Federal authorities are digging up a field in suburban Detroit as they search for the remains of Jimmy Hoffa, potentially ending one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, NBC 4 New York's I-Team has learned.

A law enforcement source said the feds are searching for a shallow grave in the spot where a reputed former gangster exclusively told NBC 4 New York that Hoffa was buried.

The FBI had no comment Monday.

In an exclusive interview in January, Tony Zerilli, alleged to be the former underboss of Detroit's biggest crime family and a main character in Hoffa's disappearance, broke his silence to NBC 4 New York after decades of refusing to answer anyone's questions.  

Zerilli told NBC 4 New York that the union leader was buried in a field in suburban Detroit -- about 20 miles north of the restaurant where he was last seen. That's where feds were moving earth Monday. 

He sat down again with NBC 4 New York Monday, satisfied that FBI agents appeared to finally be taking his story seriously. 

"I'm glad to see it. I'm glad to hear it," said Zerilli. "Now everyone will know what I told them is what happened." 

He also revealed for the first time Monday how he believes Hoffa was murdered. 

"He was picked up and buried alive," said Zerilli. "That's how I believe he was killed." 

Federal authorities would not be searching that field if it weren't for Zerilli, 85 and barely able to walk, coming forward with his claim in January, investigators say. 

Law enforcement sources said Zerilli, who was second in command of Detroit's mob family when Hoffa disappeared, is the most credible person to speak since Hoffa disappeared in July 1975. 

Zerilli said he wanted to set the record straight about his life -- and what happened to Hoffa. Zerilli denied ever being in the Mafia or having anything to do with the disappearance of Hoffa. 

"I had nothing to do with this, and I understand it," he said. "That's all that's important. Some people don't understand it, and that's their problem, not mine." 

The alleged ex-mobster said he was crushed when Hoffa vanished. It was news he received while behind bars after he was convicted for being involved in illegal operations in Las Vegas casinos.

“They accused me while I was away," Zerilli said in January of his time in prison. "If that’s not an alibi I don’t know what the hell an alibi is."

And on Monday, he said he wanted to make sure Hoffa's family finally got closure.

"What I feel inside is that his family would certainly like to see him properly buried," he said. "I think it's a sin what happened. I'm sure everyone in the family is interested, and it's the only thing I can do. What happened happened. I wish I could have stopped it but I wasn't here." 

The truth, Zerilli said in January, is that Hoffa never got very far from where he was last seen. He believes the union leader's final resting place is about 20 miles north of the restaurant where he was last seen, in a field in northern Oakland County, Mich. That property is also owned by the number one boss in command of Detroit's mob family at the time of Hoffa's disappearance. 

FBI agents did not find any human remains Monday, but law enforcement sources told NBC 4 New York they did find cement under the grassy field, another physical clue solidifying Zerilli's story. 

The family of a Bronx man killed in a hit-and-run have released surveillance video of the crash, hoping the public will be able to help them identify the getaway driver.

Alfonso Melendez, 49, was crossing the Grand Concourse at 184th Street in Fordham last Thursday night, just a block from his home, when he was hit by a car. Surveillance video shows the would-be hit-and-run driver pulling over and getting out of the car to take a look. The driver then gets back in the car and drives away. 

Melendez died a short time later at the hospital.

"He stopped and actually got out of his car and just stood there," said Melendez's stepdaughter Jacquelyn Mussenden. "That's devastating." 

Melendez's son-in-law Jose Carrasquillo had scoured the street after the hit-and-run to look for surveillance video that might help police catch the driver.

"He tucked his tail and got in his car and ran off," he said. "It's a coward move." 

Melendez's widow, Brenda Pagan, remains heartbroken.

"I do miss him, and I'm still going to keep on missing him. It's been 30 years together," she said. 

Police are looking for a dark-colored van or SUV, but they were not able to get a license plate number. Anyone who saw what happened Thursday night is urged to come forward and talk to police. 

Two New York City correction officers have been arrested after investigators said they were caught dealing drugs to inmates.

Austin Romain and Khalif Phillips, both 31, were arrested by police and Drug Enforcement agents as they arrived for their 3 p.m. roll call at Rikers Island Monday.

The pair are accused of smuggling drugs into a maximum-security wing on Rikers.

Officials said they also delivered scalpels to inmates for use as weapons.

Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said the two officers "subverted jail safety and made their fellow officers' jobs more difficult and dangerous."

Romain has been a correction officer since 2007, and Phillips has been on the job since 2006, according to authorities.

Investigators said the drug orders would be made when prisoners made contact with wives or girlfriends, who would then contact the officers about their marijuana orders.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, "We will not tolerate misuse of authority by those entrusted with supervising incarcerated individuals and keeping them safe."

Officials said 30 correction department employees have been arrested smuggling in contraband over the last decade.

If convicted, the officers in this case could face up to 10 years in prison. They are expected to be appear in federal court Tuesday on the charges.

Attorney information wasn't immediately available.

After NBC 4 New York's I-Team report in March revealing that health insurers were denying coverage to autistic children, New York lawmakers have approved a reform that would force insurance companies to pay up.

The bill, passed by both the New York state Senate and Assembly, demands insurers cover a key autism therapy called Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA.

Back in March, the I-Team revealed an administrative loophole that rendered Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s landmark autism insurance law much less generous than many parents expected. The rule allowed insurance firms to deny reimbursements if an ABA provider doesn’t hold a state license.

The problem is, New York state doesn’t offer a license specifically for behavior analysts.

In 2011, Cuomo championed the autism insurance bill as one of the most expansive in the nation, but just before it went into effect, the New York Department of Financial Services implemented an emergency amendment. The regulation allowed insurance companies to deny coverage if an ABA provider does not also hold an additional license for psychiatry, psychology, social work or similar professions.

Jamie Pagliaro, co-founder of Rethink Autism, a company that produces ABA instructional videos, estimates there are 700 board-certified behavior analysts in New York, but perhaps fewer than 50 of them hold additional state licenses in psychiatry or social work.

“This drastically reduces the number of providers that are able to deliver this treatment and get reimbursed through health insurance in New York,” Pagliaro said.

After the I-Team report revealed the imbalance, State Sen. Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (R-Merrick) proposed a law that would establish a new license, specifically for behavior analysts. With such a license in place, insurance companies would have no grounds to deny coverage for autistic kids.

After his reform bill passed on Monday, Fuschillo issued a statement denouncing the last minute administrative rule which limited the original legislation’s impact.

“New York’s autism insurance reform law was authored to prevent families from having to spend tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket on treatments and therapies for their loved ones with autism," Fuschillo said. "Unfortunately, regulations were implemented contrary to the law’s intent which prevent many families from receiving these benefits."
 

A man on a Newark-bound flight from Hong Kong Monday screamed that passengers had been poisoned and drugged while ranting "your life is in jeopardy," before he was tackled by fellow fliers and crew, officials and witnesses said.

The man was in a middle seat at the rear of the plane when he began pacing the aisle and ranting, witnesses told NBC 4 New York.

In a recording of part of his rant, he can be heard saying "your life is in jeopardy," and talking about the CIA and NSA.

"He started reaching for something in his jacket, and so a few of us jumped on him, basically, put him to the floor, at the same time the crew brought plastic handcuffs and we were able to restrain him," said passenger Jacques Roizen.

Others were relieved that passengers took action.

"They took care of him, big guys," said Freida Najman.

United Airlines spokeswoman Jennifer Dohm said in a statement that "a passenger became disruptive" on the flight, and that the crew followed procedures.

The plane later landed at Newark, where it was met by Port Authority police. The man was led off the plane in handcuffs and taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, according to the official.

It was not clear whether he would face charges.

An FBI spokesman said authorities had cleared the plane and were interviewing witnesses.

--Jay Blackman contributed to this report

Nine owners and managers of more than a dozen 7-Eleven stores on Long Island and in Virginia were charged Monday in a scheme to traffic in workers from Pakistan to work their stores, provide them with identities stolen from U.S. citizens and steal a substantial portion of their wages, prosecutors said.

The workers were allegedly forced to live in housing provided by the franchise owners and pay them cash rent, in addition to the funds that were skimmed off the top of their paychecks when the store owners received payroll from corporate headquarters, authorities said. 

More than a dozen workers believed to have been brought to the country illegally were taken into immigration custody, though the scheme involved the hirings of at least 50 illegal immigrants since 2000, according to court documents. 

Investigators executed search warrants at about 30 7-Eleven stores across the country as part of the probe, including 10 on Long Island. Suffolk County police, federal Homeland Security investigators, IRS and NYPD officers were seen entering several of the store locations in New York Monday.

Officials said investigators were checking more than 40 additional 7-Eleven stores across the New York area to see if there were similar abuses. 

The suspects taken into custody Monday face charges of wire fraud conspiracy, harboring illegal immigrants and aggravated identity theft. Federal authorities have also moved to forfeit the franchise rights to the 14 7-Eleven stores owned by the suspects, as well as the five homes where the illegal immigrants were allegedly forced to stay once they were brought to the United States. 

The stolen identities they were equipped with belong to victims from seven states, ranging in age from 8 to 78, and include three dead people and a Coast Guard cadet, officials said. 

In a statement, 7-Eleven said the company has been cooperating with federal authorities and will take "aggressive actions to audit the employment status of all its franchisees' employees."

"In bedroom communities across Long Island and Virginia, the defendants not only systematically employed illegal immigrants, but concealed their crimes by raiding the cradle and the grave to steal the identities of children and even the dead," U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said in a statement. "These defendants ruthlessly exploited their immigrant employees, stealing their wages and requiring them to live in unregulated boarding houses, in effect creating a modern day plantation system."

A jewelry shopkeeper shot and killed an armed robber inside his Newark store Monday afternoon, authorities said.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office said a man entered the jewelry store at Central Avenue and South 9th Street at about 3:30 p.m. with a loaded gun and backpack and announced he was robbing the store. The robber ordered the store owner to fill the backpack with money and gold as he threatened to shoot the owner's family members, authorities said. 

The store owner pulled out his own weapon and shot the suspect, the prosecutor's office said. The unidentified suspect was taken to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 

No charges were initially filed against the store owner. 

FBI and NYPD organized crime investigators are searching a Queens home for possible human remains or other evidence in decades-old mob crimes, law enforcement sources say.

Authorities are at the home where the daughter of Jimmy Burke, of the Lucchese crime family, now lives. 

Burke, who is no longer alive, was accused of helping plan the Lufthansa heist at Kennedy Airport, when $5 million in cash and more than $1 million in jewels were stolen.

Elements of the heist were incorporated into the film "Goodfellas."

Several Mafia hits were executed after the heist, as there were concerns that too many people were involved who could rat out other members of the crew.

Investigators were not saying which victim they were searching for Monday at the home on 102nd Road in Jamaica, but sources said the person was not connected to 1978's Lufthansa robbery. 

"I always saw little kids playing across the street, so I always thought this was a safe area," said neighbor Kevin Martin. "Nothing crazy ever happened like this." 

"It's a long time. People come, people go," said another neighbor who only gave his name as Jim. "After that amount of time, what do you think you're going to find?"

-- Greg Cergol contributed to this report. 

Yonkers police found two young sisters who were missing for nearly a day in a park.

Rhianna McBean, 6, and Christina Quires, 13, were found Sunday night after going missing at around 9 p.m. Saturday.

Preliminary reports suggested the two got lost while walking home and spent the night in Cochran Park.

The children were reunited with their parents Sunday evening.

The sisters were unharmed, according to police.

Police say a 17-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with a shooting that injured a 9-year-old girl playing outside in the Bronx Friday night.

The girl was hit in the stomach by a stray bullet when a gunman riding a bicycle sprayed a Kingsbridge street with bullets, police said.

Investigators believe the girl was not the intended target. 

The child was hospitalized in stable condition.

The teen faces charges of attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment and illegal weapon possession.

The name of his attorney was not immediately known.

A New Jersey man has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a 3-year-old boy, officials said.

Darius E. Levine of Leonia, N.J., allegedly engaged in sexual activity with a boy who then told his father about it, according to a statement from the Bergen County Prosecutor's office.

Levine, 18, was arrested on Friday, according the authorities, and charged with one count of sexual assault by sexual contact.

Information on a lawyer for Levine, who is in custody, was not immediately available.

A 27-year-old man was killed in a hit-and-run in the Bronx early Sunday morning, police said.

Kevin Bell was found on a Woodlawn street at around 3:30 a.m., according to officials.

Bell, who was pronounced dead by EMS, was struck near East 233rd Street and Oneida Avenue.

No arrests have been made in connection with the crash.

A 14-year-old boy is in critical condition after being shot in the chest in a Staten Island playground Saturday night, police said.

A 23-year-old woman was also shot and is in stable condition, according to officials.

They were shot just before 10 p.m. in St. George's Mahoney Playground.

There was no word yet on any suspects and no arrests have made.

A 24-year-old man was shot and killed in Brooklyn early Sunday morning, authorities said.

Police responded to call of a man shot in front of a building on East 51st Street in Flatlands just before 3 a.m. and discovered Anthony Keith, of Brooklyn, with a gunshot wound to his torso.

Keith was transported to Kings County Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

No arrests have been made and there is no word yet on a suspect or what sparked the shooting.

Police are seeking to question a 17-year-old in connection with a shooting that wounded a 9-year-old girl in the Bronx Friday night.

Authorities released a photo of Billy James Jr., whom they are calling a person of interest in the case.

According to police, a person between 15 and 20 years old riding a BMX-style bicycle fired several rounds, hitting the girl who was playing in front of a building on Bailey Avenue in Kingsbridge at around 9:45 p.m.

The girl, who was struck in the torso, is not believed to have been the intended target. She is recovering at Jacobi Medical Center.

Authorities initially released surveillance images of a person on a bicycle believed to be a suspect. The person was identified and questioned, and police say he is no longer a suspect.

Police said a $22,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the shooting. 

A 19-year-old with dreams of becoming a Marine was stabbed and killed in Queens Friday night, just hours before his birthday.

D'Anthony McDonald was stabbed outside his South Ozone Park home on 130th Street at around 9 p.m. Police say another teen who had fought with McDonald earlier returned with a knife and stabbed him on the sidewalk after chasing him.

McDonald's father, Eric Anderson, said he was at his son's side moments after he was stabbed.

"Someone stabbed him in his chest," Anderson said between sobs. "I tried to help him."

McDonald's mother, who declined to give her name, said he was stabbed by an acquaintance.

Anderson said McDonald was set to celebrate his 20th birthday Saturday and had ambitions of enlisting in the Marines.

"He wanted to help out our country," said Anderson. "He wanted to be part of something bigger."

No arrests have been made in connections with McDonald's murder.

A 40-year-old man has been arrested, accused of throwing a 92-year-old man to the ground and stealing his Bible and glasses in Manhattan earlier this week.

Authorities say Francisco Flores followed the victim, Ricardo Velez, to his home near 18th Street in Chelsea at about 11:30 p.m. Monday, pushed him down and ran off with the items. 

Velez hurt his hip but is otherwise expected to be OK. From his hospital bed, Velez told NBC 4 New York that he has lived on the same block for 50 years.

He said he was folding up his umbrella after coming through one door of his building late Monday night, when the suspect came from behind and struck him with a blow strong enough to knock him down. 

Raeemas Hernandez called 911 immediately after spotting his elderly neighbor struggling to stand up. 

"I heard him screaming," Hernandez said. "He was down on the floor, and I picked him up."

Police released surveillance video of the suspect and a $22,000 reward was offered for information leading to an arrest.

Flores has been charged with robbery. Information on an attorney for Flores was not immediately available.

Police arrested a man suspected of fleeing the scene of an accident in Brooklyn Friday and crashing into a residential building. Sixteen people were forced to leave their homes while investigators determined the best way to remove the car, officials said. 

Ronald Breland was arrested Saturday on charges that included criminal mischief and reckless endangerment, authorities said.

Police said two vehicles were involved in a minor fender bender on Jefferson and Broadway in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Breland, who was driving a red SUV, took off when the other driver asked him to stay and wait to fill out an accident report with police.

Breland sped away -- with the other driver pursuing him -- and crashed into the building at 245 Marion St. at about 2:40 p.m., police said.

"When I was by my room, it was just a big loud noise," said resident Keanu Williams. "We had to climb through the window to get out."

The other driver got out of his car, dragged Breland from behind the wheel and began assaulting him, according to witnesses. 

"I saw a fellow stomping another fellow," said Sherman Oakley, the owner of the building, who described hearing "squeaking wheels and bang, boom, bang" at the time of the crash. 

"They started fighting," said neighbor Shakira Blandon. 

Breland, 61, sustained minor injuries, police said. He was driving with a suspended license. 

Firefighters evacuated the building as they determined the safest way to remove the car, officials said. Buildings investigators were also on the scene to assist firefighters with a structural assessment.

Sixteen people comprising eight families were ordered to vacate the building and are being assisted by Red Cross with temporary housing. It wasn't immediately clear when the victims would be able to return to their homes. 

Oakley, whose grandchildren live inside the building, said bricks can be replaced but lives cannot. 

"I'm counting my blessings," said Oakley. "None of my people got injured. It's just a building." 

A 9-year-old girl was shot while playing outside in the Bronx Friday night, authorities said.

Amanda Chavan was staying at her grandmother's house in Kingsbridge because the family was going to gather for a Father's Day picnic, according to Wanda Forte, the grandmother.

Police said the girl was playing in front of the building on Bailey Avenue at around 9:45 p.m., when witnesses said a suspect on a BMX-style bicycle fired several rounds.

Amanda, who was struck in the torso, is not believed to have been the intended target. She was taken to North Central Bronx Hospital in stable condition.

Amanda was walking and talking the next day, Forte said.

Police described the shooter as being between 15 and 20 years old. No arrests have been made.

Authorities initially released surveillance images of a person on a bicycle believed to be a suspect. The person was identified and questioned, and police say he is no longer a suspect.

Police said a $22,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for this assault. 

-Checkey Beckford contributed reporting

A livery cab driver died after he was stabbed in the eye, possibly with the metal tip of an umbrella, causing him to lose control and crash into another car in Brooklyn Thursday evening, authorities said.

Officers responded to the crash at Lott Avenue and Thomas Boyland Street in Brownsville at about 5:30 p.m. and found the driver inside a 2000 Mercury with his eye stabbed.

The driver, identified by relatives as Orji-ama Uro, was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. There were no other injuries on the scene, according to police. 

Police said it appears the driver was involved in a dispute with two passengers, a man and a woman. The suspects were seen running away from the scene after the stabbing and are being sought by police.

No weapon was recovered.

Uro's sister-in-law told NBC 4 New York he was a hard-working immigrant from Nigeria who had been driving cabs since he moved to Brooklyn 10 years ago so that he could move his three daughters and two sons to America. He had just reunited with his children, thrilled to finally get them under one roof. 

"All he wanted to do was take care of his children," said Chinedum Agwu. "Make sure they eat, make sure there was a house, make sure they were just comfortable and just have the simple things of life."

"It's a very terrible incident. Who leaves their house to hurt someone?" 

The car is registered in New Jersey, but Uro last worked for a Brooklyn cab company called Freedom Car Service, police said. 

The livery cab drivers' union is offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the stabbing. Community leaders are contributing another $2,000.

New Jersey State Police have issued a carjacking alert for the Newark area after two cars, both Mercedes Benzes, were stolen in four days after being "bumped" from behind on Route 78.

In both cases, a 2013 Mercedes was struck from behind. When the drivers got out to inspect the damage, a second person from the other car jumped into the passengers seat of the victim's car and then both cars sped away, leaving the victim standing in the road.

The first bump-and-run theft happened on Tuesday at 10:45 a.m. when the luxury car was struck by a Chevy. The victim told police that both cars drove off and exited Route 78 at Exit 56, which goes to Newark.

The second carjacking happened at 6:20 a.m. on Friday when Mercedes CLS was bumped from behind by black Audi sedan.  When the victim went to the shoulder of the road to inspect the damage, two suspects exited the Audi and one jumped into the driver's seat.  When the victim tried to stop him, a third accomplice exited the Audi and charged at him.  The victim stopped struggling and both cars took off. 

Police ask anyone with information on these crimes to call the Somerville State Police Station at 908-725-0107.  Police also caution motorists who are struck from behind to "to think carefully about their response and take appropriate actions to maintain their safety."  Police offered this guidance:

• First, never stop your vehicle in the traveled part of the road unless it is disabled
   
• Next, call 911 to report the crash
   
• Look for signage to identify your location to police dispatchers. Especially useful are those green milepost markers that are placed every 1/10th mile on many highways.
   
• If you’re concerned that a minor crash may have been intentional, lock your doors and roll up your windows until police arrive. If your safety is still jeopardized, move your vehicle to a safer place and advise police of your location.