Michael Bushnell
Contributor

Back in the middle 1980’s and early 1990’s, it was not unusual to see bumper stickers claiming, “Jimmy Hoffa is in my trunk.” While these lighthearted bumper stickers may have mocked the ongoing investigation as to the actual whereabouts of the one-time Teamster Union President’s body, Frank Hayde’s new book, Hoffa’s Connection, expertly lays out the events leading up to his disappearance, the people that surrounded Hoffa, and the Kansas City connection that has largely remained a mystery up until recently. 

“I hope you never have to go to prison. It’s hell on earth, only hell couldn’t be this bad.” –Jimmy Hoffa

Hoffa’s Connection, c. 2026 by Boundless Book Publishers, is the perfect complement to Hayde’s previous book, The Mafia and the Machine, (c. 2010 by Barricade Books) and profiles the complicated and often violent relationship between the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Kansas City Mob. 

Hoffa’s Connection follows the path of North End native Sylvia Pagano and her family from their modest days living in Kansas City’s North End at 522 East 5th street, through her strategic rise to power, ultimately sitting at the right hand of the country’s most powerful union official, James (Jimmy) R. Hoffa.  

Sylvia came up immersed in the ways of La Cosa Nostra. Her father was a known Charles Binaggio associate and her husband had close ties to other known mob associates with Kansas City’s organized crime family. Sylvia, however, always observed the code of omerta, or of silence, making her an easy choice to ascend to one of the most powerful positions in the country, a seat she held for over two decades, up until her death in 1975. 

Hoffa’s Connection is Hayde’s third book chronicling Kansas City’s mob and he does an excellent job connecting the dots between his two previous works, The Mafia and the Machine and Mafia Dreams, to the events outlined in Hoffa’s Connection.  Hayde’s writing style and his attention to detail make this 215-page book not only an easy read, but a literal compendium of facts, dates and personalities tied to the long-disappeared Teamster leader’s legacy.  

While Hayde does not spill all the “T” on Hoffa’s whereabouts, he expertly, and in detail, lays out a number of possible scenarios involving some of Hoffa’s closest and most trusted associates.

 If you are a fan of local Mafia history and its connections to larger events and players on a national scale, Hoffa’s Connection is a must read. 

Available at Amazon or where other local history books are available.