Also on the rise is James R. Hoffa, an intensely dedicated member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union whose ambition is to become a force in the American labor movement.

Kennedy exacts a promise from his brother to be part of a Senate committee investigating crime syndicates and their illegal ties to union executives and pension funds.

FBI director J. Edgar Hoover is unwilling to focus on organized crime, or even acknowledge that such a thing exists.

Hoffa is acquitted by juries several times after investigations led by Kennedy and his right-hand man, Phil Wharton, result in charges against him.

He gloats about his victories and publicly taunts Bobby in committee hearings, in the press, even in a courtroom while attorney Edward Bennett Williams portrays Kennedy as a millionaire with no regard for "the working man."

After one of his loyal allies, Partin, betrays him with federal authorities and testifies against him, Hoffa is convicted in 1964 of attempting to bribe a grand juror.

Appeals allow Hoffa to postpone incarceration for several years while Bobby Kennedy leaves LBJ's administration to become a U.S. senator representing New York.