Jimmy Hoffa Found? Ex-Mobster Says Hoffa Buried in Field Outside Detroit

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An elderly former mob underboss from Detroit man has made a new claim to the whereabouts of Jimmy Hoffa. Hoffa was the former president of America’s largest union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Hoffa disappeared on July 30, 1975, after having dinner at Machus Red Fox restaurant in suburban Detroit with two reputed mafia figures.

Hoffa was officially declared dead in 1982, and his body was never found. However, many have attested to where his body may be, including this latest claim that Hoffa is buried in a suburban field outside of Detroit. This lead, however, may be promising.

Anthony Zerilli, an 85-year-old ex-convict who has had alleged ties to Detroit’s organized crime syndicate, stated in an exclusive interview with NBC 4 New York that Hoffa was killed and dumped in a shallow grave 20 miles outside of Detroit. "Once he was buried here, he was buried and they let it go," Zerilli said.

Zerilli opened up after decades of silence and refusal to work with authorities on the Hoffa case. At the time of the disappearance, Zerilli was serving time in prison. He suggested that had he not been in prison, Hoffa's fate might have changed. "If I wasn’t away I don’t think it ever would’ve happened, that’s all I can tell you ... I would’ve done anything in the world to protect Jim Hoffa,” he said.

Zerilli is not the first to provide a lead into Hoffa's disappearance. Several rumors have circulated about Hoffa’s remains. One story argues that Hoffa’s body is buried beneath a driveway in a Detroit suburb. The owner of the home in 1975 had alleged ties to a Detroit mob boss whom Hoffa had plans to meet on the day of his disappearance. According to Detroit police reports, the owner was seen mixing concrete the day Hoffa vanished.

The most outrageous report regarding the site of Hoffa’s remains includes the old Giants Stadium in New Jersey. The story suggests that Hoffa was shot and killed by an Irish mobster, and his frozen remains were placed in the concrete of a section of the football stadium.

In comparison to these other claims, Zerilli’s story may be one of the more plausible ones. In the interview, Zerilli denies being associated with Detroit’s organized crime community in the 1970s.