The name Jimmy Hoffa is often paired with the subject of mysterious disappearances. In the 1960s and 70s, he was no stranger to news headlines, and then he ended up vanishing without a trace. While many suspect he was killed, his case remains unsolved. In this article, you will learn about this infamous case of disappearance that has intrigued Detroit residents, as well as a lawyer that turned up missing in Pennsylvania.
Jimmy Hoffa
Jimmy Hoffa was a U.S. trade union leader and president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He is best known for organizing the Teamsters from 1932 to 1975. In 1964, Hoffa was successful in scoring the first national agreement for teamsters’ rates in 1964. He played a significant role in the growth and development of the union. In the end, it would become the largest single union in the United States , accommodating more than 1.5 million members during his terms as its leader.
But Hoffa got into trouble and was convicted of jury tampering, attempted bribery and fraud in 1964. He was sent to prison in 1967 and sentenced to 13 years in jail. During mid-1971, he officially resigned as President of the Teamsters, which was part of a pardon agreement set up with President Richard Nixon. Nixon made sure that Hoffa would not participate in any from union activities until 1980, which would have been the end of his prison term. Hoffa never got a chance to overturn this decision because in 1975, he disappeared in Michigan. The last time he was seen, Hoffa was at the parking lot of a restaurant called the Machus Red Fox around late July 1975 in the suburbs of Detroit.
Police gathered that Hoffa was believed to have met with two Mafia leaders , Anthony Giacalone and Anthony Provenzano, who happened to be a union leader with the Teamsters in New Jersey. When Hoffa did not return home, his wife made a call to police. The authorities found Hoffa’s car at the restaurant, but there was no evidence that led to his whereabouts or fate. A deep investigation was launched and lasted for several years. The FBI and other law enforcement groups joined in the effort to locate Hoffa.
Hoffa was declared legally dead on July 30, 1982 , the seventh anniversary of his disappearance. He would have been 69 years old by then.
Ray Gricar
The disappearance of Ray Gricar (a district attorney in Centre County Pennsylvania) has police wondering if foul play was involved or if he committed suicide. On April 15, 2005, Gricar took the day off to travel to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania and never returned home. His abandoned car was found in a parking lot in Lewisburg but he was nowhere to be found. In his car, cigarette ashes were uncovered and the faint odor of smoke , even though he was not a smoker. To make matters even stranger, Gricar’s laptop was fished out of the Susquehanna River several months later. The hard drive had been removed and the laptop was damaged beyond repair. In April of 2009, it was reported that Gricar had conducted Internet searches for information on how to destroy a hard drive. While the investigation is still open, police believe Gricar has committed suicide.