The remains of Jimmy Hoffa have once again eluded the FBI.
The Associated Press reported the FBI has called off their search on the third consecutive day of digging in a suburban Detroit field. The lead was believed to have been one of the most solid in a long time in the nation's most famous murder mystery.
The tip came from an 85-year-old former mobster whose prison sentence ended in 2008. Earlier this year, Tony Zerilli told NBC New York that Hoffa was buried in a field about 20 miles north of the Machus Red Fox restaurant, where Hoffa was last seen in 1975. After an exhaustive investigation by the FBI, they sought court authorization to dig up the field in Oakland Township, Mich. Digging began on Monday and, after three consecutive days, nothing was found.
Zerilli said Hoffa was struck over the head with a shovel and buried in the field. His killers were supposedly planning to move the body at a later date, but Zerilli said it never ended up happening.
"Once he was buried here, he was buried and they let it go," he said from prison at the time.
Zerilli's lawyer David Chasnick denied allegations that his client dropped this tip as a get-rich-quick scheme. Zerilli is, however, selling a manuscript of his account of how Hoffa disappeared. He is also selling photos of himself with the option of an autograph and a personal message. Chasnick said the autographed photos have been available for some time now.
"The only interest I think that Mr. Zerilli really cares about is that the body be found and these people be put at ease that the body and remains have finally been found," Chasnick said. "The FBI wouldn't be doing all this stuff if they thought it was just a ploy."
Hoffa was kidnapped outside the Machus Red Fox restaurant on July 30, 1975 and, now that the FBI has decided to stop their search, the mystery will continue.
