I Heard You Paint Houses

I first heard about "I Heard You Paint Houses" when Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese were planning to adapt the book into a movie called "The Irishman". Needless to say I was excited by the fact that De Niro and Scorsese were re-uniting after more than ten years (before they had collaborated to make "Casino" in 1995). One lazy Sunday afternoon I was browsing the web and decided to buy the book, on an impulse, from Book Depository. I have never heard of Charles Brandt before so I was not familiar with his style of writing.

To say I was pleasantly surprised from page one would be an understatement. The book was never tedious as I had predicted (I had read a few non-fiction books before, and were not keen on them). The book reminded me of the time I watched "GoodFellas" for the first time (I could not watch any movies completely for a long time after GoodFellas because they could just not complete with it). I will say the same about I Heard You Paint Houses.

I do not doubt for a second that Frank Sheeran killed Jimmy Hoffa. The facts are presented and even though some may oppose this theory, it is clear that the fate of Hoffa was sealed on that 30th of July, 1975. Hoffa became a threat to the so-called Cosa Nostra when he threatened to expose their ties with the Teamsters (even though he would not have followed through, as Sheeran claims, the so-called mob was worried). The book is about the life of Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran and "I heard you paint houses" were the first words that Jimmy Hoffa ever said to Sheeran. To paint a house is to kill someone, the paint being the blood that splatters on the wall.

Sheeran was under the guidance of Russell "McGee" Bufalino who Sheeran claims orchestrated the Apalachin Conference. Sheeran had done hits at the request of Bufalino and Hoffa but Sheeran initially learnt to kill in World War Two where he saw 411 days of combat, a stupendous record according to some veterans. Sheeran claims to have delivered three rifles prior to the Kennedy assassination. Sheeran also claims to have done the hits on "Crazy Joe" Gallo (the three shooters theory is invalidated) and Salvatore "Sally Bugs" Briguglio, the probable 'rat'. After the disappearance of Hoffa key people were taken into questioning by the FBI and Sally Bugs was suspected of making deals with the FBI to testify against the Hoffa killers and as Sheeran says 'when in doubt, have no doubt'.

Charles Brandt combines Sheeran's testimony with his research to create a man who was literally larger than life (Sheeran was 6'4"). The book provides us blow-by-blow account of Sheeran's involvement with McGee and Hoffa and how he ended up killing his best friend. Sheeran, of the old school, speaks of values and loyalty which some may find amusing to the point of ridiculousness, but makes absolute sense when you read the book and his life.

Note: I cannot wait for the big screen adaptation of I Heard You Paint Houses. It has been reported that Al Pacino and Joe Pesci are involved with the movie as well.