Published on: November 10, 2025, 05:48h.
Updated on: November 10, 2025, 05:48h.
- Last living suspect in Jimmy Hoffa case from New Jersey dies at 86
- Genovese crime family member long associated with Teamsters leader’s disappearance
- Decades-long inquiry into Jimmy Hoffa’s whereabouts remains unresolved
Gabriel “Gabe” Briguglio, a former associate of the Genovese crime family who had been identified as a suspect in Jimmy Hoffa’s mysterious disappearance in 1975, passed away last week at the age of 86.
Journalist Dan E. Moldea, who has covered the Hoffa case on his Substack for over five decades, reported the news. He characterized Briguglio as “the last living named suspect in the New Jersey investigation into the murder of […] Hoffa.”
Briguglio breathed his last at his residence in Toms River, New Jersey, on November 2, as noted in an obituary in The Bergen Record, which has since been retracted.
The obituary highlighted his interests, including “crabbing, fishing, cooking for friends and family, and hunting for the best deals at estate sales, auctions, and garage sales.”
Allegations of Mob Involvement
Hoffa is widely suspected to have been killed by the Mafia, which increasingly viewed him as a risk by the mid-1970s.
Throughout his career, the influential union leader supported Mafia growth in Las Vegas by funneling Teamsters pension funds into casino developments.
Both Briguglio and his brother, Salvatore “Sally Bugs” Briguglio, were part of the New Jersey faction of the Genovese family, traditionally overseen by Mafia boss Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano, who was also the Teamsters president for Local 560 in Union City, New Jersey.
Provenzano’s crew was primarily engaged in labor extortion, kickbacks, and controlling trucking contracts via the union. Initially allies, tensions arose between Provenzano and Hoffa following Hoffa’s attempts to reclaim the union presidency post his 1971 prison release on corruption charges.
Federal authorities suggest Hoffa’s desire to return to leadership unsettled Provenzano and other mob-affiliated union leaders who were concerned about exposure and losing power.
Within months, the FBI identified Salvatore and Gabriel Briguglio and Thomas Andretta—members of Provenzano’s group—as likely participants in Hoffa’s abduction and murder.
These names were mentioned during a December 1975 federal court session where an investigator testified under oath that a witness had implicated the three New Jersey men.
Sally Identified as Shooter
Several FBI informants accused Sally Bugs of being among those who picked Hoffa up outside the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, on July 30, 1975.
Some informants claimed that Sally Bugs personally shot Hoffa inside a house near Detroit, tricking him there under the guise of a peace meeting. However, none of the three were ever charged due to insufficient evidence.
Sally Bugs was murdered in March 1978 outside a social club in Little Italy—executed with multiple gunshots just weeks before he was set to testify before a grand jury concerning Hoffa’s case.
The Final Suspect
A multitude of other suspects has been named by mob insiders as being involved in Hoffa’s killing; all are now deceased. With Gabe Briguglio’s passing, there are no longer any credible, publicly recognized suspects still alive.
Briguglio always maintained his innocence regarding Hoffa’s disappearance. In a recent interview for the Fox Nation documentary “Riddle, The Search for James R. Hoffa,” he dismissed the accusations that plagued him for half a century as “a load of nonsense.”