Presser Called a Major Civic Force

Teamsters President Jackie Presser was praised at his funeral Tuesday as a major civic force in Cleveland and as a “tough guy” with heart.

The Executive Committee of the Teamsters Union and about 800 other people listened as Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) commended Presser for his appearances before a Senate committee.

“He wanted people to know that there were people in the Teamsters willing to stand up and face the public,” said Hatch, who was chairman of the hearings before the Labor and Human Relations Committee. Presser, he said, “was a tough guy but one with a heart.”

Among those greeting guests as they arrived for the service at Berkowitz-Kumin Chapel was Harold Friedman, international vice president and president of Presser’s own Local 507. Friedman was charged with Presser in a $700,000 payroll-padding scheme at Local 507 and is awaiting trial.

Presser, 61, who died Saturday, was a defendant in a U.S. District Court lawsuit filed two weeks ago in an attempt by the federal government to take over the Teamsters and rid the union of alleged Mafia domination.

Cleveland Mayor George Voinovich described Presser as a major civic force in Cleveland.