By Murray Weiss/ DNAinfo.com New York
NEW YORK — Enough already.
Everyone should forget about finding the body of slain Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa, says a law enforcement source close to the investigation into his 1975 disappearance.
That's because Hoffa was run through a wood chipper in Inkster, Mich., after being garroted by Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano, a notorious New York mobster who was Hoffa's fierce rival for control of the Teamsters Union, according to the source.
There are, the source says, no remains to be found.
Hoffa disappeared in 1975 after leaving the Red Fox restaurant outside of Detroit, where he was supposed to be meeting with Provenzano and Detroit Mafia power Anthony Giacolone.
Since Hoffa vanished without a trace, there have been persistent tips on where his body might be that leads to digging. There have even been reports he was buried in an end zone of Giants Stadium.
Finding Hoffa has become the Grassy Knoll of Mafia lore.
But the source says with the certainty of a true law enforcement insider that Hoffa will never be found.
Here is the source’s account.
In 1975, Hoffa was one of most widely recognized union figures in U.S. history. He was making another power play to take back the Teamsters after a stint behind bars caused him to lose control of the union.
Provenzano and other factions involved in the Mafia-controlled International Brotherhood of Teamsters did not want the boisterous Hoffa back in the game.
The source said Hoffa was lured to the Red Fox restaurant outside Detroit by his “adopted” son, Charles “Chuckie” O’Brien. O’Brien was driving a 1975 Mercury Marquis Brougham owned by Giacolone’s son that O’Brien borrowed that day.
According to the source, when Hoffa left the Red Fox restaurant with O’Brien, Provenzano and Giacolone were waiting in the car’s backseat.
Provenzano, the source said, garroted Hoffa from behind as the car sped away.
The source said they drove 16 miles to nearby Inkster, a Detroit suburb, where they ran the dead union boss through a wood chipper.
In 2000, the FBI used sophisticated DNA tests on a strand of hair found in the Mercury Marquis. It was Hoffa’s.
O’Brien has denied any involvement in the disappearance. Provenzano died in 1988.
Earlier this week, the FBI began to dig yet again in Michigan in the hope of finding Hoffa’s body at an old farm. The tip came from an octogenarian former mobster who was a friend of Hoffa’s back in the day.
However, the search ended Thursday after no remains were found.
Asked about the latest Hoffa dig, the source did not miss a beat.
“You’re kidding!” he said. “What a waste. They’ll never find him.”
