Jimmy Hoffa's family calls on Trump to release FBI files
Share and Follow

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Fifty years ago today, at 2:30 p.m. in the parking lot of a Bloomfield Hills, Michigan restaurant, Jimmy Hoffa vanished. He was seen getting into a Maroon Mercury and disappeared forever, starting one of the greatest mysteries in American history.

Hoffa’s family is asking President Donald Trump to make public all the Hoffa case FBI files to find out what the government knows and has kept hidden for half-a-century to finally provide the answers to the iconic case.

“I call on President Trump to release the Hoffa files once and for all,” said Hoffa’s son, James P. Hoffa. Hoffa sat down for an exclusive interview for the final two episodes of the Fox Nation series “Riddle: The Search for James R. Hoffa with Eric Shawn.”

“Let’s find out what really happened. President Trump, release the files,” Hoffa said. “I don’t know what’s in those files. That’s why we have to have them released, and the American public, the Teamsters union, the Teamsters union members, our family deserve it, and I think you’ll do it.”

In this file photo taken on July 24, 1975, Jimmy Hoffa poses for a photo. Police will be taking soil core samples at a home in Roseville, Mich., in search of the remains of the missing Teamsters boss. (Tony Spina/Detroit Free Press/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

In this file photo taken on July 24, 1975, Jimmy Hoffa poses for a photo. Police will be taking soil core samples at a home in Roseville, Mich., in search of the remains of the missing Teamsters boss. (Tony Spina/Detroit Free Press/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Zeldin submitted a “Congressional Mandatory Declassification Review,” but the request was turned down, as were the others.

The FBI routinely cites the fact that the Hoffa investigation remains an open, ongoing case and that the bureau cannot compromise the case by releasing classified material.

The latest episode of “Riddle: The Search for James R. Hoffa” reports that investigators and observers have narrowed Hoffa’s killers down to two members of the Detroit Mafia, Vito “Billy Jack” Giacalone and Anthony “Tony Pal” Palazzolo.

James P. Hoffa told Fox Nation that he believes Giacalone picked up his father in the car that day to drive him to the location where he was murdered. He blames Giacalone and his older brother, Anthony “Tony Jack” Giacalone, for being the mobsters behind the killing, along with then-Teamsters Union president Frank Fitzsimmons.

“The only way to stop him was to kill him.” 

— James P. Hoffa

Hoffa was planning to reclaim the presidency of the Teamsters union by challenging Fitzsimmons, but Hoffa’s son said Fitzsimmons and the mob decided to kill his father to prevent him from taking back the union. Hoffa was vowing to rid the Teamsters of the organized crime elements that he accused Fitzsimmons of permitting to run rampant in the union. The mob was making hundreds of millions of dollars from the union’s billion-dollar Central State pension fund that Hoffa said Fitzsimmons loaned to the mob to help build Las Vegas.

Fox Nation reports the new claim that an informant told the FBI that he was present when Hoffa was killed and said that Vito “Billy Jack” Giacalone murdered Hoffa. Such information would likely have been documented in the FBI records, but so far the information has not been released.

Vito "Billy Jack" Giacalone and Anthony "Tony Jack

Detroit mob capos Vito “Billy Jack” Giacalone and Anthony “Tony Jack” Giacalone were responsible for murdering Jimmy Hoffa, says Hoffa’s son. (Fox Nation)

Detroit mob reporter Scott Burnstein, who runs Gangsterreport.com, has reported that “Billy Jack’s” brother, “Tony Jack,” told his fellow gangsters that another mobster, Anthony “Tony Pal” Palazzolo, killed Hoffa. Burnstein, and others, believe that both “Billy Jack” and “Tony Pal” were the Mafia hit time who drove Hoffa to where he was killed, most likely a house owned by Detroit Mobster Carlo Licata.

“They actually got together to kill him because they couldn’t stop him any other way,” Hoffa said. “The only way to stop him was to kill him.”

Giacalone’s son, Jackie Giacalone, has told Fox Nation that he does not know what happened to Hoffa, and Palazzolo’s family did not comment to Fox Nation.

The FBI will not comment on the claims, citing the ongoing investigation that remains an open case.

But that is not stopping the Hoffa family from continuing its decades-long quest to have the files finally made public.

James P. Hoffa and Eric Shawn

James P. Hoffa talking with Eric Shawn for Fox Nation’s exclusive show “Riddle, the search for James. R. Hoffa.” (Fox Nation)

“My sister was very active in trying to bring a lawsuit to get all the records from the FBI regarding the disappearance. And we’ve worked very hard on keeping the case alive. We keep in contact with the FBI,” he said. “But it doesn’t bring him back.”

He said every July 30 is difficult for him, his sister, and their family. They are marking the 50th anniversary of the disappearance privately.

“It’s a hard day. We always spend time thinking of it. I mark my calendar every year and realize that it is a special time, a time to remember and also to say, remember all the bad things that happened, and the fact is that I had a great father, and he did a great job raising our family.”

And without the final answers that he said could come with Trump releasing the FBI files, the Hoffas are left with an emotional emptiness.

Graphic for "Riddle: The Search for James R. Hoffa"

Watch “Riddle: The Search for James R. Hoffa” exclusively on Fox Nation.

“We don’t have closure. To this day, we don’t have closure because we don’t have a grave, and it’s amazing what that means to people,” he said. “We have a hole in our heart right now because we don’t know what happened to him, and we don’t have closure on his disappearance.”

Watch all eight episodes of “Riddle: The Search for James R. Hoffa,” now streaming on Fox Nation.

Share and Follow
You May Also Like
Why internet sleuths believe AOC will run for president

Speculation Soars: Internet Sleuths Predict AOC’s Potential 2024 Presidential Bid

Rumors are swirling that Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could be eyeing a presidential…
Three men arrested after string of vehicle burglaries in Jacksonville Beach

Trio Nabbed in Connection with Jacksonville Beach Car Break-Ins

In a recent wave of vehicle burglaries, Jacksonville Beach police apprehended three…
CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil 'steamrolled' by Trump

CBS News’ Tony Dokoupil Faces Challenging Interview with Trump

In a recent sit-down that sparked considerable controversy, CBS Evening News anchor…
Enrollment deadline extended for Illinois health insurance plans beginning Feb. 1

Illinois Health Insurance Enrollment Deadline Extended: Secure Coverage by Feb. 1

In a move aimed at easing the pressure on consumers, Illinois residents…
Jacksonville man charged with attempted murder after shootout with covert officers in Brentwood

Jacksonville Resident Faces Attempted Murder Charges Following Brentwood Shootout with Undercover Officers

A man has been charged with several offenses following a gunfight with…
Jamie Dimon warns Trump's Fed intervention will backfire

Jamie Dimon Sounds the Alarm: Why Trump’s Fed Interference Could Spell Economic Trouble

JP Morgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, has issued a caution against the Trump…
Dilbert creator Scott Adams dies of cancer aged just 68

Renowned ‘Dilbert’ Creator Scott Adams Passes Away at 68 After Cancer Battle

Scott Adams, the renowned creator of the “Dilbert” comic strip, has passed…
Lawyer shows why he's most forgiving husband in America

America’s Most Forgiving Husband: Lawyer’s Remarkable Act of Forgiveness Captivates the Nation

Two years ago, McKenna Kindred, a teacher, committed a shocking betrayal by…