How reliable is Frank Sheeran?

I'm currently reading I Heard You Paint Houses and I'm wondering how reliable he is. I've accepted that he's probably prone to embellishing things, I'm just wondering how much. Among other things, he claims to have been involved in the Joe Gallo murder, which I sincerely doubt based on all I've read, and he also claims to have been tangentially involved in the JFK assassination conspiracy. Stuff like this rings alarm bells, as people like Richard Kuklinski, who were peripheral figures in mob lore, have a tendency to insert themselves in various plots they had nothing to do with. And when they embellish, they tend to go big, as Kuklinski did by inserting himself into the Castellano and Galante murder plots.

Slate took apart the book: https://slate.com/culture/2019/08/the-irishman-scorsese-netflix-movie-true-story-lies.html

The publisher of the book defended it: https://slate.com/culture/2019/08/the-irishman-book-publisher-reply-bill-tonelli.html

I'm a tenth of the way into the book and my first impressions are that he's a bit of a storyteller and is taking licence with things.

I know that this isn't popular opinion, because Kuklinski has so many fan boys and dick riders, but I seriously don't believe that he had absolutely anything to do with the Mafia. There are absolutely zero surveillance photos of him with any mobsters, for a guy who claims to have worked with 5 or 6 crime families you'd think there would at least be something. And if anyone believes that he had anything to do with the Galante and Castellano killings, they don't need to be following this subject. I don't believe Sheeran had anything to do with the Gallo hit, but at least we can actually say he was mob-connected. I think they're both frauds for the most part, Kuklinski definitely being the bigger one. Actually I think he's the most successful Mafia fraud of all, they turned all of his lies into a book and a movie. And here I am still waiting for my Roy DeMeo or Vic and Gaspipe TV series. I'm pissed 😤

I have never seen anyone who follows organized crime seriously believe Sheeran's claims. I have seen people who will argue on many OC matters endlessly agree on Sheeran's stories being manufactured. He was smart, he did not give anyone up who could have been prosecuted in order to leave his family some money with the book deal. It's entertainment for sure, and I liked a lot of things in the film, taking it as mostly fiction.

I believe a large portion of what he states. Unfortunately, to sell a book, he embellished - fabricated really - murders he did not commit. For this reason, its cast doubt on his role in the Hoffa disappearance. Was Frank involved? I'm convinced yes. Before I tell you why Sheeran was at the murder scene, know through surveillance and personal photos, he was as close to Russell Bufalino as any man. And being that close, I tend to believe the strong-arm work depicted in the movie. As for Hoffa, he knew not to any longer trust the Giacalones who were waging a Teamster political war and violence campaign against Hoffa's supporters. 10 years prior, he'd get in the car with a Giacalone; at this point, he would never get in the car with them and surely not Pro's guys. Another reason is Hoffa's family; they'd know better than anyone. And Hoffa's family insists he would never have gotten in that car with out Frank. Did Frank pull the trigger; maybe doubtful, but he got him to the house. Maybe he witnessed it, maybe he didn't. Regarding Pro's guys being there, they took all that heat for nothing. Detroit made the decision to make Hoffa history, and they sure as heck don't need Jersey guys; not even to lure Hoffa.

I dont think there are many kuklinski dick riders on this forum. He's generally considered a liar and his book a joke.

Not to say he wasn't one seriously scary psychopathic serial killer...

Didnt sheeran only take claim in paint houses for the hits he was a really a suspect in? So at the end of his life he wrote a book where the proceeds went to his kids. People seem to really go insane over that fact that he didnt kill gallo, hoffa or the bug. By people i mean informants, rats and mob bloggers that know the real killers and snitch on every website to who really did it and how much of a lair sheeran is. From what i read is frank who loyal to the end and by taking credit on his death bed, it took heat off others because feds believed he did them. Especially hoffa through his daughter. What would frank gain except a extra pair of gasoline pants when he goes to hell by claiming credit for those murders? Money for his kids plus keeping the real killers(s) out of jail! Well that sounds like a guy who lived the code to the end to the end and every gangster who new the truth (including him) now know why Buffalino trusted him so much. Apparently everyone in that life new it wasnt true so he wanted credit while dead? Know, money for kids and in doing that it took heat off real guys. The michael francheze's, gunner bloomwhatever and alite's now became the authority on all things mob when that movie came out and the reason to have a thousand shows debunking sheeran. Also these rat experts are strangely authorities on 70s murders across america and debunk irishman in force. Yet dont debunk goodfellas or casinos inaccuracies when they claim they new jimmy the burke, gotti and chicago guys. Probably because they dont know shit and are the meglomaniac, slimey opportunists that they are considered in that life and failed in. Fank named himself, didnt rat and paid homage to an otherwise unknown power house, throw back mobster he idolized. I say to old timers in the life who new him they appreciated him and his loyalty to his death

I agree that Sheeran probably was exaggerating his activities to help the author sell books. If I remember the first edition of "Paint Houses" correctly, Sheeran said he was in the house where Hoffa was killed, but wasn't the killer and he didn't say who was. He certainly didn't have anything to do with the Gallo murder. In "In Hoffa's Shadow" (excellent read BTW), author Jack Goldsmith, a former Justice Dept. lawyer who is Chuckie O'Brien's stepson, got over 200 hours of interviews with Chuckie, who never once mentioned Sheeran.

Charles Allen lived on my street when I was a kid, I was to young to know him, but some in my family knew him quite well. He was supposedly close to Hoffa and Frank Sheeran. He was also a hit man and manufactured methamphetamines. He eventually became a rat and went into witness protection. I read he was Blinky Palermo's nephew, which is possible since both are from the same neighborhood.

Did any of you fellas notice that Sheeran went through his entire book without naming names of any made Bufalinos? Do you think it was strategic or he was purely on record with Russell and didn't socialize with the others?

It was thought a while ago that the Pittston family had a very small size. They were usually compared to Tampa or New Orleans. But it's come out that they were actually pretty large, smaller than Buffalo, but larger than most. About 60 men.

When I counted in the book, the who's-who was more Genovese, Lucchese guys, and some Bruno people than Pittston.

Supposedly, he didn't want to incriminate anyone who was still alive. That's probably why.

He was heavily involved with the Bufalino family and Genovese. You have to take into account how close he was to Bufalino and back then Bufalino was heavily involved in his family, the Genovese, The Magadinno’s, Bonnano’s and all of the smaller offshoot crews and families in upstate NY and Canada. Bufalino’s opinion or when he decided to weigh in on other family matters carried A TON of weight back then. 3 different families(Bonnano, Genovese and Bufalino) were all eating off of political deals Congressman Dan Flood got involved in. They had him in their pockets for 30yrs.

I tried reading it and just couldn't get through the early chapters where he talks about his early life. He's no Henry Hill or Lefty Rosenthal, that's for sure.

His saying he killed Joe Gallo in Umbertos, and claiming he was paid to do killings are 2 things that rule him out as reliable. He obviously was close to Hoffa and that group, but even there he makes a few things up. His stories are harmless. Kuklinski is a complete liar. I don't put him and Sheeran in the same category.

Bufalino Crime Family Bosses Timeline (1903-2006)

zero

Absolutely had zero to do with Gallo.....I think he definitely helped set up Hoffa and was used to lure him to the murder spot, maybe not personally shot him. But that hit probably went down much as it did in the movie, with Hoffa being cremated at some mob owned funeral parlor or somewhere close by. Not buried in Giants stadium or some swamp land. If you had to dispose of a body, doing it in a funeral home that way and mixing the ashes with whatever is left or flushing it down the toilet or scattering it while driving down some back country road would be the way to go. I don't think whoever killed Hoffa would have left a body to be found and anyone that actually had first hand knowledge is dead. I kind of feel like if Sheeran had personally killed Hoffa, they would have disappeared him too to tie up any loose ends at some point since he was an "outsider".

I can tell you that Kuklinski didn't stab him him in the head with a Bowie knife and then drove his corpse back to Jersey to get crushed in a junkyard like "Iceman" claimed.

Still very odd that the house where Sheeran said Hoffa was killed in did in fact have blood on the floorboards under the carpet, but it wasn't a match for Hoffa.

Why does every so-called Mafia hitman claim to be responsible for the murders of Gallo, Castellano, Hoffa, Galante, Anastasia, and everyone else? Then you have Kuklinski, who doesn't have a single photo with any mobsters.

Fame and/or to sell their stories and importance to people that don't know any better. By the time Henry Hill died you'd have thought he was Acting Captain of that crew. The last book Hill wrote he claimed John Gotti himself showed up in a leather trenchcoat and shot Tommy D to death in a restaurant with a silenced .357 magnum. He knows it's not true, he even invented a new gun, but why not include the most infamous big name mobster in your story?

I believe Henry Hill's book Wiseguy through and through, and the movie really nailed it. But I think the success of the book and movie got to his head and he started making shit up.

Wonder if Jimmy was able to watch Goodfellas in prison? He died 6 years after it came out, they had VHS tape and VCR's in prison I'm sure. Some hack could smuggle in a tape pretty easily. I'm sure he wasn't living on steak and lobster dinners like they showed in the movie though, lol.

Although Sheeran was identified as one of the prime suspects by the FBI shortly after Hoffa's disappearance, they found no evidence of Sheeran's involvement. He even could be aggressive in denying involvement. The theory that Hoffa was killed by Salvatore “Sally Bugs” Briguglio is endorsed by some Hoffa disappearance experts.

Today news broke of another Hoffa burial site, I think this may be the 100th time they have found him:



https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59346106