What is Jimmy Hoffa?
{{Infobox person |name = Jimmy Hoffa |image = James R. Hoffa NYWTS.jpg | caption = Hoffa in 1964 |birth_name = James Riddle Hoffa |birth_date = {{Birth date|1913|2|14}} |birth_place = [[Brazil, Indiana]], United States |disappeared_date = {{Disappeared date and age|1975|7|30|1913|2|14}} |disappeared_place = [[Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan]], United States |disappeared_status = [[Declared death in absentia|Declared dead ''in absentia'']]<br />{{Death date|1982|7|30}} |occupation = Labor union leader, author |spouse = Josephine Hoffa, ''nee'' Poszywak (1936–1980) |children = [[James P. Hoffa]]<br />[[Barbara Ann Crancer]] }} '''James Riddle Hoffa''' (born February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975, [[declared death in absentia|declared dead]] July 30, 1982) was an American [[labor union]] leader. He was the President of the [[Teamsters|International Brotherhood of Teamsters]] (IBT) union from 1958 until 1971. He disappeared in late July 1975, aged 62. ==Life== Jimmy Hoffa was born in [[Brazil, Indiana]], on February 14, 1913. His family moved to Detroit in 1924. Hoffa lived in the Detroit area for the rest of his life. His first job was in a grocery store. He worked under an [[wikt:abusive|abusive]] boss, which is what gave him the idea of working with labor unions. Hoffa left his job in 1932 and was soon working for the Teamsters union. This was mainly a union for [[truck]] drivers, though Hoffa never worked as a truck driver himself. He helped grow and manage the union in the Detroit area. In those years, the union was growing quickly.<ref>{{cite book|title=Hoffa and the Teamsters: A Study of Union Power|url=https://archive.org/details/hoffateamstersst0000jame|author=Ralph James and Estelle James|date=1965|publisher=Van Nostrand|pages=[https://archive.org/details/hoffateamstersst0000jame/page/13 13]–15}}</ref> The Teamsters union had always had links to [[organized crime]], especially the [[American Mafia]]. These links grew as the union grew. As Hoffa became