National Affairs: Hoffa's Funny Friend

Robert ("Barney") Baker, liar, thief, union bullyboy and hash-house voluptuary, plopped his 284 Ibs. into a red leather chair facing the McClellan committee. For the next two days Teamsters' Organizer Baker answered questions while the heat from overhead television lamps sent sweat from his pomaded hair down his neck into a wilted white collar that flapped outside his tentlike coat. His lawyers had urged him to take the Fifth Amendment. But Baker decided to clown his way through a performance aimed at concealing a grimly important fact: Barney Baker is just the sort...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!