Born in 1913, Jimmy Hoffa was an American labor union activist who was known to be involved in organized crime. He disappeared on July 30, 1975 and was declared dead on July 30, 1982, but officials continued to search for his body. Recent developments have led to a New Jersey landfill beneath an elevated highway.
According to sources, the FBI obtained a search warrant to conduct a site survey under the Pulaski Skyway, a three-mile bridge that spans over what can be called an industrial wasteland that includes marshes west of Manhattan.
The area being investigated was a Little League diamond located on the landfill. It was once featured in an ad for the Sopranos TV show.
Although the search for Hoffa has been dormant for the past few years, it started up again after a tip from landfill worker Frank Cappola. Cappola told a friend that his dying father confessed in 2008 that he had been ordered by an unidentified man to bury Hoffa’s body in a steel drum. He explained that Hoffa’s body was delivered to the landfill in 1975, placed in a steel drum and buried with other barrels, dirt, and bricks.
Agents from Detroit and Newark’s FBI offices came out to conduct a visit to the site in late October 2021. In addition to being included in The Sopranos’ media, the area has also been featured throughout the show. It was also in Martin Scorsese’s 2019 film The Irishman which depicted a fictionalized account of Hoffa’s disappearance.
The FBI did not reveal that they were looking for Hoffa, stating only that they were “unable to provide any additional information”. However, sources confirmed to the media that the investigation was linked to Hoffa’s disappearance.
The search was completed, but representatives did not reveal whether anything was removed. “Because the affidavit in support of the search warrant was sealed by the court, we are unable to provide any additional information,” said Mara Schneider, a spokesperson for the Detroit field office.
The FBI’s recent efforts were made in an attempt to solve one of America’s longest ongoing criminal mysteries. The search has been a long one. The bureau has interrogated Mob members and received many tips stating that the body was buried in a landfill hundreds of miles from where Hoffa was abducted. So far, they have turned up with nothing.
Other tips have led them to search various locations in Michigan and other spots in Jersey. Folklore has long maintained the body was buried in Giants Stadium which was under construction at the time of his disappearance.
Although there are claims that Hoffa’s body has been incinerated, experts say it’s highly unlikely.
Dan Moldea, author of several books related to Hoffa’s disappearance, believes the New Jersey site is “100% credible”. He published an article in July of 2021, before the search began, which claimed the body may be in a 53-acre landfill in Jersey City.
He based his conviction on an FBI report filed four months after the disappearance that was based on a tip received from Teamster boss, convicted murderer, and FBI informant Ralph Picardo. Picardo claimed that Steve Andretta, a Hoffa murder co-conspirator, told him that Hoffa’s body was stuffed into a 55-gallon drum, loaded into a truck, and shipped to New Jersey.
Hoffa started out as a union activist at an early age. He became the vice president of the IBY (International Brotherhood of Teamsters) in 1957, and the general president by 1971. He secured the first national agreement for teamster rates in 1964 and played a key role in the union’s growth and development.
He became involved in organized crime and was convicted of jury tampering, attempted bribery, conspiracy, and wire and mail fraud. He was imprisoned in 1967 and sentenced to 13 years.
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He resigned as president of the union in 1971 and was released from jail later that year. He tried to return to the IBT, but was unsuccessful in gaining support.
He disappeared on July 30, 1975, and is believed to have been murdered by the Mafia.
