Human Remains Found in Las Vegas Spark Interest in Jimmy Hoffa’s Disappearance

Two sets of human remains were unearthed last week in Lake Mead, Nevada after drought conditions caused water levels to lower significantly. The bodies were in barrels in the Colorado River reservoir, just a 30-minute drive from the Las Vegas strip which has deep-rooted ties to the mob.

This discovery has not only highlighted the devastating impacts of climate change; it has also sparked renewed interest in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa.

Jimmy Hoffa served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, an American labor union, from 1957-1971. His role as a union leader led him down a path of involvement with organized crime, most notably with the Mafia.

 In 1964, he was found guilty of mail fraud, jury tampering, and bribery and sentenced to 13 years in prison. However, he was pardoned by President Richard Nixon in 1971 on the condition that he would not involve himself in labor union activities until 1980.

 Jimmy Hoffa was last seen on July 30, 1975, in a suburb of Detroit. Hoffa was allegedly supposed to meet up with Anthony Giacalone and Anthony Provenzano, two mobsters, at a restaurant. At 2:00 p.m., Hoffa called his wife to tell her that Giacalone and Provenzano didn’t show up. Hoffa was never seen or heard from again.

 Although the FBI declared him legally dead in 1982, his disappearance has been the subject of fascination for decades. In November of last year, the FBI searched a dumpsite in New Jersey after receiving a tip from former mobster Ralph Picardo. Picardo stated that Hoffa’s body was stuffed inside a 55-gallon drum and driven to New Jersey. It’s unclear what the FBI found in New Jersey, if anything.

 The bodies found in Lake Mead this week have not been identified, but Las Vegas police tell ABC News that the second set of remains is that of a male who had been shot “probably between the mid-1970s and the early 1980s, according to the shoes found with him.” The death is being investigated as a homicide. It is unclear if the first set of remains found is connected to the second set.