Case Against Presser Shaken by Appeals Court

The government’s perjury case against former FBI supervisor Robert S. Friedrick, who was accused of lying in the investigation of Teamsters Union President Jackie Presser, was left in shambles Friday by a federal appeals court decision.

A three-judge panel in the District of Columbia unanimously upheld a 1986 decision by U.S. District Judge George H. Revercomb, who suppressed damaging admissions made by Friedrick to federal investigators on grounds that Friedrick’s statements were involuntary.

Besides blocking the prosecution of Friedrick, the appellate court decision also weakens the government’s case against Presser, who is scheduled to stand trial in Cleveland on July 12 on charges of labor racketeering and misappropriation of funds.

Prosecutors had hoped to convict Friedrick and use him as a government witness against Presser, who is accused of misspending $700,000 in union funds to keep Mafia-related “ghost employees” on the Teamsters payroll.

Secret Dealings With Presser

Friedrick was one of three Cleveland-based FBI agents who dealt secretly with Presser over a 10-year period while the union chieftain served as a confidential FBI informant on organized crime. Presser’s lawyers have contended that the FBI authorized Presser to keep certain non-working employees on the payroll to maintain his contacts with organized criminal elements.

Friedrick has been a key figure in the case because he told investigators in early 1986 that he had lied in making previous claims that he knew Presser had been authorized by the FBI to hire “ghost employees.”

But the appellate judges agreed with Revercomb that Friedrick’s admissions about his previous lies could not be used against him. The judges found that Justice Department investigators had tricked Friedrick into making these admissions and had failed to advise him of his right to remain silent and to hire an attorney.

The appeals court said that Friedrick originally was questioned under a grant of immunity from prosecution for what he might say but that investigators later tricked him by obtaining self-incriminating statements from him without having him sign an immunity form. This violated rules of elemental fairness, the court said.

Loses Value as Witness

Thus, Friedrick’s statements may be inadmissible at Presser’s trial. And since he has said privately that the Justice Department misconstrued some of his statements, it is questionable if the department would even want to call him as a witness against Presser.

However, while voiding Friedrick’s admissions as illegally obtained, the court found that Friedrick indeed had told “a calculated lie” to investigators that had the effect of temporarily throwing the prosecution of Presser off course.

Two other FBI men--retired agent Martin P. McCann and agent Patrick Foran, now based in Las Vegas--submitted sworn affidavits in 1985 saying that they personally encouraged Presser to hire some “ghosts.”

But neither McCann nor Foran have been charged with lying, presumably because no potential “inside” witness exists, other than Friedrick, to provide evidence for such a charge.

William D. Beyer, Friedrick’s lawyer, said that the appellate court decision destroys the government’s case against his client, who was fired from the FBI in August, 1986. FBI officials attributed his dismissal to “administrative reasons” and not to the criminal charges then pending against Friedrick.

Department Declines Comment

Justice Department lawyers declined immediate comment on the appeals court ruling or on whether they would appeal to the Supreme Court.

Friedrick’s admission of having lied about his dealings with Presser was a key reason the department decided in May, 1986, to proceed with an indictment of the Teamster leader. The departme1853104233against Presser after his lawyer contended it would discover that FBI agents had authorized Presser’s actions and that Presser, therefore, was without criminal intent.

But the appellate court ruling, in describing Friedrick’s lie, said that the Justice Department decision to postpone charges against Presser was conceived in error.

The court said the department’s “understanding that Presser had been authorized by the FBI to employ ‘phantom employees’ was entirely in error.

“That misapprehension was the product of a calculated lie by Friedrick, who persuasively maintained to investigators that there had been authorizations when, in fact, there were none.”

Lawyer Hails Decision

John R. Climaco, Presser’s lawyer and the Teamster Union’s general counsel, nonetheless hailed the appellate court decision.

“It is unfortunate that Mr. Friedrick and his family had to undergo this terribly debilitating experience simply for being a loyal American and doing his job,” Climaco said in a statement.

“The Department of Justice should be embarrassed that it took this action against one of its own. . . .We look forward to a similar result in the Jackie Presser case.”