Abstract
To fully understand the case that removed Jimmy Hoffa from office in 1964, you first need to start with the 1962 case in Nashville, Tennessee, where his jury tampering at the center of the 1964 case was to have taken place. This earlier case is where Hoffa in Tennessee, The Chattanooga Trial That Brought Down an Icon begins. It subsequently references 38 grand juries before which Hoffa appeared during the seven-year period from 1957 to 1964. Four times before the infamous 1964 case in Chattanooga, the federal government had brought criminal cases against Hoffa; yet, each time, he prevailed.
Hoffa in Tennessee, The Chattanooga Trial That Brought Down an Icon is a time capsule where the current events of the era intertwine with Hoffa’s story. The book details accusations of individuals involved in the Hoffa cases having ties to plots to assassinate Castro (p. 358), running guns and munitions to Cuba (p. 245), conducting voodoo ceremonies to influence the outcome of the case (p. 246), and even having connections to the assassination of President Kennedy (p. 54). The day the 1962 Nashville trial that would eventually lead to Hoffa’s 1964 charges of jury tampering began was the same day President Kennedy announced the presence of missiles in Cuba (p. 28). And just prior to the 1964 trial that put Hoffa in prison, his decades-long goal of a national master freight agreement was finally approved (p. 68).
The book adds to these current events colorful characters on both the prosecution and defense sides of Hoffa’s trials. Judges recused themselves due to conflicts of interest, and scores of attorneys were disbarred. The size of the “International Brotherhood of Teamsters Bar Association” was nearly matched by the number of prosecutors at the table. One of Hoffa’s defense attorneys lauded his most fascinating case before the Hoffa trial as the defense of the owner of Jack Daniel’s whiskey (p. 45). One of the United States prosecutors went on to become a prosecutor in the Watergate case and serve as defense counsel for multiple high-profile defendants, including Ford Motor Company in the Pinto case, director John Landis in The Twilight Zone wrongful death case, Exxon in the Exxon Valdez case, and the prescribing physician in the death of Elvis Presley (p. 362).
Much of the book goes into great detail in addressing the accusations of surveillance, wiretapping, and counter-wiretapping and how witnesses were procured, prepped, and possibly paid to testify during the Hoffa cases. The “get Hoffa Squad” included sixteen attorneys and thirty investigators in the United States Attorney General’s office who were tasked with the mission to “get Hoffa” more than to investigate and prosecute a specific crime (p. 24). This may not have been the first time the government tasked a group like this, but it was the first time they went after someone who had the financial wherewithal to fight back. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters spent over $500,000 defending Hoffa. The government spent $5,000,000 in bringing Hoffa to trial (p. 69).
All of this came to a head at the 1964 trial against Hoffa in Chattanooga. Was it a fair trial? Yes, but it was ugly on both sides (p. 370). In the end, the case exposed questions of the Justice Department’s basic practices, tactics, and means used by the “get Hoffa squad” (pp. 373-374). The defense, too, would be called into question for using a strategy of pressuring the court and the judicial system in the hope that they would make mistakes that would justify a mistrial (p. 331). Years later, one of the lead prosecutors would lament that, in the end, the trial showcased that if the government wanted to get you, they could (p. 373). Unlike Hoffa, the average defendant would not have the resources to respond in kind (p. 374). This is probably the most significant legacy of the trial, even more lasting than taking down an icon.
Overall, Hoffa in Tennessee, The Chattanooga Trial That Brought Down an Icon is an engaging, well-researched book. Labor historians, union lawyers (or just fans of the law), and people who like a well-told story will enjoy this book.