Dec. 23, 1962 - A Federal judge declared a mistrial today in the conspiracy trial of James R. Hoffa (right). He said labor associates of Mr. Hoffa had attempted to tamper with the jury. The president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters had been accused of accepting a $1 million payoff from a trucking concern to insure peace. Federal Judge William E. Miller declared the mistrial shortly today when the jury reported that it was hopelessly deadlocked after 17 hours of deliberation. He then announced there had been three “shameful” attempts to influence the jurors and ordered an investigation of the incidents by a grand jury. The judge released the transcript of a secret court session during which a Tennessee state patrolman whose wife had been discharged from the jury Dec. 6 testified that the president of a teamsters local had offered to get him a promotion. The judge did not release the particulars of the two other alleged jury-tampering attempts.
