FBI Chases 'Best Lead' In Hoffa Search

Federal Agents, Experts Dig On Farm For Remains Of Long-Missing Teamsters Leader

(CBS/AP) 

"We laughed and that was the end of that," said Koskovich, 52. "I never thought about it again until today so apparently there have been rumors."

A law enforcement official in Washington said the search was based on information developed several years ago and verified more recently.

The information indicated there was a high level of suspicious activity on the farm the day Hoffa vanished, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing. A backhoe appeared near a barn that organized crime members had used for meetings, but that location was never used again after Hoffa disappeared, the official said.

Roberts would not say who owned the property when Hoffa disappeared but said it has been under different ownership for a decade. The current owners have been "very cooperative" with federal agents, Roberts said, and in return the FBI is trying to disturb the horses on the farm as little as possible.

Mark Weidel, who was visiting his parents' home just up the road, said he grew up hearing rumors about Hoffa and didn't expect anything to come of this search.

"It's just another Hoffa story," he said.

The Detroit Free Press reports that over the years, rumors have circulated that Hoffa was buried in the end zone of Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., a landfill there or at a trash facility in Hamtramck, Mich.

Last year, the FBI crime lab concluded that blood found on the floor of a Detroit home where a one-time Hoffa ally claimed to have killed him did not belong to Hoffa.

Bloomfield Township police ripped up the floorboards from the house where Frank Sheeran claimed Hoffa was killed. Sheeran died in 2003 at age 83, and his claim was detailed in a book published months later.

A New Jersey mob hit man who died in March reportedly made a similar deathbed claim. Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski gave author Philip Carlo what he claimed were graphic details of the infamous, unsolved killing of the union boss, The Record of Bergen County, N.J., reported.

Even this time, the FBI says it's prepared to be disappointed by this search because the informant didn't actually see the body go in the ground, but was just told about it, Stewart reports. Still, officials seem cautiously optimistic.

Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca said Bloomfield Township police were offering assistance but he knew little about the search. He said he was surprised the FBI acted without speaking to them.

"Three years ago they said, 'The Hoffa case in essence is yours to deal with,"' he said. "I'd have expected the professional courtesy of calling me."