Originator: FBI
From: SAC, DE
To: DIRECTOR, FBI
Document date: 01/10/1964
Document type: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

## Page 1

JFK Assassination System

Identification Form

Agency Information

Date:

4/21/201

AGENCY: FBI

RECORD NUMBER: 124-10302-10020

RECORD SERIES: HQ

AGENCY FILE NUMBER: 29-31889-206

Document Information

ORIGINATOR:

FBI

FROM: SAC, DE

TO: DIRECTOR, FBI

TITLÉ :

Released under the John F. Kennedy

Assassination Records Collection Act of |

1 992 (44 USC 2107 Notel. Case#:NW

54578 Date: 1214-2022

DATE:

PAGES:

SUBJECTS:

01/10/1964

8

DOCUMENT TYPE :

CLASSIFICATION :

RESTRICTIONS:

CURRENT STATUS :

DATE OF LAST REVIEW :

[Restricted]

PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

Unclassified

4

Redact

05/16/1998

OPENING CRITERIA: INDEFINITE

COMMENTS: INC LHM, TRANSCRIPT

v9.1

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51

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## Page 2

FR=369 Rev. 12-13-56)

6. 0e.. 10

Transmit the following in

Via

AIRIEL

FBI

Date:

1/10/64

(Type in plain text or code)

AIRMAIL

(Priority or Method of Mailing)

ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED

HEREIN IS UNCLASSIFIED

TO: DIRECTOR, FBI (29-31889)

FROM:

SAC, DETROIT (29-1432) (P)

JAMES RIDDLE HOFFA;

DOMINICK EDWARD BARTONE, aka.; ET AL

FRA; ITSP; MF; FBW; CONSPIRACY

(00: DETROIT)

ReDetel to Bureau and Chicago 1/9/64.

Enclosed herewith to the Bureau are 4 copies of an LHM for

dissemination

to the Criminal Division of the Department.

Two copies of the LiM are enclosed to Memphis, one of which

should be furnished to WALTER J. SHERIDAN, Special Consultant

to the Attorney General, in accordance with the request of

Department Attorney WILLIAM FRENCH, Detroit.

One copy of the

LHM is enclosed for the information of Chicago.

Department Attorney FRENCH advised on 1/10/64, that ROBERT C.

MEISSNER

had been equipped with a concealed tape recorder in

accordance with previous arrangements with the Chicago Office,

and he said he recorded as much as possible of his conversa-

tion with VERHELLE.

MEISSER returned to Chicago by American

Airlines the afternoon of 1/10/64.

In accordance with previous Bureau instructions,

Chicago is

to

transcribe the tape from the above meeting and incorporate

the contents in an IHM suitable for dissemination to the

Criminal Division of the Department.

Appropriate copies of

the LHM also should be furnished to the Memphis and Detroit

Divisions so that one copy can be disseminated to WALTER J.

SHERIDAN by Memphis and one copa

ENCLOSURE

- Bureau (Encls.

1) Registen

I AM TiCH Detroit.

29-=

1206

2 - Chicago. (29-1999)

(Enc1. 1) u

2 - Memphis

(72-43) (Encls. 2) u

EX•114

20 JAN 11 1964

1 - Detroit

VGW : SLZ

2 thm /AAG

Criminal Division

(8)

c c. Wick,

CAN 21964 dron Mr, Wal a Teren

- k00m 231

Approved:

Macine Sent-

Special Alent in Charge 1 - 16-63

VAIN

destroyer

3-2-4

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DE 29-1432

FRENCH advised that a summary of the conversation between

MEISSNER and VERHELLE was dictated by MEISSNER tO FRENCH'S

secretary on 1/10/64, while MISSNER was en route to the

Detroit Metropolitan Airport to return to Chicago. The

transcript of MEISSNER's dictation was made available by

FRENCH for incorporation in the enclosed LHu.

FRENCH advised that from WEISSNER'S Conversation with VERHELLE

it appears possible that a tuture meeting between MEISSNER and

VERHELLE may take place in Chicago after VERRILL has contacted

JAMES RIDDLE HOFFA®

FRENCH will maintain contact with

#dIssNER concerning any further developments.

- 2 =

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## Page 4

In Reply, Please Refer to

File No.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

-FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

Detroit, Michigan

January 10, 1964

James Riddle Hoffa;

Dominick Edward Bartone;

Et Al

On January 10, 1964, Department Attorney William

P. French of the Criminal Division made available a typewritten

transcript of remarks dictated to Mr. French's secretary at

Michigan on January 10, 1964, by Robert C. Meissner

concerning a meeting between Meissner

and Joseph F. Verhelle

at Detroit on January 10, 1964. Attached hereto is a copy of

the above-mentioned transcript.

This document contains neither recommendations nor

conclusions of the FBI.

It is the property of the FBI and is

loaned to your agency; it and its contents are not to.be

distributed outside your agency.

ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED

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Detroit, Michigan

January 10, 1964

Dictated by:

Robert C. Meissner

I met Mr. Joseph Verhelle at the Detroit Athletic

Club at Mr. Verhelle's request at 11:00 A.M., January 10,

1964.

Mr. Verhelle asked me to sit with him

in the main

recêption hall and started the conversation by telling me

of some problems that the present Directors of the Public

Bank are experiencing as a result of a four-page memorandum

which Mr. Verhelle presented to the Directors yesterday.

The substance of the matter was that the Public Bank has

extended a rather unusual line of credit to a building

improvement firm, which manufactures screen doors and

similar items, and is now in trouble financially. Mr.

Verhelle has

alerted the bank examiners, one of whom was

visiting Mr. Verhelle in Detroit today having come here

from Lansing. I asked Mr. Verhelle if he was going to

again take over the management of the Public Bank,

and he

stated that he probably would and felt that most of the

present Directors would be resigning. He stated that the

Directors do not represent the owners of the bank and that

he, Verhelle, did.

Mr. Verhelle also stated he had arranged

for five million dollars of additional equity to be put in

the bank and hence make the bank solvent.

I asked him, "Is

the money coming from Jinmy?", and he said, "Yes." I said,

"Will that be from the Pension Fund?"

it would come through one of the Pension funds tated, "Yes,

I then asked Mr. Verhelle if he had completed the

purchase of the bank that he told me he was buying in our

telephone conversation last week.

He stated that he had

made the purchase and that his sons were making application

to move either one of the

two banks that they now own to

Downtown Detroit. I tried to find out the name of the bank

which he has just purchased and was unsuccessful, but he

told me that it was down near or in Wyandotte.

After Mr. Verhelle and I talked about Hoffa's

participation in the new banking operation, I then asked

about Chattanooga. Mr. Verhelle told me that the trial

had just recently been moved down there and we discussed

AL ANELIATICH CONTANEDY - 1D050

DAT 20: 130481 Sp8 mAC//C5R

IFIC

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the fact that any trial in Tennessee would be a tough one

but that certainly Hoffa would have to win the one in

Tennessee if he expected to come through in Chicago.

We

talked very specifically about the need for a "fix" in

Tennessee and subsequently a "fix" in Chicago, and I asked

Verhelle whether he still wanted me to try to be of any

assistance in Tennessee. He said yes and wanted to know

something about what could be done, and we talked about the

fact that if anything were done it would have to be done

way at the top of the State, talking specifically about

Governor Clements and one of his personal assistants and

the fact that the politicians in Tennessee were very

"practical" people.

wanted to know how much money I

chought it would cost. '? said at leest a quarter of a

million

dollars, and he said getting $2 or $300,,000s isono

problem.

He further wanted to know who would handle this,

and I said I would simply make an introduction to someone.

He stated he felt Hofta himself should not handle it, or

no one who is specifically a Teamster should handle it, and

it should be someone like himself and later talked in tems

of he, Joe Verhelle, taking care of the matter on Hoffa's

behalf.

He stressed in the conversation the need for not

giving my name to Hoffa and maintaining am's length

relationships all along the line.

He also was concerned

about how he might meet whoever it 1s that the arrangement

would be made with and, on the other hand, stated that,

"Well, I know how to handle this sort of thing", and he

would arrange a time and place where there wouldn't be

public record of their meeting, etc.

Then Mr. Verhelle talked about the fact that

Jimmy Hoffa was not in Chicago today, and I think mentioned

that he might be here in Detroit.

In any case, he specifically.

mentioned that two of the negotiators were here in Detroit

today and he would meet with one of them and find out when

he, Verhelle, should come to Chicago and discuss the Chatta-

nooga situation with Hoffa and indicated it would be within

the next three or four days, that he would call me and

arrange to meet with me in Chicago.

The negotiator who is an

809-10000

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attorney and a part of the contract negotiating team in

Chicago, Lives three doors from Mr. Verhelle in Grosse

Pointe; and, according to Mr. Verhelle, always knows where-

and to the

ver Jinny Hoffe is and what he is doing at any time and

that this is the way he would arrange the date. At another

part in the conversation we talked about the fact that

Verhelle would discuss the Chattanooga "fix" with juat

Hoffa and the top attorney who is representing Hoffa in

Tennessee, and Verhelle's description of this attorney

was that he is a man from this area, this area being

Detroit, and in a sentence or two later mentioned the

name Haggerty.

I assume this refers back to which of

these men is the attorney in charge.

Then I talked to Mx. Verhelle about the selfish

reason that I personally would have in wanting to help

Hoffa, which was to make sure that the Welfare Fund loan

for the purchase of the Sinclair Oil Building In Chicago

would in fact be approved and stated, on the other hand,

that the two didn't necessarily have

to tie in together.

Then, momentarily, Mr. Verhelle assumed that I meant every-

one on the Welfare Fund Board should know about the "fix"

in Tennessee and we straightened out the fact that these

would be private situations, although a favor in one place

could be returned in another place. I gave Me. Verhelle

the financial data regarding the Sinclair Oil Building

sale, and he stated that he would talk to a couple of men

on the committee and would be in a position to move on

that matter as soon as he got to Chicago.

Mr. Verhelle excused himself and upon returning

suggested that we go into lunch, and I opened the luncheon

conversation by asking if he had seen the article in the

Cleveland newspaper about Dominick Bartone. He had not

seen it and was very interested in knowing on what charge

Dominick was being jailed and seemed very much relleved

that it was on a probation violation. He then told me

that he, Verhelle, had been told by someone in the Federal

offices in Detroit that Bartone could be convicted on income •

tax violation. Apparently this was someone who either was

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a member of the Grand Jury or connected with the Grand

Jury. He said he knew this to be a fact.

Then, for no reason at all, he told me that

he had just recently bought a new house in Grosse Pointe

from the builder and resold the house to Mr. Bufalino,

whom he identified as the head of the Teamster operations

in Detroit; and he did this as a favor to Bufalino because

of the restrictive sales in the Grosse Pointe area wherein

for the whole country right here in Detroit. They don't

do anything here in Detroit but do things all over the

county. Some are pretty close neighbors of mine."

Verhelle specifically brought up the fact that

it seemed inconsistent with Mr. Johnson'e political past

that he should be making State of the Union speeches that

talk in terms of saving money and cutting down on graft

and this sort of thing, and said, "This man of all people

to be talking like that." Actually, later at lunch,

Verhelle stated that a company that he, Verhelle, either

owns or partially owns just got a contract in Washington

that over a period of five years will run as high as

one billion dollars and this contract did not come from

McVamara but was specifically given by Johnson to Verhelle's

partner in Washington. He called him a man that I've been

coaching, or my man that I've been coaching in Washington

went directly to Johnson and Johnson gave the contract to

uS.

I asked Mr. Verhelle whether Triscaro could make

Dominick keep quiet. He said, "Heck no", that apparently

it took someone much higher up and indicated Triscaro was

very ill

and that he looks terrible and when he saw him a

couple of weeks ago he was hesitant even to ask Triscaro

how he felt because he looked so bad.

Just in general conversation - Recently when

Hoffa gave a talk to some businessmen (as much as maybe

six months ago) he impressed this group of businessmen,

309-10091

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