William Eugene Bufalino was an American attorney who represented the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1947 until 1971.
13 Facts About Bill Bufalino
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Bill Bufalino was born on April 13,1918, in Pittston, Pennsylvania, to Salvatore and Louise Bill Bufalino, Italian immigrants from Montedoro, Sicily.
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Bill Bufalino was one of nine children in a coal mining family.
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Bill Bufalino studied for the Roman Catholic priesthood for two years before switching to law.
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Bill Bufalino graduated from Dickinson School of Law in 1942 and served in World War II as a lieutenant in the Army's Judge Advocate General Corps.
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In 1945, after he returned from the Army, Bill Bufalino married Marie Antoinette Meli, sister of Detroit mobster Vincent Meli and niece of crime boss Angelo Meli, then began practicing law in 1947.
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Bill Bufalino represented union leader Jimmy Hoffa for nearly 25 years.
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Bill Bufalino helped the union and Hoffa fight racketeering charges.
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Bill Bufalino was a Teamster official for 20 years serving as president of Local 985 in the Detroit area.
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Bill Bufalino claimed Hoffa was killed by the Central Intelligence Agency because of his knowledge of an alleged government plot to use Mafia members to assassinate Cuban president Fidel Castro.
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Bill Bufalino died of leukemia on May 12,1990, at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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Bill Bufalino is buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Michigan.
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Bill Bufalino is portrayed by Ray Romano in Martin Scorsese's 2019 crime film The Irishman.