Encounter Bill Bufalino, the Attorney Who Deserted Jimmy Hoffa Moments Prior to His Vanishing Act
Bill Bufalino, born in Pittston, Pennsylvania in 1918, found himself entwined in one of the most enduring mysteries of the 20th century – the disappearance of labour union leader Jimmy Hoffa.
Bufalino and Hoffa shared a long-standing relationship, with Bufalino representing Hoffa in as many as seven trials. However, their bond began to fray around the mid-1960s when Hoffa was arrested for jury tampering, fraud, and bribery in 1967. It was around this time that Bufalino started to distance himself from Hoffa.
Bufalino's life took a dramatic turn when he married Marie Antoinette Meli, the niece of Detroit crime boss Angelo Meli, in 1945. This connection established him within Detroit's top crime family, and he went on to start a jukebox business, the Bilvin Distributing Company, with the Meli family's help.
In 1947, Bufalino was elected as president of the Teamsters Local 985. His rise continued as he served as a lieutenant in the Army's Judge Advocate General Corps during World War II and received a degree from the Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1942.
Bufalino's cousin was Russell Bufalino, known as the Pennsylvania godfather. Mobsters suspected of Hoffa's disappearance and, likely, murder were in attendance at Bufalino's daughter's wedding, including Tony Giacalone, Tony Provenzano, Russell Bufalino, and Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran, Russell Bufalino's right-hand man and hitman. Despite this, Bufalino did not mention his cousin's connections to this very same plot.
In 1975, Hoffa mysteriously disappeared from the Machus Red Fox Restaurant parking lot in Detroit. Two days later, Bufalino's daughter's wedding, closely monitored by the FBI, took place.
Despite his close association with Hoffa, Bufalino was not directly implicated in the investigation of Hoffa's disappearance. However, the allegations centre more on Russell Bufalino's role, with claims suggesting that he played a decisive role in Hoffa's disappearance by allegedly directing others to carry out the killing.
In later years, Frank Sheeran, Russell Bufalino's right-hand man and hitman, confessed to killing Jimmy Hoffa on the orders of Russell Bufalino. Despite this, Bufalino remained close to his cousin his entire life and chose him to be godfather of his daughter.
Bill Bufalino's connection with Detroit's top crime family and his role as a lawyer for Hoffa and the Teamsters Union have made him a figure of interest in the Hoffa mystery. However, the available information does not indicate that Bufalino was implicated in the investigation of Hoffa’s disappearance itself.
[1] Search Results for Bill Bufalino and Jimmy Hoffa's Disappearance [2] Book: I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt [3] Article: Russell Bufalino: The Man Who Ordered Jimmy Hoffa's Murder
- In the history of crime-and-justice, Bill Bufalino's connection to Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance, despite not being directly implicated, remains a topic of interest, especially given his association with Detroit's top crime family and his role as a lawyer for Hoffa and the Teamsters Union.
- As the mystery surrounding Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance unfolded, Bill Bufalino's life intertwined with movies-and-tv and general-news, featuring in books like "I Heard You Paint Houses" by Charles Brandt and articles such as "Russell Bufalino: The Man Who Ordered Jimmy Hoffa's Murder."
