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

Its so boring I couldn’t even finish it it’s not like the movie and mostly not true.big regret

I was disappointed with this book which I found to be too repetitive and slow. I understand the necessity for including information about The Teamsters and other union work in which Hoffa was involved but again, for me at least there was just too much of it. Sheeran came across as a good soldier where he learned his 'trade' but was not a good family man. I think he was the right man to despatch Hoffa, being a close friend and didn't seem particularly put out by it - business as usual seems to have been the name of the game and of course he could NOT say no either. Hoffa was no shrinking violet by any means but he is depicted here as an 'okay sort of a guy' which from my knowledge of him from other books and docu's he wasn't. He had a hatred of the Kennedy Political dynasty, saving his most poisonous invective for Bobby Kennedy who as Attorney General made it his 'life-work' to bring Hoffa down, so he couldn't have been ALL bad? I honestly cannot see that there is enough interest for a film to be made about Sheeran who if he hadn't topped Hoffa would just be 'another hoodlum'.

"I heard you paint houses" is the first thing that Jimmy Hoffa says to Frank (the Irishman) Sheeran after being introduced by Russell (McGee) Bufalino, the boss of a mafia family in Pennsylvania,New York state,New Jersey and Florida (rather than one of the more notorious 5 families in New York City) and this is the essence of the book. Although it is sort of a 'death bed confession' from Frank Sheeran about his life to Brandt, it becomes more tied in to Hoffa's disappearance and activities with regards to the Teamsters union and their links to organised crime (Russell Bufalino) in the US at that time.Frank Sheeran's story is very interesting. He was brought up through a very tough period during the Depression, became an infantry rifleman in the Second World War with the 45th Infantry Division, where he saw 411 days of active combat before coming back to the US and working in logistics (trucking & deliveries) running a few scams here and there to earn some extra money when he has a chance meeting with Russell Bufalino one day when his truck breaks down. One thing leads to another resulting in Sheeran murdering another gangster which in turn results in Bufalino introducing Sheeran (who was also a member of the Teamsters) to Hoffa (the Teamsters union president). Sheeran then effectively becomes Hoffa's friend/bodyguard and hit man (although it is organised crime that is pulling the strings in most cases) before Hoffa's eventual disappearance.I have not seen the new Irishman film directed by Scorsese starring Pacino, De Niro and Pesci but I can see why this subject matter has been chosen as a film. Organised crime, politics,murder and conspiracies are all linked together in this book and, I assume, in the film too.The book itself is very interesting and I'm sure that those who are wholly consumed with the disappearance of Hoffa will probably be able to pick holes in it but for readers who are intrigued generally about organised crime/mafia in the US and its links to politics and labour racketeering this will be an adequate read. I do not think it is as good a book as Wiseguy and Donnie Brasco (which are, in my opinion, 2 of the best organised crime/mafia books I have read to date) but it is not bad.Sometimes though, I got the feeling that Brandt was trying to pad the book out with Hoffa's court dialogue and union regulations and also trying to show that he has solved Hoffa's disappearance and discrediting other stories (as the 40 pages in the epilogue and afterword show) which will probably appeal more to the minority of readers that are interested in this rather than the majority who are interested in Sheeran's and Bufalino's mob activities (although the argument can be made that they are all linked). There is also a sources section at the back of the book should anyone be interested in further reading on this subject.This book will probably appeal to those who enjoyed the film but I would be cautious in recommending it without seeing the film first. This book is good in most parts but not great.

Boring. I couldn't finish reading it. Didn't go into depth about the crimes and hits he did but page after page of boring union details.If your interested in what was happening in the unions back then you'll like it, but if you want crime stories don't bother.

A book that reflects a life lived by different standards and morality. His war experiences not gone into in any great detail but that must have had an impact on his regard for human life. He seemed to be able to kill without hesitation or regret while maintaining a respect for the mafia hierarchy. You will have to learn a different vocabulary to read this e.g. the title refers to the ability to kill and the paint is the blood splatter left on the walls. A phrase such as “ I do my own carpentry “ means, I dispose of the bodies as well e.g. I make their coffins. Chilling.

Read it as a thriller or as background to Scocese's The Irishman. But how can one man be the trigger man in so many infamous hits and also make multiple incriminating money handoffs to Joyn Mitchell? The Irishman appears to have periously overused by the mob, Hoffa and others. Read Jack Goldsmith's In Hoffa's Shafow as the antidote.