jimmy hoffa

English - English

Definition of jimmy hoffa in English English dictionary: the president of the Teamsters, a powerful trade union in the US, who was put in prison in 1967 for financial crimes. He left prison in 1971, but disappeared in 1975 and many people believe that he was murdered, though his body was never found (1913?-1975). orig. James Riddle Hoffa born Feb. 14, 1913, Brazil, Ind., U.S. disappeared July 30, 1975, Bloomfield Hills, near Detroit, Mich. U.S. labour leader. He moved with his family to Detroit in 1924, left school at 14, and began work as a stockboy and warehouseman. He became a labour organizer in the 1930s, rising in the Teamsters Union during the next two decades until he reached the office of president, which he held from 1957 to 1971. Known throughout the trucking industry as a tough bargainer, he played a key role in forging the first national freight-hauling agreement and helped make the Teamsters the largest labour union in the U.S. Long associated with underworld figures, he was sent to prison in 1967 for jury tampering, fraud, and conspiracy; his sentence was commuted by Pres. Richard Nixon in 1971. In 1975 he disappeared from a restaurant near Detroit; he is believed to have been murdered to prevent his retaking control of the union. His son, James Riddle Hoffa, Jr. (b. 1941), was elected president of the Teamsters in 1999

jimmy hoffa