American Tabloid - American Tabloid Part 66
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American Tabloid Part 66

Trafficante said, "I have to agree with Mo."

Rosselli said, "You need to give us some time to think about it."

Kemper felt queasy. His speedball rush turned ugly.

Pete was trembling.

74

(Washington, D.C., 1/24/62)

L Littell locked the money in his desk safe. One month's retainer--$6,000 cash.

Hoffa said, "You didn't count it."

"I trust you."

"I could've made a mistake."

Littell tilted his chair back and looked up at him. "That's unlikely. Especially when you walked it over here yourself."

"You'd've felt better walking over to my shop in this fucking cold?"

"I could have waited until the first."

Hoffa perched on the edge of the desk. His overcoat was soaked with melting snow.

Littell moved some folders. Hoffa picked up his crystal paperweight.

"Did you come for a pep talk, Jimmy?"

"No. But if you got one, I'm all ears."

"How's this. You're going to win and Bobby's going to lose. It's going to be a long and painful war, and you're going to win by sheer attrition."

Jimmy squeezed the paperweight. "I was thinking Kemper Boyd should leak a copy of my Justice Department file to you."

Littell shook his head. "He won't do it, and I won't ask him to. He's got the Kennedys and Cuba and God knows what else wrapped in tidy little packages that only he knows the logic of. There's lines he won't cross over, and you and Bobby Kennedy are one of them."

Hoffa said, "Lines come and go. And as far as Cuba goes, I think Carlos is the only Outfit guy who still gives a shit. I think Santo, Mo and the others are pissed off and bored with the whole notion of that rinky-dink goddamn island."

Littell straightened his necktie. "Good. Because I'm I'm bored with everything except keeping you and Carlos one step ahead of Bobby Kennedy." bored with everything except keeping you and Carlos one step ahead of Bobby Kennedy."

Hoffa smiled. "You used to like Bobby. I heard you used to really admire him."

"Lines come and go, Jimmy. You said so yourself."

Hoffa dropped the paperweight. "This is true. It is also fucking true that I need an edge on Bobby. And you you fucking pulled the plug on that Kennedy wire job that Pete Bondurant was working for me back in '58." fucking pulled the plug on that Kennedy wire job that Pete Bondurant was working for me back in '58."

Littell forced a wince into a smile. "I didn't know you knew that."

"That is obvious. It should also be fucking obvious that I forgive you."

"And obvious that you want to try it again."

"This is true."

"Call Pete, Jimmy. I don't have much use for him, but he's the best shakedown man alive."

Hoffa leaned across the desk. His trouser legs slid up and showed off cheap white sweat socks.

"I want you in on it, too."

75

(Los Angeles, 2/4/62)

P Pete rubbed his neck. It was all kinked and knotted--he flew out in a coach seat made for midgets.

"I jump when you say 'jump,' Jimmy, but coast-to-coast for coffee and pastry is pushing it."

"I think L.A.'s the place to set this up."

"Set what up?"

Hoffa dabbed eclair cream off his necktie. "You'll see soon enough."

Pete heard noise in the kitchen. "Who's that poking around?"

"It's Ward Littell. Sit down, Pete. You're' making me nervous."

Pete dropped his garment bag. The house stunk of cigars-- Hoffa let visiting Teamsters use it for stag nights.

"Littell, shit. This is grief I don't need."

"Come on. Ancient history's ancient history."

Recent history: your your lawyer stole lawyer stole your your Fund books-- Fund books-- Littell walked in. Hoffa put his hands up, peacemaker-style. "Be nice, you guys. I wouldn't put the two of you in the same room unless it was good."

Pete rubbed his eyes. "I'm a busy guy, and I flew overnight for this little breakfast klatch. Give me one good reason why I should take on additional fucking work, or I'm heading back to the airport."

Hoffa said, "Tell him, Ward."

Littell warmed his hands on a coffee cup. "Bobby Kennedy's coming down unacceptably hard on Jimmy. We want to work up a derogatory tape profile on Jack and use it as a wedge to get him to call off Bobby. if I hadn't interfered, the Shoftel operation might have worked. I think we should do it again, and I think we should recruit a woman that Jack would find interesting enough to sustain an affair with."

Pete rolled his eyes. "You want to shake down the President of the United States?"

"Yes."

"You, me and Jimmy?"

"You, me, Fred Turentine and the woman we bring in."

"And you're going at this like you think we can trust each other."

Littell smiled. "We both hate Jack Kennedy. And I think we've got enough dirt on each other to buttress a non-aggression pact."

Pete popped some prickly little goose bumps. "We can't tell Kemper about this. He'd rat us in a second."

"I agree. Kemper has to stay out of the loop on this one."

Hoffa belched. "I'm watching you two humps stare at each other, and I'm starting to feel like I'm out of the fucking loop, even though I'm financing the fucking loop."

Littell said, "Lenny Sands."

Hoffa sprayed eclair crumbs. "What the fuck does Jewboy Lenny have to do with fucking anything?"

Pete looked at Littell. Littell looked at Pete. Their brainwaves meshed somewhere over the pastry tray.

Hoffa looked dead flummoxed. His eyes went out of focus somewhere near the planet Mars. Pete steered Littell to the kitchen and shut the door.

"You're thinking Lenny's this big Hollywood insider. You're thinking he might know some women we could use as bait."

"Right. And if he doesn't come through, at least we're here in Los Angeles."

"Which is the best place on earth to find shakedown-type women."

Littell sipped coffee. "Right. And Lenny was my informant once.' I've got a hold on him, and if he doesn't cooperate, I'll squeeze him with it."

Pete cracked some knuckles. "He's a homo. He shanked this made guy in an alley behind some fruit bar."

"Lenny told you that?"

"Don't look so hurt. People have this tendency to tell me things they don't want to."

Littell dumped his cup in the sink. Hoffa paced outside the door.

Pete said, "Lenny knows Kemper. And I think he's tight with that Hughes woman that Kemper had a thing with."

"Lenny's safe. If worse comes to worse, we can squeeze him with the Tony Iannone job."

Pete rubbed his neck. "Who else knows we're planning this?"

"Nobody. Why?"

"I was wondering if it was common knowledge all over the Outfit."

Littell shook his head. "You, me and Jimmy. That's the loop."

Pete said, "Let's keep it that way. Lenny's tight with Sam G., and Sam's been known to go apeshit when people get rough with him."

Littell leaned against the stove. "Agreed. And I won't tell Carlos, and you won't tell Trafficante and those other Outfit guys you and Kemper deal with. Let's keep this contained."

"Agreed. A few of those guys hung me and Kemper out to dry on something a couple of weeks ago, so I'm not prone to tell them much of anything."

Littell shrugged. "They'll find out in the end, and they'll be pleased with the results we get. Bobby's been riding them, too, and I think we can safely say that Giancana will find whatever we had to do to Lenny justified."

Pete said, "I like Lenny."

Littell said, "So do I, but business is business."

Pete traced dollar signs on the stove. "What kind of money are we talking about?"

Littell said, "Twenty-five thousand a month, with your expenses and Freddy Turentine's fee worked in. I know you'll need to travel for your CIA job, and that's fine with both Jimmy and me. I've done wire jobs for the Bureau myself, and I think that between you, me and Turentine, we'll be able to cover all our bases."

Hoffa banged on the door. "Why don't you guys come out here and talk to me me? This tete-a-tete shit is wearing me thin!"

Pete steered Littell back to the laundry room. "It sounds good. We find a woman, wire a few pads and luck Jack Kennedy where it hurts."

Littell pulled his arm free. "We need to check Lenny's Hush-Hush Hush-Hush reports. We might get a lead on a woman that way." reports. We might get a lead on a woman that way."

"I'll do it. I might be able to get a look at the reports Howard Hughes keeps at his office." do it. I might be able to get a look at the reports Howard Hughes keeps at his office."

"Do it today. I'll be staying at the Ambassador until we get things set up."

The door shook--Jimmy had his tits in a twist.

Littell said, "I want to bring Mr. Hoover in on this."