IN HOFFA'S SHADOW by Jack Goldsmith

This book is highly relevant, given the current craze for the movie, "The Irishman." Goldsmith, a law professor who was a government lawyer, is the stepson of Chuckie O'Brien, who was Jimmy Hoffa's acolyte and almost a son to him. Chuckie supplied Goldsmith with hundreds of hours of reminiscences about Hoffa, the Teamsters and the Mob, most of them very interesting because Goldsmith is a solid writer who added plenty of history to his stepfather's reminiscences. And, although it's not a comprehensive biography of Hoffa, there's plenty-enough detail about Hoffa's life to keep you interested and informed.

To cut to the chase: The FBI for decades harassed Chuckie, believing he was with Hoffa on his last ride, and may have been part of the plot to kill him. Chuckie steadfastly denied both. Half-Sicilian (on his Mob-connected mother's side), Chuckie, claiming to revere Omerta, didn't reveal who really killed Hoffa, though he said Anthony (Tony Pro) Provenzano "was highly involved." However, the FBI not long ago told Goldsmith that they now believe that Chuckie wasn't involved. They also believe that the actual assassin was a low-level Detroit Mafioso who rose steadily after the murder, and died as consigliere last January. By a process of elimination, that would be Anthony (Tony Pal) Palazzolo,

As for Frank (The Irishman) Sheeran, the central character in the movie: Chuckie never even mentioned Sheeran''s name in his sessions with Goldsmith. That could have been jealousy on Chuckie's part, and he isn't exactly a neutral observer or an upstanding character. Neither was Sheeran. In his biography, "I Heard You Paint Houses," the author, Charles Brandt, wrote (if I recall correctly) that Sheeran told him he was with Hoffa on his last ride, and was in the house where Hoffa was killed, but he said he wasn't the killer, and declined to identify the killer. His claim to be the killer happened later.