Talk About A Waste Of Time... AND MONEY!

F.B.I. Calls Off Its Latest Search for Hoffa

Hoffa's been missing for 30 years... and he is probably dead... or should be dead by now. It is an utter waste of taxpayer dollars to look for his body in the manner chosen by the FBI and DOJ... not only did it prove to be a wild goose chase, but it cost a hell of a lot to do it... and it will cost even more to undo it.

The F.B.I. called off its search on Tuesday for the remains of James R. Hoffa, the former Teamsters leader, saying it had found no trace of him on a horse farm.

The search began nearly two weeks ago on the Hidden Dreams Farm in Milford, northwest of Detroit and 17 miles from the restaurant where Mr. Hoffa had been scheduled to meet two organized crime figures when he disappeared on July 30, 1975.

"After a thorough and comprehensive search, no remains of Mr. Hoffa have been located," Judith M. Chilen, an assistant special agent, said at a news briefing at the farm entrance.

Ms. Chilen added that she was convinced that his body had been buried on the farm and that there was "no indication that it has been moved."

Investigators said that they could return to the farm and that the investigation would remain open.

"There are still prosecutable defendants, and they know who they are," Ms. Chilen said.

More than 35 agents, geologists, archaeologists and other experts spent 12 days digging and demolishing a 100-foot barn to examine the ground beneath the foundation.

They found a trench beneath the barn, along with water pipes and debris.

The search, which involved agents from Federal Bureau of Investigation offices in Chicago, Detroit and Washington, as well as the local police, was the most extensive for Mr. Hoffa in recent years. It was set off by what the bureau called a "fairly credible" tip from an informant who is in prison, who said he had seen Mr. Hoffa, rolled in a rug, dropped into a grave.

The search captivated Milford, where merchants rolled out specials for the excavation. The Milford Baking Company sold 3,500 Hoffa cupcakes at 95 cents each, with green plastic hands sticking up through icing and sprinkles meant to resemble dirt.

Signs popped up outside businesses with slogans like "Forget Waldo: Where's Hoffa?"

But the search was no laughing matter to Representative Joe Knollenberg, Republican of Bloomfield Hills. Mr. Knollenberg questioned the expense of the search, which local news reports said could be $500,000. Agents said Tuesday that it was less than $250,000, with some of the total going to tear down the barn.

On Friday, the bureau issued a statement saying the search was justified.

"The expenditure of funds has always been necessary in each and every case the F.B.I. works, and this one is no exception," said Daniel D. Roberts, the special agent in charge of the Detroit office. "We will not abandon our responsibility to investigate a pending organized crime case because it might be termed 'too old.' "

The bureau has abundant experience searching for Mr. Hoffa. Theories have placed his body in spots like the New Jersey Meadowlands and a house in Detroit.

The first tip that he was buried arrived 17 days after his disappearance, prompting the bureau to search a construction site in northern Michigan.

The latest search was the third in the last two years here and was not without its light moments. Over the weekend, agents put down their shovels and posed for a team photograph.