In the witness chair in Manhattan's Federal Court sat bland, wily Willie Bioff (pronounced Buy-off), blackmailer, pander, labor leader, and now star Government witness against eight ex-pals, who are charged with shaking down $1 million from the movie industry (TIME, Oct. 18). From wily Willie's reminiscences U.S. citizens learned much.
Question: Was it true that Bioff once had a five-year plan for taking over 20% of Hollywood's profits—and eventually a 50% interest in the studios themselves?
Bioff (wistfully): "If we'd lasted that long, we would have."
Question: Did you ever say you were boss of Hollywood and could make producers do whatever...