Kansas City Star
"The book already has impressed law enforcement officials enough to jump start the case. . . . It's a terrific read."

Review
"'I Heard You Paint Houses'" is one of the best accounts of the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, former Teamsters union boss and one of the most powerful men in America.
...One of Sheeran's virtues was his gift as a storyteller; one of his flaws was his tendency to murder - in mobster jargon, "to paint houses." ...From what Sheeran said, it is assumed that he painted several houses for Hoffa. And as a reward, he was able to climb the ladder in the union, until he was made head of the Teamsters local in Wilmington, Del. Although he professed his loyalty to Hoffa - he said on one occasion, "I'll be a Hoffa man 'til they pat my face with a shovel and steal my cufflinks" - Sheeran acknowledged that he was the one who killed the Teamsters boss...On July 30, 1975, Hoffa disappeared. Sheeran explains how he did it, in prose reminiscent of the best gangster films. "Jimmy Hoffa got shot twice at decent range - not too close or the paint splatters back at you - in the back of the head, behind his right ear," said Sheeran. And then, this magnificently laconic finale: "My friend didn't suffer."
- Associated Press

"Brandt's book gives new meaning to the term 'guilty pleasure.' . . . Sheeran's account of Hoffa's killing certainly appears credible."
- New York Times Book Review

"Sheeran's confession that he killed Hoffa in the manner described in the book is supported by the forensic evidence, is entirely credible and solves the Hoffa mystery."
- Michael Baden, M.D., former Chief Medical Examinaer of the City of New York

"I'm fully convinced - now - that Sheeran was in fact the man who did the deed. And I'm impressed, too, by the book's readability and by its factual accuracy in all areas on which I'm qualified to pass judgment. Charles Brandt has solved the Hoffa mystery."
- Prof. Arthur Sloane, author of Hoffa

"The book already has impressed law enforcement officials enough to jump start new activities in the case . . . It's a terrific read."
- Kansas City Star

"Unlike similar claims by many other self-confessed executioners, law enforcement authorities say Sheeran may well be telling the truth."
- Jerry Capeci's Gang Land News

"A page-turning account of one man's descent into the mob."
- Delaware News Journal

Delaware News Journal
"A page-turning account of one man's descent into the mob."

New York Times Book Review
"The book . . . promises to clear up the mystery of Hoffa's demise . . . Sheeran's account of Hoffa's killing certainly appears credible."

Prof. Arthur A. Sloane, author of
I’m fully convinced - now - Sheeran did the deed. I'm impressed by the book's readability and its factual accuracy.

Michael Baden, M.D., former Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York
"Sheeran's confession that he killed Hoffa is supported by the forensic evidence, is entirely credible and solves the Hoffa mystery."

Associated Press
"'I Heard You Paint Houses' is one of the best accounts of the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa..."

Book Description
I HEARD YOU PAINT HOUSES is a fascinating account of a dark side of American history. The book’s title comes from 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. Frank Sheeran lived a long, violent, passionate life. As a boy he took on older kids in bar fights so his dad could win free beer. During World War II he was a highly decorated infantryman with 411 days of active combat duty and a willingness to follow orders. "When an officer would tell you to take a couple of German prisoners back behind the line and for you to ‘hurry back,’ you did what you had to do." He became a hustler and hit man, working for legendary crime boss Russell Bufalino and eventually becoming one of only two non-Italians on the FBI’s famous La Cosa Nostra list. He was also a truck driver who was made head of the Teamsters local in Wilmington, Delaware, by his good friend Jimmy Hoffa. When Hoffa disappeared on July 30, 1975, Sheeran became a leading suspect, and every serious study of the Hoffa disappearance alleges that Sheeran was there. For the first time the Irishman tells all — a lifetime of payoffs (including hand-delivering bags of cash to Nixon’s attorney general John Mitchell) and manipulation (supporting Joe Biden’s election to the Senate with a Teamster action) — for the book that would become his deathbed confession. He died on December 14, 2003. Sheeran also provides shocking new information on notorious mob hits: Joseph "Crazy Joey" Gallo — blown away as he celebrated his forty-third birthday in New York’s Little Italy; Salvatore "Sally Bugs" Briguglio — long suspected of being a player in the plot to kill Hoffa. And offers new insights to the crusading of Robert Kennedy and the death of John F. Kennedy. This historic account is based on interviews of Frank Sheeran by Charles Brandt, who researched, cross-checked, and illuminated what Sheeran told him and turned it all into a gripping narrative that is sure to become an instant true crime classic.

From the Inside Flap
HEARD YOU PAINT HOUSES is a fascinating account of a dark side of American history. The book’s title comes from 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.

Frank Sheeran lived a long, violent, passionate life. As a boy he took on older kids in bar fights so his dad could win free beer. During World War II he was a highly decorated infantryman with 411 days of active combat duty and a willingness to follow orders. “When an officer would tell you to take a couple of German prisoners back behind the line and for you to ‘hurry back,’ you did what you had to do.” He became a hustler and hit man, working for legendary crime boss Russell Bufalino and eventually becoming one of only two non-Italians on the FBI’s famous La Cosa Nostra list. He was also a truck driver who was made head of the Teamsters local in Wilmington, Delaware, by his good friend Jimmy Hoffa. When Hoffa disappeared on July 30, 1975, Sheeran became a leading suspect, and every serious study of the Hoffa disappearance alleges that Sheeran was there.

For the first time the Irishman tells all — a lifetime of payoffs (including hand-delivering bags of cash to Nixon’s attorney general John Mitchell) and manipulation (supporting Joe Biden’s election to the Senate with a Teamster action) — for the book that would become his deathbed confession. He died on December 14, 2003.

Sheeran also provides shocking new information on notorious mob hits: Joseph “Crazy Joey” Gallo — blown away as he celebrated his forty-third birthday in New York’s Little Italy; Salvatore “Sally Bugs” Briguglio — long suspected of being a player in the plot to kill Hoffa. And offers new insights to the crusading of Robert Kennedy and the death of John F. Kennedy.

This historic account is based on interviews of Frank Sheeran by Charles Brandt, who researched, cross-checked, and illuminated what Sheeran told him and turned it all into a gripping narrative that is sure to become an instant true crime classic.

About the Author
CHARLES BRANDT is a former prosecutor and Chief Deputy Attorney General of the State of Delaware. A past president of the Delaware Trial Lawyers Association, Brandt is also listed in Best Lawyers in America. He is a frequent speaker on cross-examination and interrogation techniques for reluctant witnesses. He lives in Lewes, Delaware, with his wife and has three grown children.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

""I Heard You Paint Houses" is an account of a dark side of American history. The book's title comes from 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." "Frank Sheeran led a long, fascinating, violent, passionate life. As a boy he took on older kids in bar fights so his dad could win beer bets. During World War II he was a highly decorated infantryman with 411 days of active combat duty and a willingness to follow orders. "When an officer would tell you to take a couple of German prisoners back behind the line and for you to 'hurry back,' you did what you had to do." He became a hustler and hit man, working for legendary crime boss Russell Bufalino and eventually becoming one of only two non-Italians on the FBI's famous La Cosa Nostra list. He was also a truck driver who was made head of the Teamsters local in Wilmington, Delaware, by his good friend Jimmy Hoffa. When Hoffa disappeared on July 30, 1975, Sheeran became a leading suspect." "For the first time the Irishman tells all - a lifetime of payoffs (including hand-delivering bags of cash to Nixon's attorney general John Mitchell), manipulation (supporting Joe Biden's election to the Senate with a Teamster action), and hits (Hoffa's demise is not othe only unsolved mystery addressed in this book - for the book that would become his deathbed confession. He died on December 14, 2003." "Sheeran also provides stunning new information on notorious mob hits: Joseph "Crazy Joey" Gallo - blown away as he celebrated his forty-third birthday in New York's Little Italy; Salvatore "Sally Bugs" Briguglio - long suspected of being a player in the plot to kill Hoffa. And offers new insights into Robert Kennedy's courageous crusade against organized crime and the death of his brother John." This historic account is based on interviews of Frank Sheeran by Charles Brandt, who researched and cross-checke

SYNOPSIS

Corroboration that emerged following publication of the hardcover edition of this fascinating account of a dark side of American history confirms that Charles Brandt has finally solved one of the greatest and most enduring mysteries of our time, the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, and created a real-page turner that is sure to become a true-crime classic.
The book’s title comes from 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, among the twenty-five to thirty other hits he handled for the mob and the Teamsters, Sheeran shot Hoffa behind the right ear in the vestibule of a house in Detroit. Just prior to the book’s release a forensic lab team went into the house. Luminal sprayed on the floorboards revealed eight separate spots where blood had been, the pattern and location an exact match of Sheeran’s confession. Over the years the public’s most-asked question about the Hoffa disappearance has been: “Where’s the body?” Thirty years of outlandish speculation has included burial in the end zone at Giants Stadium. Sheeran revealed that after he killed Hoffa, mob boss Russell Bufalino, the man who ordered the hit, told Sheeran that Hoffa’s body was cremated at a funeral parlor in Detroit within an hour of his death. Sheeran also provides stunning new information – information that has been corroborated since the book was published – on two other notorious mob hits: Joseph “CrazyJoey” Gallo, blown away as he celebrated his forty-third birthday in New York’s Little Italy, and Salvatore “Sally Bugs” Briguglio, long suspected of being a player in the kill-Hoffa plot. And Sheeran explicitly implicates Hoffa, for the first time, in personally ordering murders in order to retain his own hold on the Teamsters Union while serving as its president.

FROM THE CRITICS

Bryan Burrough - The New York Times