Encyclopedia of Opinion
Question
Where is Jimmy Hoffa?
Position2 of 3
Jimmy Hoffa is in a dump/junkyard
Argument2 of 3

Jimmy Hoffa's body was crushed at a New Jersey junkyard

A Mafia hitman claimed that Hoffa's body was put in the trunk of a car that was subsequently crushed at a junkyard for scrap metal.

The argument

Mafia assassin Richard Kuklinski claimed during a conversation with Philip Carlo, author of “The Iceman: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer”, that he murdered Jimmy Hoffa with a hunting knife, and then drove his body back to New Jersey with Hoffa’s body in the trunk to be taken to a junkyard, where the car was crushed and sold for scrap metal with Hoffa still in the trunk.

Premises

[P1]Mafia assassin Richard Kuklinski claimed, in conversation with author Philip Carlo, that he killed Jimmy Hoffa with a hunting knife and drove the body back to New Jersey in his car's trunk. [P2] On this account, the car—with Hoffa's body still in the trunk—was crushed at a junkyard and sold for scrap metal. [C] Therefore, on this account, Jimmy Hoffa's remains are in a dump or junkyard.

Counter-arguments

Many people find this theory to be unlikely and believe Kuklinski to be unreliable, as well as a fantasist. Former FBI agent and crime expert Robert Garrity has opposed this claim, deeming it as " the most embarrassing one to date" Also, during an HBO interview conducted prior to the release of Carlo's book, Kuklinski claimed to have no knowledge of what happened to Hoffa, and to have only heard rumors, the inconsistency in Kuklinski's accounts cause many people to not believe in his involvement.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The claim rests entirely on Kuklinski's own account, given to an author writing a book about him, with no corroborating physical evidence, witness or record; and on the counter's account he told an interviewer before publication that he knew only rumours about Hoffa. [Rejecting P2] Taken at face value the account also describes a car crushed and sold for scrap decades ago, which would leave nothing to identify or test — so the premise supports the position only for anyone who has already accepted the confession.