10 Reputed Mafiosi Agree to Avoid Ties to Teamsters

Federal prosecutors have quietly scored a significant breakthrough in their Teamsters Union anti-corruption drive by obtaining court-approved agreements from 10 reputed Mafia leaders to avoid any future dealings with the giant union, it was learned Wednesday.

The agreements, filed in U.S. District Court in New York but not announced publicly, are the first concrete results from the landmark anti-racketeering lawsuit filed by the Justice Department against the Teamsters last June.

Legal experts said that the development is significant because it gives the government all of what it sought against these defendants--a legal ban against any further contacts by the 10, either directly or through associates, with the union.

Case Streamlined

At the same time, it streamlines the government’s case against the remaining defendants--16 top Teamster leaders, 16 other reputed Mafia figures and the union as a whole--by reducing the number of persons disputing Mafia influence over the Teamsters.

The prosecution is now “more manageable and less expensive for the government,” said a federal official who asked not to be named. “It also gives us a remedy we wanted. It keeps proven bad guys out of the union . . . .”

Under the civil agreement, known as a “consent judgment,” the 10 defendants made no admission of guilt and are spared the rigors of the trial, which is expected to begin in February. However, if they violate the pledge, they could be open to criminal prosecution for contempt of court. Most already are serving prison sentences for other convictions.

Trusteeship Sought

In its unprecedented action against the Teamsters under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the Justice Department contends that the Teamsters Union is heavily influenced by organized crime and is no longer responsibly serving the interests of its membership. It seeks the court-ordered ouster of the Teamsters’ top management, placement of the union under court trusteeship and injunctions barring certain alleged Mafia figures from any contact with the union or its officers.

Among those who have signed the consent judgments are Milton (Maishe) Rockman, the twice-convicted financier of the Cleveland Mafia who was close to late Teamsters President Jackie Presser; convicted Chicago mobsters Joey Aiuppa and Jackie Cerone; convicted Kansas City racketeers Carl Angelo DeLuna and Carl (Corky) Civella, and reputed New York crime bosses Salvatore Santoro and Christopher Furnari Sr.

Other underworld figures who have signed similar agreements are Eugene Boffa Sr., a convicted bank fraud artist; Frank Manzo, convicted racketeer close to two New York City Teamster locals, and Anthony Thomas Civella, convicted of conspiracy in 1984 in connection with assets of the now-reformed Teamsters Central States Pension Fund.

In addition to avoiding contacts with the union, the 10 agreed not to own or operate any business that employs Teamster members.

Some Ignoring Lawsuit

Regarding other Mafia defendants who have not signed consent agreements, Assistant U.S. Atty. Randy M. Mastro is asking the court to grant summary or default judgments against them to achieve the same result. Many have not responded to the government’s lawsuit, Mastro said.

In a related matter, the pensions of a number of Teamster international vice presidents have effectively been frozen pending disposition of the lawsuit, according to sources close to the case. A restraining order signed by a federal judge provides that “no one can alter the status of any Teamster asset” except for expenditures needed for the day-to-day business of the union, one official said.

Some aging Teamster leaders thus may have to postpone retirement plans until the lawsuit is concluded, the source said.