FBI Calls Off Search For Jimmy Hoffa's Body In Michigan Field
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 19, 2013 4:50PM
FBI agents direct a vehicle carrying digging machinery to a field to dig for the possible remains of former Teamsters union president Jimmy Hoffa June 17, 2013 in Oakland Township, Michigan. The agents were acting on a tip provided by Tony Zerilli, 85, a former mobster, who was released from prison in 2008. Hoffa, who had reported ties to organized crime, went missing in July of 1975. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
Let the speculation as to where Jimmy Hoffa is buried continue. The FBI called off the search for the body of the former Teamsters president Wednesday after a dig in a Michigan field found no evidence of his remains.
Federal authorities searched the Oakland County, Michigan field for Hoffa, who went missing in 1975 and is presumed dead, after receiving a tip from 85-year-old reputed mobster Anthony Zerilli, who said he was convinced Hoffa was buried there. The field is located 20 miles from a restaurant where Hoffa was last seen alive.
FBI official Robert Foley told reporters, “of course we’re disappointed” no evidence of Hoffa’s remains were found. Hoffa is believed to have been killed by mobsters so he wouldn’t regain control of the Teamsters. Zerilli told New York’s WNBC the plan was for Hoffa to be buried in a shallow grave in the field, then have his remains relocated to a separate location for a “final burial” that never happened.
“The Hoffa body is in that field - no doubt about it,” Zerilli’s attorney, David Chasnick, said at a news conference Monday afternoon. “There used to be a barn in that field. Buried under the barn, under the cement slab - that’s where our understanding is that the body should be.”
Foley said he hopes authorities will be able to solve the mystery of Hoffa’s disappearance one day. "I would say that we're always hopeful that we'll get a lead that will lead us to a position in which we can conclude this investigation in full for the process of justice and also for the family.”