Even though some of the eye witness testimony given was deemed questionable, some of it was found to be credible too. (Another reason to include O’Brien). Chuckie O'Brien is mentioned more frequently than most of the other names contained within it's pages. After Hoffa got out of prison and began a public crusade and media tour campaigning on a platform of ridding the Teamsters of organized crime influence, he opposed O’Brien’s attempt to become vice president of Local 299, prompting O’Brien to begin telling people Hoffa was a snitch and siding with Tony Giacalone in the mob’s feud with his adopted dad. The conflicting report states his real father was someone else going by the same name, "Charles Lenton O'Brien Sr." . Either way, Hoffa was compelled to take this foundling under his wing and raise Chuckie as his own son. O'Brien, 86, died Thursday in Boca Raton, Fla., according to his stepson Jack Goldsmith. This man  was associated with the Kansas City Mob. So, the entire matter is unclear and now has become even more ambiguous. Even so, this disagreement was probably not enough to erase their very close longstanding  historical bond. It was not long afterward they determined Chuckie O’Brien was the driver of this vehicle. Lastly O'Brien, while discussing what he knew about the Hoffa disappearance, had previously said these words to his stepson as reported in an interview with Earl Morris in 2019. One could easily ask: Who's more credible? The story gets more complicated with how O'Brien is linked to Jimmy Hoffa. At some point in  the early 1970s, after Hoffa's sentence was commuted by President Nixon, Chuckie became at odds  with him. This may be why you if you are like me, will sit through "The Irishman" feeling slightly confused. , the president of Teamsters local 337 and Central States Pension Fund Trustee. Interviews with Jimmy Hoffa’s family indicate originally O’Brien, since the age of seven, had been around the Hoffas and by age nine he lived with them in Hoffa's home. In the early 1930s she met Jimmy Hoffa. More: The metro Detroit trail of Jimmy Hoffa sites, More: 'The Irishman' stirs controversy over its version of what happened to Jimmy Hoffa, More: 'More to come' on Hoffa disappearance, US attorney says, Charles Lenton O’Brien, RIP https://t.co/hfDw1KPaqi, As he writes in his blog entry on Thursday, O'Brien knew the leading suspects well from his long association with Hoffa, and after Hoffa disappeared, O'Brien "became tragically ensnared between the government’s public accusations and pressure and the mob’s very different types of private pressure.". What do you think? He said that Chuckie and Hoffa had a falling out in 1974 and a “slew of circumstantial evidence connected Chuckie to the disappearance.” The investigation ruined his life. Neither Giacalone, nor Provenzano showed up and Hoffa got into a car with people he assumed were taking him to rendezvous with them nearby, however instead was murdered. He was treated as part of the family as he grew into adulthood. Goldsmith has gone on to accumulate a bunch of fancy-schmancy titles. Jimmy Hoffa being trailed by Chuckie O’ Brien in better times. After dropping off Giacalone, he took the fish to the Holmes residence…Mrs. announcement came on a blog called "Lawfare,", The metro Detroit trail of Jimmy Hoffa sites, 'The Irishman' stirs controversy over its version of what happened to Jimmy Hoffa, 'More to come' on Hoffa disappearance, US attorney says, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. In his FBI interview at the time, O’Brien told authorities that he spent the day running errands. Chuckie O’Brien literally grew up around the Hoffa’s. Thus, to this day, it appears there is still not enough credible information to overturn and fully exonerate O'Brien as a suspect. Charles “Chuckie” O’Brien is a key person involved with the disappearance of James R. Hoffa (JRH). His mother was Sylvia Pagano, also known as Sylvia Paris. We look at O’Brien as one of only a few individuals that could have provided some missing details of this mystery but refused to do so. In 2001, through DNA analysis, the evidence was determined to belong to the missing Jimmy Hoffa. In the 1990s he was booted out of the IBT because of his own admission of being associated with a list of known mobsters, some being Hoffa suspects. Secondly, O’Brien was a longtime friend of the Hoffa family. Trained police dogs detected Hoffa’s scent in the back seat and trunk. It seems to Findinghoffa.com that the original investigators coupled with the Hoffa family had a much clearer picture of those events. He may have not known what would happen after doing so, but would have quickly learned of it and possibly panicked. This was still fresh on their minds when Jimmy Hoffa did not come home himself on July 30th, 1975. Hoffa files indicate that the day after Hoffex suspect Salvatore Briguglio was gunned down in New York, the FBI conducted a search of his residence on March 22, 1978 and discovered a private unlisted telephone number that belonged to Chuckie O'Brien. However, forensic evidence later said otherwise; in 2001, an article by UPI reported that FBI scientists discovered that a strand of hair in a car Chuckie drove the day Hoffa vanished had matched Hoffa’s DNA. “I loved this man more than anything. Both men had alibis. Chuckie O’Brien literally grew up around the Hoffa’s. O’Brien admits to taking possession of a 1975 maroon-colored Mercury Marquis owned by Tony Jack’s youngest son, Joseph (Joey Jack) Giacalone, the morning Hoffa disappeared, but denies having any knowledge of what happened to him. He might have taken on the moniker to either hide his Italian origins or to fit in with the shady Irish guys who dominated the mid-West underworld which shaped Chuckie and Hoffa. FBI Agent Robert Garrity, the author of the original Hoffex Memo, (The Official document summarizing the first 6 months of the investigation of Hoffa's disappearance) still stands by his conclusions according to a previous referenced source. In 1975 it was discovered the car belonged to Joseph Giacalone, the son of Anthony “Tony Jack” Giacalone. There were no signs or reports of a forced or violent abduction at the scene. Until now? Ms. Pagano introduced Hoffa to many people attached to organized crime. Or, he may have known about the plan and cooperated due to external pressure coming from the others involved. Did Chuckie O’Brien Really Have a Fish in His Car? In the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s, he was the closest aide and near-constant companion of Jimmy Hoffa, the infamous and influential leader of … And that’s what you are likely to say if you go see the much-hyped—mostly deservedly so—new movie "The Irishman." It ends up by O'Brien's own admission they were right about this. From what is known about him, Chuckie O'Brien strictly adhered to the LCN's "Omerta" code. Of course, the rumors that Chuckie O’Brien’s mother was once romantically involved with Jimmy Hoffa  resurfaced from time to time giving some people the impression that Chuckie could be Hoffa's biological son. Chuckie also escorted JRH during the Test Fleet Trials leading up to Hoffa’s imprisonment in 1967. FBI made several attempts to duplicate the movements of O'Brien on the day Hoffa vanished, using the time and places O'Brien provided to the agents, but the recreations always finished with 60 to 90 minutes to spare, Even if he had only 5 minutes to spare, he could have picked up Hoffa and delivered him to the suspected murder house. Later he provided numerous versions of his activities and whereabouts to the FBI. It seems these things led to O’Brien positioning  himself with those having a better chance to succeed in the coming years of the Teamsters Union. As time went on, O'Brien's mother Sylvia became romantically connected  with Detroit LCN's Anthony "Tony Jack" Giacalone. Many historian's have chronicled that Sam Scaradino used the name O'Brien when he was a prize fighter earlier in his life. According to … That’s the movie that explains what happens after Walter White ... well, I guess I shouldn’t spoil things. As far as Hoffa’s own car, a green Pontiac, it was discovered parked near the Machus Red Fox Restaurant. Nothing as of yet supports such a conclusion. O’Brien also got the Hollywood treatment – at least partially – in the 1992 movie Hoffa directed by and co-starring Danny DeVito and Jack Nicholson as Hoffa in a critically-acclaimed performance. Become a Friend of IrishCentral - help us to continue bringing Ireland to you, Coronavirus live updates: 11,000 cases reported in Ireland in last two weeks, Historic spots in Ireland where public executions took place, This Irish castle and stud farm for sale is absolutely spectacular, Ireland’s haunted triangle is the spookiest place on earth says ghost hunter, Alex Gibney's new documentary on how Trump failed America, Colin Quinn contemplates the divided States of America in new book, President John F. Kennedy was likely related to Michael Collins, Getting off the American treadmill to live the Irish dream. What do you think? of Michigan. This would especially be the case since the familiar car O’Brien was driving belonged to Giacalone’s son. One of the more unusual scenes in The Irishman on Netflix shows Jimmy Hoffa’s foster son, Chuckie O’Brien, talking with Frank Sheeran and a mobster named “Sally Bugs” about a fish in his car. But practically everyone believed it. Goldsmith wrote that his stepfather apparently died of a heart attack. Hoffa’s hair and scent were found in the car. It appears she would often leave young Chuckie under the care of others during her absences. O’Brien and Hoffa were fighting over Hoffa refusing to back O’Brien’s bid for a Teamsters’ administrative post at Local 299 in southwest Detroit – the epicenter of Hoffa’s powerbase for decades – and O’Brien spreading rumors that Hoffa was an FBI informant. Contact “Sidewalks” at tdeignan.blogspot.com. There really is a lot of interesting stuff going on with immigrants from Italy and Ireland, whose children came over here and got caught up in a lot of dodgy stuff, from labor unions to organized crime. He apparently  wanted him transferred to an assignment far away from the Detroit Area making it difficult for O'Brien to have continued access to the Detroit Family LCN. Recent events in 2019 have revealed from a book written by a step son of Chuckie O'Brien's a much different opinion. He died February 13th, 2020 and took his secrets with him to the grave as he promised. Tony Giacalone died of kidney failure in early 2001 facing federal racketeering charges.