Police: Scam artists exploit Hoffa search

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DETROIT, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Detroit-area police say scammers are telling residents Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa is buried on their land, to get them out of their homes so they can rob them.

The con artists are sending elderly residents a letter purporting to come from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the Detroit News reports. In the letters, Brad Wurfel, a department spokesman, is described as the director, a title he does not hold.

The letters have been sent to residents of Roseville, a town where the latest dig for Jimmy Hoffa's remains occurred without anything coming to light. Police Chief James Berlin said Friday he believes the senders hope to lure residents from their homes to discuss the search for Hoffa's body while confederates steal their possessions.

Hoffa, who helped build the Teamsters Union into a major national force, disappeared July 30, 1975, and was declared legally dead seven years later. He was last seen at a restaurant in Bloomfield, Mich., where he apparently believed he had an appointment with two Mafia leaders.

The Roseville letter says the recent hunt for Hoffa's body was a ruse and the body is known to be in the recipient's backyard, police said in an emailed statement Friday.

"The letter states that law enforcement is concerned for the safety and security of the homeowner and that they will soon be contacted to arrange a time for the dig to take place," police said.