I Heard You Paint Houses

I Heard You Paint Houses: Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran & Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa (2004) is a true-crime novel by Charles Brandt. In the book, Brandt interviews a mob associate responsible for more than 25 mob deaths, exploring what turned this man into a criminal. Now a major motion picture, “The Irishman,” critics call it a true-crime classic. A writer, former homicide investigator, and former Chief Deputy Attorney General of the State of Delaware, Brandt writes books based on the major crimes he solved during his lengthy legal career.

I Heard You Paint Houses is the story of Frank Sheeran, a mob hitman who worked alongside some of the most violent and notorious criminals operating in post-war America. In the book, Sheeran explains what happened to the union boss, Jimmy Hoffa, and the role he played in Hoffa’s death. Through Sheeran’s story, Brandt offers new insight into the inner workings of organized crime, showing the ways in which crime and mainstream politics are inextricably connected.

While he worked as a homicide investigator, Brandt spent more than five years interviewing Sheeran. I Heard You Paint Houses includes clips from these interviews and comments from relatives and other associates. Brandt first interviewed Sheeran in 1991, but it wasn’t until he returned to the Catholic faith in 1999 that he agreed to tell his story.



For Brandt, there are two main rules for successfully interrogating someone. The first is believing that the person wants to confess their crimes. The second is getting the person talking in the first place. Keeping the conversation flowing is essential to building trust between the interrogator and the subject—without trust, it doesn’t matter how badly someone wants to confess. They won’t do it.

Brandt wrote I Heard You Paint Houses with Sheeran’s full cooperation and consent. Sheeran read through and approved the book before publication, and he read early drafts of each chapter over the preceding years. Sheeran gave his final interview in 2003 on his deathbed, during which he confirmed that everything in the book is true.

Sheeran describes what happened to Hoffa in some detail. He begins by explaining that he didn’t want Hoffa to die, otherwise known as “going down under” or “going to Australia.” It all came down to Hoffa’s role in the union. Hoffa wanted to take back control of the union to push out the mob members. He wanted the mob under control, and he didn’t care how many death threats he received in the process. Sheeran warned Hoffa to stop going after the union, but Hoffa wouldn’t listen.



Although much of the book focuses on Sheeran’s work for the mob and his role in Hoffa’s death, it also offers insight into Sheeran’s early years. Back in the 1950s, Sheeran worked for Food Fair as a truck driver. He stole meat on the side, selling it to local restaurants; Food Fair eventually fired him.

With no money and three daughters to support, Sheeran turned to the Teamsters union. He took on a few driving jobs and worked the door at a local nightclub. Around this time, he met Russ, his friend and mentor. He took out a few gangsters for Russ and, in return, Russ introduced him to Hoffa, who led the Teamsters at the time.

Hoffa asked Sheeran if he paints houses, meaning if he murdered people. The paint refers to blood spatter on the floor and walls. Sheeran confirmed that he did and that he was also a carpenter. As a carpenter, Sheeran disposed of dead bodies and built makeshift coffins. Everyone, Sheeran explains, spoke in coded language like this to avoid detection by police and investigators.



Hoffa soon put Sheeran to work for him, and together with Russ, they were a formidable team. Sheeran grew richer than ever before, the union flourished, and Russ oversaw the operations. However, in the 1960s, the police arrested Hoffa for jury tampering, bribery, conspiracy, and wire fraud. While he was locked up, the mob took over the union.

Russ, Sheeran explains, didn’t want Hoffa dead, either. He just didn’t know how else to solve the present problem. The mob controlled the union’s pension fund, profiting handsomely from it. They got loans whenever they wanted them, at negligible interest rates, and they paid them back when they felt like it. Hoffa ran much tighter operations. He only let people borrow money on his terms, and he only let them borrow certain amounts.

Sheeran explains that if Hoffa wouldn’t leave the union alone, he had to die. He wasn’t happy doing it, but it was a choice between loyalty to the mob and loyalty to his friend. Sheeran was a dead man if he didn’t kill Hoffa. Hoffa’s death was purely about personal survival, but it always haunted Sheeran—even to his deathbed.