As an amateur Kansas City historian, pretty much any book that offers a glimpse into the city’s past or its notorious gangster history is going to be on my bookshelf. Living in Kansas City’s Northeast neighborhood for over 30 years and knowing what houses go with what families makes Frank Hayde’s new book, Hoffa’s Connection, the story of Sylvia Pagano: the story of a Kansas City girl at the center of the Mafia’s alliance with the Teamsters Union, even that much better.
Back in the middle 80’s and early 90’s, it was not unusual to see bumper stickers claiming, “Jimmy Hoffa is in my Trunk.” While the lighthearted bumper stickers may have mocked the ongoing investigation as to the actual whereabouts of the Teamster President’s body, Frank Hayde’s new book Hoffa’s Connection expertly lays out the events leading up to his disappearance, the people that surrounded Hoffa, and the Kansas City connection that has largely remained a mystery up until recently.
“I hope you never have to go to prison. Its hell on earth, only hell couldn’t be this bad.” Jimmy Hoffa…