 560 of Hoboken attempt to use the Landrum-Griffin Law to block railroading of the administration slate of officers. A temporary restraining order is obtained at 4:10 p.m., but meeting of 8,000 truck drivers at Jersey City Garden goes on as planned. The local does not acknowledge receipt of the restraining order. Anthony Provenzano nominated for reelection as local president. John J. Conlin, first vice president of the international union, named for reelection to local secretary-treasurer post. Elections scheduled for Dec. 12.
1959 Nov 12	City, Region Ctry
Anthony Provenzano	Clean election pledge. The administration of Local 560 of Hoboken NJ agrees to abide by clean election rules and to include five reform members on the 20-member union election committee. Sources predict that Anthony Provenzano will win reelection as local president by a 20-to-1 margin.
1960 - Return to Top
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1980 - Return to Top
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