PaleyArchive ColorBars TopBanner2

ABC NEWS CLOSE-UP: HOFFA (TV)

Summary

One in this occasional documentary series presented by ABC News. This edition, reported and narrated by Jim Kincaid, Brit Hume and Bill Gill, profiles controversial union leader and former President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa.

The following topics are discussed: Hoffa's 14-year reign as IBT president; his four years in prison on jury tampering, bribery and fraud charges; his conditional release in 1971 and ongoing fight to reclaim his seat as president, having been banned from any association with unions until 1980; his heated conflict with his successor, current IBT president Frank Fitzsimmons; Hoffa's much-discussed association with "hoodlums and gangsters"; the "startling contrast" of his tireless work for laborers and his shady criminal behavior; his early involvement with the "bargaining, boycotts and blood" of unionizing in his teenage years; his association with trade unionist and mentor Farrell Dobbs, whom he would later betray as he rose to power within the Teamsters during the years of World War II; succeeding Dave Beck as IBT President in 1957 when Beck was imprisoned for fraud; Hoffa's defense of his involvement with gangsters, whom he deems necessary to prevent strike-breaking and other intimidation; Robert Kennedy's longtime work with his "Get Hoffa squad," leading to long legal battles and extensive surveillance of Hoffa; Hoffa's thoughts on Kennedy's associate Walter Sheridan, the "slimy, sleazy rat" who published "The Fall and Rise of Jimmy Hoffa" in 1972; his many acquittals and eventual conviction on jury tampering charges in 1964, thanks to secret government informant Edward Grady Partin; his additional conviction for fraud in Chicago; Chief Justice Earl Warren's stern dissent regarding the propriety of Hoffa's trials; prosecuting attorney James Neal's assertion that Hoffa's charges were legitimate, despite his doubts about Kennedy's extremely protracted investigation; Hoffa's current home life in Michigan and work with the National Association for Justice, a prison reform association populated largely by Teamsters; his assertion that he would not have accepted his commuted sentence and early release from prison had he known about the restriction banning him from union activity, contrasted with Fitzsimmons' claim that he did indeed know about it; Hoffa's belief that Charles Colson – now imprisoned on charges relating to the Watergate scandal – conspired with Fitzsimmons to add the secret stipulation to his release; ongoing debate about the IBT's pension fund, which has "bankrolled" many Las Vegas casinos and other businesses believed to have organized-crime ties; the involvement of Hoffa's protégé Allen Dorfman, who also served time in prison on conspiracy charges; Fitzsimmons' denial of any mobster associations, despite his rumored alliance with Louis Rosanova, a.k.a. "Lou the Tailor"; stern criticism of both Hoffa and Fitzsimmons from Michael Parkhurst, trucker activist and editor of "Overdrive" magazine; and his explanation of the IBT's alleged investment scams and money-skimming practices, for which Fitzsimmons and Hoffa blame one another.

(Hoffa vanished on July 30, 1975 and was declared dead in 1982; his presumed murder has not been definitively solved.)

Preservation of the Post–World War II American Television Documentary Collection is supported in part by a Federal Save America’s Treasures grant administered by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Details

  • NETWORK: ABC
  • DATE: November 30, 1974 8:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:51:11
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: B:47128
  • GENRE: News magazine
  • SUBJECT HEADING: News magazine; Talk/Interview; Biography; Teamsters; Labor unions
  • SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1973-1988
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Stephen Fleischmann … Producer, Director
  • Richard Gerdau … Associate Producer, Writer
  • Jim Kincaid … Reporter
  • Brit Hume … Reporter
  • Bill Gill … Reporter
  • Frank Fitzsimmons … Interviewee
  • James Riddle Hoffa (see also: Jimmy Hoffa) … Interviewee
  • James Neal … Interviewee
  • Michael Parkhurst … Interviewee
  • Dave Beck
  • Charles Colson
  • Allen Dorfman
  • Robert F. Kennedy
  • Richard Nixon
  • Edward Grady Partin
  • Louis Rosanova
  • Walter Sheridan
  • Earl Warren