In Hoffa's Shadow: A Stepfather, a Disappearance in Detroit and My Search for the Truth

As a young man, Jack Goldsmith revered his stepfather, longtime Jimmy Hoffa associate Chuckie O’Brien. But as he grew older and pursued a career in law and government, he came to doubt and distance himself from the man long suspected by the FBI of perpetrating Hoffa’s disappearance on behalf of the mob. It was only years later, when Goldsmith was serving as assistant attorney general in the George W. Bush administration and questioning its misuse of surveillance and other powers, that he began to reconsider his stepfather, and to understand Hoffa’s true legacy.

In Hoffa's Shadow: A Stepfather, a Disappearance in Detroit, and My Search for the Truth, tells the moving story of how Goldsmith reunited with the stepfather he’d disowned and then set out to unravel one of the twentieth century’s most persistent mysteries and Chuckie’s role in it. Along the way, Goldsmith explores Hoffa’s rise and fall and why the golden age of blue-collar America came to an end, while also casting new light on the century-old surveillance state, the architects of Hoffa’s disappearance, and the heartrending complexities of love and loyalty.

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Robin Hayes, Former Republican Political Party Chairman @NCGOP, Pleads Guilty To Making A False Statement To The #FBI

The former chairman of the North Carolina Republican state political party pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the FBI in connection with a federal investigation into the attempted bribery of a North Carolina elected official. U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer presided over the plea hearing.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina and Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI Charlotte Field Office, made the announcement.

On March 18, 2019, a criminal indictment was filed in the Western District of North Carolina, charging Robert Cannon Hayes, 74, of Concord, North Carolina, who at the time was Chairman of the Republican state political party in North Carolina; Greg E. Lindberg, founder and Chairman of Eli Global LLC (Eli Global) and the owner of Global Bankers Insurance Group (GBIG); John D. Gray, a consultant for Lindberg; and John V. Palermo, an Eli Global executive, for allegedly attempting to make improper campaign contributions to the elected Commissioner of Insurance (Commissioner) of the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI), in exchange for official personnel action favorable to Lindberg’s company, GBIG.

According to admissions Hayes made in connection with his guilty plea, on or about Aug. 28, 2018, Hayes falsely stated to FBI agents that he had never spoken with the NCDOI Commissioner about personnel or personnel problems at NCDOI or about Lindberg or Gray. At the time that Hayes made the false statements, the FBI was investigating matters related to the attempted bribery of the Commissioner, therefore the defendant’s false statements were material to the investigation.

As Hayes admitted in court, at the time he made the materially false statements, Hayes knew that it was unlawful to lie to the FBI, and knew that his statements were false because Hayes had in fact spoken with the NCDOI Commissioner about Lindberg and Gray, and about Lindberg’s request that the Commissioner move certain personnel within NCDOI.

Lindberg, Gray, and Palermo are each charged with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and aiding and abetting.Their charges are still pending.

The FBI’s Charlotte Field Office is leading the investigation.

Trial Attorney James C. Mann of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Stetzer and Dana Washington of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte are prosecuting the case.

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Federal Judge Agrees to Dismiss Perjury Case Involving Strip Club against Mob Associate and Bookmaker

A federal judge signed off on the dismissal of a perjury case against longtime New England mob associate and bookmaker Gaythorne “Poochie” Angell Jr.

Angell, 84, completed a six-month pretrial diversion program. He faced a perjury indictment for lying to a grand jury in 2011 about whether the strip club he’s long been associated with, the Foxy Lady, was paying protection money to members of organized crime. It was, and Angell knew it, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors moved to dismiss the case after Angell completed the program. U.S. District Chief Judge William E. Smith granted the request, meaning Angell no longer faces a criminal charge stemming from the mob’s shakedowns of strip clubs.

Pretrial diversion is an alternative to the typical criminal-justice system track that can involve prison time.

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New Trailer for @TheIrishmanFilm Shows Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino at War with JFK

   

I Heard You Paint Houses: Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran & Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa

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Will Smith to Star as Harlem-based Mobster Nicky "Mr. Untouchable" Barnes on @Netflix in "The Council"

Peter Landesman wrote the script for the film about Nicky Barnes, the Harlem-based mobster who was dubbed "Mr. Untouchable."

Will Smith, just weeks away from opening his sci-fi action movie Gemini Man, is heading back to Netflix. The actor has signed on to star in and produce The Council, a crime biopic written by Peter Landesman. The two previously worked together when Smith starred in Concussion, the 2015 drama Landesman wrote and directed.

Smith will produce with James Lassiter, his partner at Overbrook Entertainment, now under the umbrella of Smith’s Westbrook Inc. Also producing are Matt Jackson via Jackson Pictures and Jason Essex for Anonymous Nobodies.

The Council aims to tell the story of an organized crime syndicate run by seven black mobsters who operated in Harlem in the 1970s. The men dreamed of a self-sufficient and self-policing African-American city-state, funded by revolutionizing the drug game.

Netflix is describing the story as centering on the Shakespearean court intrigue between the council’s king, Nicky Barnes, dubbed “Mr. Untouchable” by The New York Times, and all the different members of the council. (Mr. Untouchable - The Rise, Fall, and Resurection of Heroin's Teflon Don Nicky Barnes).

Smith will play Barnes, the man who partnered with the Italian Mafia to start his own syndicate, specializing in the heroin trade. He was arrested in 1978 and, after a series of incidents, turned on the council by becoming a federal informant. He was in the witness protection program and, though he died in 2012, his death was only reported this year.

Executive producing the project are Landesman, Jackson Pictures’ Joanne Lee and David Lee for Anonymous Nobodies.

No director is yet on board.

Smith, who previously starred in the $1 billion-grossing Aladdin remake, toplined one of Netflix's early feature hits, the 2017 sci-fi fantasy Bright, directed by David Ayers. He and Overbrook are repped by CAA and Sloan Offer.

CAA and Jackoway Tyerman negotiated on behalf of Landesman. Jackson is repped by CAA and Manatt Phelps.

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