 The hearings also made Jimmy Hoffa a household name in the United States . The hearings were a critical turning point in Hoffa 's career as a labor leader . Bringing down Dave Beck ensured that Hoffa would become president of the Teamsters , an outcome Robert Kennedy later regretted . Although Hoffa was indicted several times in federal and state courts based on evidence uncovered by the Select Committee , he was never convicted on any of the charges . Prosecutors and others accused Hoffa of jury tampering and suborning witnesses in order to beat conviction , but these charges also were never proven in a court of law . After he became U.S. Attorney General in January 1961 , Robert F. Kennedy formed a " get Hoffa squad " whose mission was to identify additional evidence and secure a conviction against Hoffa . Kennedy 's focus on Hoffa was so strong that many observers at the time as well as later historians believed Kennedy had a personal vendetta against Hoffa . Hoffa was eventually convicted by a federal district court jury on March 4 , 1964 , on two counts of tampering with the jury during his 1962 conspiracy trial in Nashville , Tennessee , and sentenced to eight years in prison and a $ 10 @,@ 000 fine . While on bail during his appeal , a second federal district court jury convicted Hoffa on July 26 , 1964 , on one count of conspiracy and three counts of mail and wire fraud . Hoffa entered prison on March 7 , 1967 , and Frank Fitzsimmons was named Acting President of the union . Hoffa resigned as Teamsters president on July 9 , 1971 . Barred by a commutation of sentence agreement from participating directly or indirectly in union activities until 1980 , Hoffa was released from prison on December 23 , 1971 , but disappeared on July 30 , 1975 ( and was presumably murdered ) . 
