14 DAY TRIAL // The Jimmy Hoffa case is gaining public attention once more. Alleged mob underboss Tony Zerilli claims he knows where Hoffa's body is buried, a mystery that has captivated people's attention for decades.
Hoffa was last seen in suburban Detroit, dining at a restaurant. He was going to meet two known Mafia figures, one of whom was a Teamster boss from the New Jersey area. Some speculated that Hoffa left the country after the meeting, while others believe he was killed.
Zerilli gives details about where Hoffa might have been buried, 20 miles (32 km) north of said restaurant. The final resting place of the man who police claimed had connections to the Mafia is supposedly in northern Oakland County, Michigan.
An important player in the mob family controlling Detroit at the time, Zerilli is now 85 years old. In his day, though, he held an "executive position" in the Mafia organization.
“He actually had risen up at one point to the underboss – or second in command,” former head of the FBI in New York and Detroit Andy Arena describes.
“I’m dead broke. I got no money,” Zerilli says, hinting that he has no reason to hide the burial spot anymore.
According to NBC New York, he now separates himself from the dealings of the mafia.
“What happened to Hoffa had nothing to do with me in any way, shape or form,” Zerilli clarifies.
“What happened, happened while I was in jail. And I feel very, very bad about it and it should never have happened to Jim Hoffa. He didn’t deserve what happened to him,” he adds, suggesting he would have protected him.
Zerilli is hoping that the FBI will dig up the field, and prove him right. He plans to promote his book on Hoffa's burial and disappearance, and has already set up a website detailing information about his work.