An independent team of cold-case investigators may have unraveled a 40-year-old rumor about the final resting place of Jimmy Hoffa. Contrary to popular belief, the notorious labor leader wasn’t buried beneath Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, but possibly under what used to be third base at Milwaukee County Stadium.
Milwaukee County Stadium, which hosted Major League Baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers until 2001, is now a parking lot for the Brewers’ new home, American Family Field. The team of investigators, known as the Case Breakers, claims Hoffa’s remains were moved there in the mid-1990s after being initially stored or buried elsewhere. They are now urging the FBI to analyze soil samples from the site to check for human decomposition, without necessary full excavation.
The lead that convinced the Case Breakers came from an unexpected place: a Las Vegas casino playing card. Harold Walthers, a former Chicago police officer with ties to organized crime figure Joey Aiuppa, had scribbled crucial details on an ace of spades. The notations included “J. Hoffa,” Aiuppa’s name (misspelled “Ioppa”), the date “9-16-95,” and the phrase “3rd Base Milwaukee Ball Park.” Walthers’ niece, Michelle, shared the card with her boyfriend Jim Zimmerman, a veteran law enforcement officer with 40 years of experience.
In 2020, Zimmerman employed ground-penetrating radar at the site, which he claims indicated a disturbed area where third base once stood. He further involved Madison, Wisconsin police officer Carren Corcoran, whose cadaver dog, Moxy, reportedly signaled the presence of remains several times near the same area.
Despite these claims, the FBI has yet to respond or agree to investigate the Case Breakers’ findings, possibly due to numerous previous false leads. Over the years, several searches across Michigan and New Jersey, including a 2022 dig beneath New Jersey’s Pulaski Skyway Bridge, have turned up empty.
Jimmy Hoffa, who led the Teamsters Union from 1957 until 1971, disappeared on July 30, 1975. Leaving his suburban Detroit home for a business lunch with alleged mob figures Anthony Giacalone and Anthony Provenzano, Hoffa arrived at the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. After the others failed to show, Hoffa called his wife to inform her he had been stood up and would be home for dinner at 4 p.m. However, he never returned and vanished without moving his car. Hoffa was declared legally dead in 1982, but his body has never been found, nor has anyone been formally charged in connection with his death.
Hoffa’s disappearance remains a legendary mystery, entwined with his significant contributions to the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Through his control of the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund, Hoffa loaned millions to various Strip casinos when banks deemed them too risky. His financial backing helped build the Desert Inn, Dunes, Stardust, Circus Circus, and the Aladdin, but his most notable investment was a $10.6 million loan to Jay Sarno to build Caesars Palace.
Hoffa resigned as Teamsters president on June 19, 1971, while serving a 13-year sentence for jury tampering, a sentence commuted by President Richard Nixon in December 1971. After his release, Hoffa intended to regain leadership of the Teamsters, a move widely believed to be opposed by mob figures, leading to speculations surrounding his disappearance and presumed death.
