"I Heard You Paint Houses"

Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran & Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa

by

Paperback, 320 pages

English language

Published May 24, 2005 by Steerforth.

ISBN:
978-1-58642-089-5
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
60708302

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (5 reviews)

"I heard you paint houses" are the first words Jimmy Hoffa ever spoke to Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran. To paint a house is to kill a man. The paint is the blood that splatters on the walls and floors. In the course of nearly five years of recorded interviews Frank Sheeran confessed to Charles Brandt that he handled more than twenty-five hits for the mob, and for his friend Hoffa. Sheeran learned to kill in the U.S. Army, where he saw an astonishing 411 days of active combat duty in Italy during World War II. After returning home he became a hustler and hit man, working for legendary crime boss Russell Bufalino. Eventually he would rise to a position of such prominence that in a RICO suit then-U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani would name him as one of only two non-Italians on a list of 26 top mob figures. When Bufalino …

5 editions

reviewed "I Heard You Paint Houses" by Charles Brandt

Review of '"I Heard You Paint Houses"' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

One of the most fun books I've ever read. Just mind-blowing.

If you like mob shit, American history, learning about guys named "Fat Tony" and "Whispers. No the other Whispers.", unions and their role in modern history (both good and bad), Detroit lesbian taxi cab drivers, what kinda gun you wanna use in what kinda hit, how to conduct yourself during a trial when you are guilty as fuck and still get off scot free... this is the book for you.

Every chapter I found myself texting my history/politics friends and/or boring my wife w/ details.

Maybe the coldest part of the book is on the day of JFK's funeral Jimmy Hoffa says at a press conference, "Well now Bobby Kennedy is just another lawyer." Ice cold.

reviewed "I Heard You Paint Houses" by Charles Brandt

Review of '"I Heard You Paint Houses"' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Quick impressions: Interesting book overall. Sheeran's life from post the Depression, WWII, and after into the 70s is very interesting. A lot was happening, and he describes it well. This edition is the movie-tie in, and it has a lot of extra material (almost 100 pages more than the original book), and a lot of that feels like filler. Brandt fills in gaps in the history in the main narrative, but the stuff after Sheeran's story ends just makes the book drag. Still, if you have seen the movie, or are planning to see it, you may consider reading the book.

(Full review on my blog later).

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4 stars

Subjects

  • True Crime / Espionage
  • Organized Crime
  • True Crime
  • United States
  • True Crime / General
  • Mafia
  • General
  • Gangsters
  • Teamsters