After 38 years and many fruitless searches, the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa may finally be solved.
The owner of Wexler's Tavern in Cleveland, Ohio, believes he has found bones belonging to the former Teamster's boss behind a wall in his basement and is dismantling it to find more clues.
Hoffa was last seen in late July 1975 outside the Machus Red Fox, a suburban Detroit restaurant, where he was supposed to meet with a New Jersey Teamsters boss and a Detroit mafia captain.
Where in the world? Jimmy Hoffa, pictured in 1966, was last seen at a suburban Detroit restaurant in 1975
Solve the mystery: When Doug Graziano, the new owner of Wexler's Tavern heard the story he was intrigued
Search: The owner of Wexler Tavern is dismantling a wall in the basement in the hope of finding more bones which he thinks belong to Jimmy Hoffa
Owner of Wexler's Tavern, Doug Graziano, believes there is a high chance the bones do belong to the former Labour Union Leader and that it was his last resting place.
He found a book of matches while he was dismantling the wall, from the Palm Desert Lodge in California, which was dubbed 'the house Jimmy Hoffa and the Teamsters built'.
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The tavern's previous owner Lou Gentile told WKYC.com that he found what he said were human bones wrapped in red butcher paper inside the wall 25 years ago when they were doing renovations.
They were neatly wrapped in seven football-shaped packages. When he called police, he was instructed to throw the bones away - which he did as he did not want the bar turned into a crime scene.
Owner of Wexler's Tavern: Doug Graziano, believes there is a high chance the bones do belong to the former Labour Union Leader and that it was his last resting place
Clue: Doug Graziano found this book of matches which is from a place that was dubbed 'the house Jimmy Hoffa and the Teamsters built'
Human? 11 bones were found in all and they are now on their way to a medical examiner's office for testing
He told WKYC: 'I'm thinking, wow. These are human bones. And then all the history of the tavern came flooding back, that there was a connection with Jimmy Hoffa, and the people who were around the tavern at the time.'
When Graziano heard the story, he was intrigued - even more so after finding the matchbook.
While dismantling the wall over the last few days, 11 bone fragments in all were found. They have now been sent to Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office for testing.
Earlier this year, alleged gangster Anthony Zerilli claimed that Hoffa was buried in a shallow grave about 20 miles north of the restaurant where he was last seen, in a field in northern Oakland County, Michigan.
He claimed the plan was to move his body at a later date to a second location but this was later abandoned. After questioning Zerilli, the FBI decided not to dig up the area.
The last search for his body was in October last year when a driveway in Detroit was dug up.
Authorities drilled through concrete and removed soil samples in Roseville, Michigan, after receiving a tip from a cancer-plagued man who swore he saw a body being buried 35 years ago that 'may have been Jimmy.'
Jimmy Hoffa waves to delegates at the opening of the Teamsters Union convention at Miami Beach, Florida in 1957
In 2001, DNA evidence linked Hoffa to a vehicle that was believed to have been used in his supposed murder.
Since 1975, the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa has been the subject of countless theories. Some say he was done in by organized crime or even federal agents.
Throughout his career, Hoffa accrued many enemies from being one of the most famous labor leaders in American history.
He became involved with organized crime from the early years of his Teamsters work, and this connection continued until his disappearance in 1975. He was convicted of jury tampering, attempted bribery, and fraud in 1964 for which he was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
In mid-1971 he resigned the Teamsters' presidency, an action that was part of a pardon agreement with President Richard Nixon, to facilitate his release later that year. Nixon blocked Hoffa from union activities until 1980.
While the suspects and motives in his disappearance are clear, the FBI are still looking for that vital piece of evidence.His son James P. Hoffa, now presides over the Teamsters.