Edward Partin

Edward Grady Partin Sr.
Born(1924-02-27)February 27, 1924
DiedMarch 11, 1990(1990-03-11) (aged 66)
Resting placeResthaven Gardens of Memory in Baton Rouge
OccupationTeamsters business agent
Political partyDemocrat
SpouseDivorced twice
Children7

Edward Grady Partin Sr. (February 27, 1924 – March 11, 1990), was an American business agent for the Teamsters Union, and is best known for his 1964 testimony against Jimmy Hoffa, which helped Robert F. Kennedy convict Hoffa of jury tampering in 1964.[1]

Teamster Union and mob activities

Partin was the business manager of the five local IBT branches in Baton Rouge for 30 years. In 1961, he was charged by the union with embezzlement as union money was stolen from a safe. Two key witnesses in the grand jury died. He was indicted on June 27, 1962, for 26 counts of embezzlement and falsification and released on bail.

On August 14, 1962, Partin was sued for his role in a traffic accident injuring two passengers and killing a third. He was also indicted for first-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident. He also surrendered himself for aggravated kidnapping.

Partin was secretary-treasurer of Local 5 in Baton Rouge.[2]

In June 1969 Partin was indicted by a grand jury on five counts of conspiracy and extortion, with bond set at $25,000.[3] He was eventually convicted on the third try in February 1973 after two mistrials.[4]

He was convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice through witness tampering and perjury in March 1979.[5] Partin pled no contest to numerous other corruption charges in the union, including embezzlement, and was released to a halfway house in 1986.[6][1] Partin was paid a Teamsters salary for a period while in prison, until he was formally removed from office in 1981.[1]

Testimony against Hoffa

In 1963, Jimmy Hoffa, the president of the Teamsters, was arrested for attempted jury tampering in attempted bribery of a grand juror of a previous 1962 case in Nashville involving payments from a trucking company. Partin testified that he was offered $20,000 to rig the jury in Hoffa's favor. The testimony was the primary evidence of the Justice Department that led to Hoffa being sentenced to eight years in prison.[7] Hoffa was surprised and reportedly unnerved when Partin took to the stand, "My God, it's Partin" he said.[2] Partin had been recruited by the government as an informant after he was arrested on charges of kidnapping and manslaughter. He struck a deal with the government that he would visit Hoffa during his Nashville trial and report what he said.[8]

Partin denied under oath that he was compensated by the Justice Department, but it was revealed that his ex-wife had her alimony payments given to her by the department. He originally denied that he would receive immunity or retroactive immunity for his testimony but it was later altered when he was under oath at a grand jury trial.[citation needed]

In March 1990 Partin died aged 66 in a nursing home in Baton Rouge. He suffered from heart disease and diabetes.[1]

Partin is portrayed by actor Brian Dennehy in the 1983 television film Blood Feud.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Edward Partin, 66; Union Aide Became Anti-Hoffa Witness". The New York Times, March 12, 1990. March 13, 1990. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Sloane, Arthur A. (1991). Hoffa. MIT Press. p. 294.
  3. ^ "Witness Against Hoffa Indicted in New Orleans; Labor Official Charged With Conspiracy and Extortion". The New York Times. 21 June 1969.
  4. ^ "EX‐TEAMSTER IS HELD GUILTY OF EXTORTION". The New York Times. 28 February 1973.
  5. ^ Ap (1990-03-13). "Edward Partin, 66; Union Aide Became Anti-Hoffa Witness". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  6. ^ "Reading Eagle - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  7. ^ "Reading Eagle - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  8. ^ "The Supreme Court: A Pragmatic View of Privacy". Time. 23 December 1966.
  9. ^ Zaniello, Tom (2003). Working stiffs, Union Maids, Reds, and Riffraff: An Expanded Guide to Films about Labor. ILR Press. p. 57.