Presser Embezzling Trial Set for Feb. 15

A federal judge Tuesday set Feb. 15 as a trial date for Teamsters leader Jackie Presser on labor racketeering and embezzlement charges.

Presser, 60, was indicted in May, 1986, on charges that he masterminded a $700,000 scheme to place on the payroll of Cleveland’s Teamsters Local 507 several people, including his uncle, who performed no work for the 5,000-member local.

Presser, secretary-treasurer of Local 507, became Teamsters president in 1983 and was reelected in 1986, less than a week after he was indicted on two counts of labor racketeering, one count of embezzlement and two counts of filing false government reports.

His lawyers have said he was authorized by the FBI to keep “ghost employees” on the local’s payroll to maintain organized crime contacts in his role as an FBI informant. Presser did not attend the Tuesday hearing.

U.S. District Judge George W. White earlier rejected motions for dismissal of charges.