Bernard Spindel was an American surveillance, wiretapping, electronics and lockpicking expert and pilot. A 1966 article in Life magazine called Spindel the "No. 1 big-league freelance eavesdropper and wiretapper in the U.S."
Spindel is known for his involvement in union leader Jimmy Hoffa's 1964 criminal trial and 1957 trial where in 1957 Spindel and Hoffa pleaded not guilty to accusations of illegal wiretapping. The 1957 indictment stated that in 1953 Hoffa paid Spindel $8,429 dollars in union funds to wiretap Teamster headquarters in Detroit.
Spindel's 1968 autobiography was entitled The Ominous Ear. He died from a heart attack on February 4, 1971, having been under a prison sentence for his electronic eavesdropping.