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American Morning
Jimmy Hoffa Still Missing
Aired July 17, 2003 - 06:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Jimmy Hoffa is still missing. Twenty-eight years of guessing did not end, even though police thought they had a pretty good tip. Police in Hampton Township, Michigan spent six hours yesterday digging under a backyard swimming pool in Michigan, looking for a briefcase that supposedly contains evidence about Hoffa's disappearance. They found nothing. A convicted killer told police he buried that briefcase there, though, more than 20 years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID GORCYCA, OAKLAND COUNTY PROSECUTOR: An informant sent me a letter indicating he had information related to the disappearance of Mr. Hoffa. We contacted the FBI about the information. They decided not to pursue it as far as we've come to these lengths today. And going back to the earlier question, this is an individual whom we had information was involved in the mob, was convicted of murder and may have been a hit man for the mob.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Well, the saga of Jimmy Hoffa has generated tons of rumors and speculation over the last 28 years. There have even been movies made about Jimmy Hoffa and, of course, there have been books.
One author, Dan Moldea, who wrote "The Hoffa Wars," is on the phone live with us to talk about the fascination Americans have with the Hoffa mystery.
Good morning.
DAN MOLDEA, AUTHOR OF "THE HOFFA WARS": Good morning to you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Do you know how credible this convict is, this Richard Powell?
MOLDEA: Well, I think he's told this story before and that's why a lot of people haven't put much credence in this particular oddball quirk to this case. But they seem, these things seem to arise every few years.
COSTELLO: Yes.
MOLDEA: And you can't dismiss them out of hand because we've always thought some oddball thing would end up breaking this case open. COSTELLO: Yes, you're not kidding.
What do you think happened to Jimmy Hoffa?
MOLDEA: Carol, I think it was a three act drama, different characters in each act, and that's what the government believes, as well. They believe that in act one, Hoffa went to the Red Fox Restaurant in Bloomfield Township just north of Detroit to meet two mob guys, Tony Provenzano and Tony Giacalone. Neither man showed up. Instead, he was picked up in a car possibly containing Vito Giacalone, Tony Giacalone's brother.
The government believes that Chuckie O'Brien, his "foster son," may have been driving the car. O'Brien, during my interview with him in 1978, denied that. And he's also passed a polygraph test on this, as well, even though Hoffa's DNA was found in that car. The government believes that he was driven a few minutes away to a private residence, where he was ambushed by three men.
The government continues to believe that Salvador Bragulio (ph) is the killer of Jimmy Hoffa. They believe that Hoffa's body was then stuffed into a 55 gallon drum, shipped to an unknown destination where possibly he was crushed and smelted in a car smasher.
COSTELLO: Oh, that's a grizzly tale.
MOLDEA: It certainly is.
COSTELLO: So you don't think he's buried in the end zone of Giants Stadium?
MOLDEA: No, ma'am, I don't. I think he was taken care of right there in Detroit.
COSTELLO: Why are people so fascinated by this Hoffa case?
MOLDEA: You know, it's not like this guy got whacked in a New York restaurant in full view of a bunch of bystanders like Joey Gallo or any of these other gangsters, you know, Carmine Galente (ph) and others whom you hear about. This guy vanished into thin air. And no one has ever been able to come up with a reasonable scenario as to what exactly happened to this which would lead to an arrest or an indictment. In fact, I'm the only person who's interviewed Haifa's alleged killers. And the way I came to them was I said Mr. Bragulio, you've neither been arrested nor indicted and I believe that the government might be violating your civil rights.
Carol, I've never met a mob guy who's not in favor of strong personal privacy laws. I've never met a mob guy who's not in favor of -- against wiretapping. And I've been bored for hours by mob guys who were whining about the alleged impingements upon their rights and freedoms by the FBI and the IRS.
COSTELLO: Well...
MOLDEA: And I got the interview. COSTELLO: Yes, well, we can certainly understand that.
A quick last question. Do you think that many Americans don't want to know the answer as to where Jimmy Hoffa is?
MOLDEA: Well, I wouldn't put myself in that category. I am among many, especially FBI agents and former strike force attorneys, who would love to know what happened to Jimmy Hoffa once and for all.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you so much for joining us this morning.
MOLDEA: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Very interesting.
MOLDEA: Have a great day.
COSTELLO: You, too.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 17, 2003 - 06:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Jimmy Hoffa is still missing. Twenty-eight years of guessing did not end, even though police thought they had a pretty good tip. Police in Hampton Township, Michigan spent six hours yesterday digging under a backyard swimming pool in Michigan, looking for a briefcase that supposedly contains evidence about Hoffa's disappearance. They found nothing. A convicted killer told police he buried that briefcase there, though, more than 20 years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID GORCYCA, OAKLAND COUNTY PROSECUTOR: An informant sent me a letter indicating he had information related to the disappearance of Mr. Hoffa. We contacted the FBI about the information. They decided not to pursue it as far as we've come to these lengths today. And going back to the earlier question, this is an individual whom we had information was involved in the mob, was convicted of murder and may have been a hit man for the mob.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Well, the saga of Jimmy Hoffa has generated tons of rumors and speculation over the last 28 years. There have even been movies made about Jimmy Hoffa and, of course, there have been books.
One author, Dan Moldea, who wrote "The Hoffa Wars," is on the phone live with us to talk about the fascination Americans have with the Hoffa mystery.
Good morning.
DAN MOLDEA, AUTHOR OF "THE HOFFA WARS": Good morning to you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Do you know how credible this convict is, this Richard Powell?
MOLDEA: Well, I think he's told this story before and that's why a lot of people haven't put much credence in this particular oddball quirk to this case. But they seem, these things seem to arise every few years.
COSTELLO: Yes.
MOLDEA: And you can't dismiss them out of hand because we've always thought some oddball thing would end up breaking this case open. COSTELLO: Yes, you're not kidding.
What do you think happened to Jimmy Hoffa?
MOLDEA: Carol, I think it was a three act drama, different characters in each act, and that's what the government believes, as well. They believe that in act one, Hoffa went to the Red Fox Restaurant in Bloomfield Township just north of Detroit to meet two mob guys, Tony Provenzano and Tony Giacalone. Neither man showed up. Instead, he was picked up in a car possibly containing Vito Giacalone, Tony Giacalone's brother.
The government believes that Chuckie O'Brien, his "foster son," may have been driving the car. O'Brien, during my interview with him in 1978, denied that. And he's also passed a polygraph test on this, as well, even though Hoffa's DNA was found in that car. The government believes that he was driven a few minutes away to a private residence, where he was ambushed by three men.
The government continues to believe that Salvador Bragulio (ph) is the killer of Jimmy Hoffa. They believe that Hoffa's body was then stuffed into a 55 gallon drum, shipped to an unknown destination where possibly he was crushed and smelted in a car smasher.
COSTELLO: Oh, that's a grizzly tale.
MOLDEA: It certainly is.
COSTELLO: So you don't think he's buried in the end zone of Giants Stadium?
MOLDEA: No, ma'am, I don't. I think he was taken care of right there in Detroit.
COSTELLO: Why are people so fascinated by this Hoffa case?
MOLDEA: You know, it's not like this guy got whacked in a New York restaurant in full view of a bunch of bystanders like Joey Gallo or any of these other gangsters, you know, Carmine Galente (ph) and others whom you hear about. This guy vanished into thin air. And no one has ever been able to come up with a reasonable scenario as to what exactly happened to this which would lead to an arrest or an indictment. In fact, I'm the only person who's interviewed Haifa's alleged killers. And the way I came to them was I said Mr. Bragulio, you've neither been arrested nor indicted and I believe that the government might be violating your civil rights.
Carol, I've never met a mob guy who's not in favor of strong personal privacy laws. I've never met a mob guy who's not in favor of -- against wiretapping. And I've been bored for hours by mob guys who were whining about the alleged impingements upon their rights and freedoms by the FBI and the IRS.
COSTELLO: Well...
MOLDEA: And I got the interview. COSTELLO: Yes, well, we can certainly understand that.
A quick last question. Do you think that many Americans don't want to know the answer as to where Jimmy Hoffa is?
MOLDEA: Well, I wouldn't put myself in that category. I am among many, especially FBI agents and former strike force attorneys, who would love to know what happened to Jimmy Hoffa once and for all.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you so much for joining us this morning.
MOLDEA: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Very interesting.
MOLDEA: Have a great day.
COSTELLO: You, too.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
