Jimmy Hoffa’s driver, in book, says he knows where boss is buried
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In a new book, Jimmy Hoffa’s onetime driver claims that the Teamsters boss was buried right in Detroit. In ‘The Weasel: A Double Life in the Mob,’ Marvin Elkind tells journalist Adrian Humphreys that Hoffa’s body was entombed in the foundation of General Motors’ headquarters, the Renaissance Center.
“It was his own people who did it,” claims chauffeur-turned-informant Marvin Elkind, the subject of “The Weasel: A Double Life in the Mob” by Canadian journalist Adrian Humphreys. “Mr. Hoffa gave them no choice. He was very close to Tony Jack [Detroit capo and union heavy Anthony Giacalone], and everyone knows he provided the triggerman. Tony Jack told me. He didn’t say, ‘Marvin, I provided the triggerman.’ But he told me in another way.” Elkind claims this revelation came during a Teamsters conference in Detroit in 1985, 10 years after Hoffa disappeared while on his way to meet Giacalone and gangster Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano. “Let’s take a break. Let’s get out of here,” Giacalone announced to a group of delegates. The group was heading away from the Omni International across a glassed-in walkway when the Renaissance Center, which was under construction when Hoffa vanished, came into view. “When Tony Jack passed the middle point of the bridge . . . he nodded toward the huge tower’s foundation,” Humphreys writes. “Say good morning to Jimmy Hoffa, boys,” he said.
The book describes Elkind, known as ‘the Weasel,’ as a waiter, driver and low-level mobster who worked as a double agent for the FBI and Canadian authorities. Born in Toronto, Elkind’s rough childhood led him to become a driver for Hoffa at age 18; he stayed on for four years.
Hoffa’s whereabouts have remained a mystery since his 1975 disappearance. He was officially declared dead in 1982. Chances are it will be a while before anyone might be able to look for him in the foundation of the Renaissance Center. Since its completion in 1977, the seven interconnected skyscrapers, topped by a 73-story hotel, have marked the highest point of Detroit’s skyline.
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-- Carolyn Kellogg
