FBI 'KNOWS who killed union leader Jimmy Hoffa but is keeping it secret because they don't want to admit they accused the wrong person', claims new book

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The FBI knows who killed labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa, who mysteriously disappeared in 1975, but the agency has plans to keep details surrounding his death a secret, according to a new book. 

Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard law professor and the former US assistant attorney general, made the claims in his new book, In Hoffa's Shadow. 

In the book, Goldsmith reportedly declares his belief that investigators from the FBI allowed Hoffa's protege, Chuckie O'Brien, to be known as the key suspect in Hoffa's disappearance. 

It was believed that O'Brien picked up Hoffa from the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Michigan on July 30, 1975, and took him to meet his doom. 

Goldsmith told WXYZ that there were 'good reasons' for federal investigators to suspect O'Brien because 'he had recently had a break with Hoffa, he was in the vicinity of the Machus Red Fox the morning of the disappearance, and the afternoon of the disappearance'.

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The FBI knows who killed labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa (pictured), who mysteriously disappeared in 1975, but the agency has plans to keep details surrounding his death a secret, according to a new book by Jack Goldsmith 

It was believed that Chuckie O'Brien (left) picked up Hoffa from the Machus Red Fox restaurant on July 30, 1975, and took him to meet his doom. Goldsmith said there were 'good reasons' for federal investigators (right) to suspect O'Brien because he had a recent break with Hoffa

Goldsmith claims that the FBI believed it wasn’t O’Brien who picked Hoffa (pictured) up that day. He says agents believed it was Vito Giacalone, Detroit Mafia figure Anthony Giacalone’s brother. Goldsmith said agents believed someone else killed Hoffa, but were unable to prove it

But Goldsmith claims that the FBI believed it wasn’t O’Brien who picked Hoffa up that day. 

He says agents believed it was Vito Giacalone, Detroit Mafia figure Anthony Giacalone’s brother. Goldsmith told the station that federal agents believed someone else killed Hoffa, but they were unable to prove it. 

Goldsmith, who is O'Brien's stepson, claims the FBI wanted to keep the secret to themselves because 'they just didn't want to take the political heat, admitting they had basically accused the wrong person - or let linger the accusations against Chuckie for 40 years' 

The author says he believes the real killer 'was a low-level member of the Detroit family in the 1970s who rose to prominence and is no longer alive'.  

'Beyond that I'm not going to say anything else,' Goldsmith said. 

Goldsmith continued to make his case by adding that 'the last known time, when Hoffa was thought to be alive, did not leave enough time given the other things we know about Chuckie's whereabouts'. 

O'Brien denied any involvement in Hoffa's 1975 disappearance. 

Hoffa was a working-class icon who turned the International Brotherhood of Teamsters labor union into a nationwide movement.

Jack Goldsmith (left), the author of In Hoffa's Shadow (right), claims the FBI wanted to keep the secret to themselves because 'they just didn't want to take the political heat, admitting they had basically accused the wrong person'

O'Brien denied any involvement in Hoffa's disappearance from the Machus Red Fox (pictured) in 1975 

He served as the union's General President from 1958 to 1971 and played a key part in its growth and development.

During his term as its leader, membership surged to more than 1.5 million members, becoming the largest single union in the country.

But Hoffa eventually fell from grace and went to jail for racketeering.

He was pardoned by President Richard Nixon and was making his comeback when he went missing. 

His abandoned car was found outside the Detroit restaurant and no trace of him has been found since 1975.

Hoffa was declared legally dead July 30, 1982, when he would have been 69. 

Goldsmith's book, In Hoffa’s Shadow, was released Tuesday. 

The Irishman, a new film about Hoffa's death and disappearance, will open at the New York Film Festival this week. The film was written and directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Al Pacino as Hoffa and Robert De Niro (pictured on set) as Hoffa's associate, Frank Sheeran

Netflix will give the movie an exclusive theatrical release for about four weeks, providing theaters most of November to play Scorsese's crime epic before it lands on the streaming service. This image shows Joe Pesci (left) and De Niro (right) in a scene from the movie

The Irishman, a new film about Hoffa's death and disappearance, will open at the New York Film Festival on September 27.

The film was written and directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Al Pacino as the labor leader and Robert De Niro as Hoffa's associate, Frank Sheeran. 

Netflix will give the movie an exclusive theatrical release for about four weeks, providing theaters most of November to play Scorsese's big-budget crime epic before it lands on the streaming service.

Because of the film's pedigree, theater owners had lobbied Netflix to give The Irishman a traditional, wide release. 

But the major theater chains, including AMC and Cinemark, have refused to play movies that don't adhere to the standard 90-day exclusivity window. 

Netflix instead has said the film will be released in select theaters. 

The movie will hit select theaters on November 1 and begin streaming on November 27, Netflix said.