Prosecutor Stresses Presser Aides’ Role in Trial’s Closing Arguments

Wrapping up a 2 1/2-month labor racketeering trial, a federal prosecutor argued Tuesday that Teamsters union President Jackie Presser and two associates embezzled $700,000 to pay “friends or cronies” who did no union work.

In closing arguments to jurors in U.S. District Court, prosecutor Stephen Jigger stressed the role of Presser’s associates in the alleged embezzlement scheme. Presser died last July, more than two years after his indictment in the case.

Harold Friedman, a Teamsters international vice president and Ohio’s most powerful Teamster, and Anthony Hughes, Teamsters Local 507 recording secretary, have been on trial since Oct. 24.

Called Dedicated Leader

An attorney for Friedman argued that his client is a dedicated labor leader who would not participate in such a scheme.

The trial included testimony from 80 witnesses, many of whom were asked detailed questions about day-to-day Teamsters operations.

Pretrial documents included revelations about Presser’s role as an FBI informant, saying he provided the bureau with information about the union and alleged links to organized crime.

Presser was the fourth of the last five Teamsters international presidents to be indicted; he had inherited the job from Roy Williams when Williams was sent to prison for conspiring to bribe a U.S. senator.

But Presser’s declining health caused repeated postponements of the trial, and his death from brain cancer left only Friedman and Hughes as co-defendants.

Two Racketeering Counts

Friedman, 66, is charged with two counts of labor racketeering, two of embezzlement and two of filing false reports with the Labor Department. He is president of the Ohio Conference of Teamsters, leader of Teamsters Joint Council 41 in northeast Ohio and president of both Teamsters Local 507 and Bakery Workers Local 19 in Cleveland.

Hughes, 52, is charged with two counts of labor racketeering and one of embezzlement. The government contends Hughes was a “ghost employee” at Bakery Workers Local 19, which is affiliated with Teamsters Local 507 and shares an office with it.

The case will go to the jury after closing arguments are completed and U.S. District Judge George W. White issues instructions on the law.