Hoffa Guilty of Mail and Wire Fraud and Conspiracy

July 26, 1964 - A Federal jury found James Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, guilty of mail and wire fraud and conspiracy today in the use of his union’s pension fund.

A jury of four women and eight men found Hoffa guilty on four of 21 counts in what the Government called a $25 million scheme.

He was convicted on one count of conspiracy and three general counts of fraud, and acquitted on 17 other fraud counts.

The jury also found each of six fellow defendants guilty on the conspiracy count and at least one other count.

The jury, whose foreman was Walter Gogerty, a security guard and teller in a suburban bank, reached its verdicts after 17½ hours of deliberations over three days.

Hoffa, who is appealing a Chattanooga Federal Court conviction for jury tampering, stared at the jurors impassively.

He and six others were accused of fraudulently arranging $25 million in loans from the Teamster pension fund and of diverting $1.7 million for their own use. Hoffa, as head of the Teamsters — the nation’s largest union — is one of the trustees of the pension fund.

The U.S. Attorney’s office said the maximum penalty for each count was five years’ imprisonment. In addition, there is a possible fine of up to $1,000 on each count, except for the one on conspiracy, where the possible fine would be $10,000. The defendants could be imprisoned or fined or both. Thus Hoffa faces possibly 20 years in prison and $13,000 in fines.

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