Hoffa

As you wish.

Hoffa himself didn't strong arm people, but he certainly had people working for him that did.

He got cozy with the mob more or less right from the start - they helped get him elected to the Presidency of the Teamsters.

The Teamsters Pension Fund was a brilliant tactic to further ensure his power and influence. The fund wasn't originally meant for casinos - but the loans almost always went to people with mob connections. There was a river of cash coming in from Union Dues - it was perfect, until Hoffa went to jail and lost his power in the process.

When he fought to get it back, the Mob suspected he'd rat a few of them out, so they (probably) rubbed him out.

It is likely the most notorious unsolved disappearance of the last 50 years.

It's ironic that the Teamster's pension fund was used to build Vegas, (It's questioned whether it was ever paid back). The town that Union money built has always blocked any labor organizing in the mob ran casinos.

Don "The Pretzel" Diego thanks "Fat Alanleroy Meatballs" for the link.

Yep, Hoffa gave Jay Sarno the key $10.5 million loan from the Teamsters' pension fund to build Caesars Palace.



In the lower left of the photo is a rectangular parking lot that Steve Wynn sold to Caesars in 1971 (he'd ben threatening to build the world's narrowest casino resort, infuriating Caesars). He used that money to buy the Golden Nugget downtown and catapult his Vegas career.

Wow. Thanks for the info.

A small point of interest some may find interesting:
Steve Wynn owned the strip parking lot on the left of the photo posted by Chicoot. When he threatened to build a casino there Caesar's made him an offer he couldn't refuse, and Mr. Wynn netted $687,000 on the deal, . . . the beginning of the Wynn Empire.

Cool. My mob name is Lucky T.

Hoffa was rumored to be buried in the endzone at Giant stadium. They X-rayed the ground and found nothing, but it would have made for a great story if it had been true.

Back when I was 16-18 years old, I got involved with the mob a little bit helping a friend doing some odd jobs. They called me, "hey kid". I got out before I got a cool nickname.