U.S. Seeks to Ruin Him, Presser Case Ex-FBI Man Says

A former FBI supervisor fired for making false statements about his handling of Teamsters President Jackie Presser as an informant charged Wednesday that the Justice Department “is intent on ruining” him if it cannot convict him on criminal charges.

Robert S. Friedrick, who was fired by the FBI last year, urged the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals here to uphold a lower court’s ruling that threw out damaging admissions he had made about the Presser investigation on grounds that they were involuntary.

Friedrick oversaw the informant work of Presser, who for more than a decade provided the FBI with information about alleged mob ties to the Teamsters Union. Friedrick and Presser have been indicted separately on charges stemming from a scheme involving the payment of union funds to “ghost employees” who did no work for the Teamsters.

In a brief filed with the appellate court, Friedrick contended that the government, instead of dealing with the merits of his case, has begun “a character attack” against him and “has taken unlicensed liberties with the record through the use of misstated, unproven and irrelevant facts.

“The rationale for such a strategy can only be the hope that the prejudice caused will compensate for the government’s otherwise bankrupt legal and factual position,” Friedrick’s attorney, William D. Beyer, said in the brief.

Beyer said the government’s allegation that Friedrick “was somehow motivated by personal gain in dealing with Jackie Presser” was “the most offensive” part of the brief it filed with the court last month. In that document, the government said Friedrick had admitted that a top Presser aide had promised him financial support if he were fired from the FBI or sent to jail.

The government said Friedrick told also of accepting “innumerable” personal favors from Presser and the aide, Anthony Hughes, in the five years that he handled Presser’s informant work. The government has acknowledged that Hughes also was an FBI informant.

“Besides being a blatant distortion of the record, of what possible relevance is such ‘fact’ to the issue” of whether Friedrick’s admissions were voluntary or improperly coerced by the government? Beyer asked.

“This is a gratuitous attack, designed specifically for media consumption, and leads to the chilling conclusion that the government is intent on ruining the defendant if it cannot prevail on the legal issues,” Friedrick’s brief said.

In his only direct comment on Hughes’ alleged promise of financial support, Friedrick said he told government officials who questioned him about the incident “that he did not take the remark seriously.” When asked about Friedrick’s comments, Justice Department spokesman John Russell said: “Our response will be made to the court.”

Friedrick sharply disputed the government’s statement that he had admitted that he “concocted” the story that Presser had been authorized by FBI agents to pay “ghost employees” on his hometown Teamster local’s payroll.

The Justice Department’s belief that such authorization had been given led to its 1985 decision to drop plans to prosecute Presser on labor fraud charges. The department later determined that the authorization had not been given, and a federal grand jury in Cleveland indicted Presser and two Teamsters associates on charges of misusing $700,000 in union funds.

Presser’s trial, initially scheduled to begin this month, has been postponed until fall.

“Nowhere in (Friedrick’s) statement did he say he ‘concocted’ the story,” Beyer told the appeals court. “The government has carefully chosen the word concocted , with all of its pejorative connotations, to augment its scheme to portray defendant as dishonorable and therefore unworthy of justice.”

Most of Friedrick’s statements during interviews by FBI agents and Justice Department attorneys remain under court seal. Government sources have said they want to avoid disclosing the information because it could hamper investigation of others for possible involvement in the alleged attempt to block prosecution of Presser.

Friedrick’s trial on charges of lying to Justice Department investigators about authorizing Presser to pay employees of his hometown local linked to organized crime has been delayed until the former FBI supervisor’s appeal is decided.