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In contrast, Fitzsimmons, who was Hoffa's hand-picked successor but then became a rival, is said to show no such resistance. Indeed, he has left the 15 regional vice presidents pretty much alone, making them again the semiautonomous barons that they were before Hoffa began centralizing most of the power around himself. To veteran Teamster observers, that means an open season for the underworld and increasing Mafia penetration.
Federal investigators suspect that Hoffa may have been murdered to keep him from interfering with kickbacks flowing to underworld brokers of loans from the Central States' pension fund. On the day of his disappearance, Hoffa was scheduled to have lunch with two Mafiosi: Anthony ("Tony Pro") Provenzano, unofficial boss of New Jersey's Teamsters, and Detroit's Anthony ("Tony Jack") Giacalone. Investigators believe that on the agenda was a $3 million loan from the fund that the Mafia was trying to arrange for a "recreation center" in Detroit. On some previous loans from the fund, Mob figures had got a 10% kickback from the borrowers; on the recreation-center loan, they reportedly were demanding an additional 10% from the union officials.
There seems little chance that the unsavory publicity about Mafia connections likely to be brought to light by Hoffa's disappearance will deflect the union from its course very much. The lurid headlines are an embarrassment, certainly. The Teamsters lately have sought respectability through a magazine and billboard advertising campaign that proclaims: TEAMSTERS—A PART OF THE AMERICAN LIFE.
Shady Outlook. On the whole, though, the road ahead stretches straight and smooth for the union. Says Investigative Editor Jim Drinkhall, who has written many reports of Teamster shady dealings for Overdrive, an independent monthly trade publication: "Essentially, their idea is 'Who cares what they do as long as I get mine?' " Many employers do not care either; they regard the Teamsters as a good union to deal with because it keeps the members in line and has held wildcat strikes to a minimum.
Within the union, Fitzsimmons has opponents who consider him a bungler. But so strong is the Teamsters' tradition of sticking with the man in power that the critics' major hope for unseating him at the union's 1976 elections is that Hoffa will somehow turn up alive, well and able to run in opposition. Failing that, Fitzsimmons could still face substantial opposition from dissatisfied Teamsters who do not like his leadership style. No strong opponent has surfaced so far. Last week, at a Boston convention of Teamsters representing warehousemen, Fitzsimmons moved through crowds of overfed men in white shoes who sported FITZ IN '76 buttons. Whatever the result of the election, or the Hoffa case, the outlook for the Teamsters seems to be more members, fatter contracts, richer pension funds —and more corruption.