DETROIT – When you hear the name Jimmy Hoffa, you probably think of the former Teamster boss’ iconic disappearance, but his story is much more than a murder mystery.
It’s about power, loyalty, betrayal, organized labor and organized crime. It’s a story about how far people will go to get what they want.
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Once you start looking into Hoffa, you find yourself down a rabbit hole of dark tunnels. You look at the Teamsters Union and end up at Richard Nixon, Bobby Kennedy and the JFK assassination. All of these roads lead back to Hoffa’s obsession with power.
There was nothing he wouldn’t do to have it, and hold onto it, and once he lost everything, how far would he go to get it back?
Shattered: Hoffa - Episode 3
Season 4 of WDIV’s Shattered Podcast chronicles the rise and fall of the iconic labor leader, Jimmy Hoffa. In Episode 3, we look at Hoffa’s memorable “blood feud” with Bobby Kennedy, who investigated Hoffa and his connections to the Mob.
Here’s a brief synopsis of the new episode from producer Jeremy Allen:
“Jimmy Hoffa bowed to no man. His perpetual quest for power wouldn’t allow him to. This drive, this motivation is what pushed him and his nemesis, Robert F. Kennedy into the national spotlight. Kennedy was a rising star in the political landscape.
He worked diligently as a member of various senate committees, designed to take down organized crime and racketeering. His fight would pit him face-to-face with Jimmy Hoffa and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
In some ways, the relationship between Jimmy Hoffa and Bobby Kennedy was simple. Hoffa saw a spoiled rich kid. Kennedy saw a corrupt racketeer. An aide to JFK described it best. He Called their rivalry a ‘blood feud,’ driven by hate on both sides.”
Episodes 1-3 of Shattered: Hoffa are available now wherever you listen to podcasts. This season is hosted by Local 4′s Steve Garagiola. Episode 4 will be released on Tuesday, Dec. 31.
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The first three seasons of “Shattered” have garnered nearly 3.5 million downloads with audiences from 170 countries. Season 1 investigates the 2010 disappearance of three brothers in Morenci, Michigan. Their father said he gave the brothers to an underground organization. Seven years later, the boys’ whereabouts is not known. Season 2 takes listeners through the life of Richard Wershe, Jr., aka “White Boy Rick,” the youngest ever FBI informant turned drug dealer. Season 3 investigates the heartbreaking and riveting story about Michigan’s Oakland County Child Killer case that is still unsolved 40 years later.