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Then there was the $1,000,000 loan he arranged from the Michigan Conference of Teamsters Welfare Fund to a real-estate company developing 1,270 acres in Flint. Fitzgerald, according to earlier testimony, pocketed a $15,750 "finder's fee" for arranging the loan. A title and guarantee officer supervising the funds in escrow said Fitzgerald rearranged the escrow agreement to allow some of the money to be used for curious purposes, e.g., the purchase of a bull and nine cows to give the Flint development a rural atmosphere.
Fitzgerald angrily insisted his $15,750 was a legal fee, said he had worked hard for it, but admitted that he neglected to notice when the loan was made that the real-estate firm had more liabilities than assets. Informed that the shaky company has stopped building houses on the property, and the Teamsters are foreclosing their loan, John McClellan did rapid arithmetic, reckoned the welfare fund was out $700,000. Seemingly unconcerned, George Fitzgerald rosily predicted the land would make a handsome profit, despite the fact that the State Health Department refuses to approve its water facilities. The hearing over, he climbed from the witness chair to prepare for a return appearance this week in his old role as counsel. Fitzgerald's client of the week: Old Pal James Riddle Hoffa, who once informed his buddy: "You're only my mouthpiece. I'll tell you when to talk."