The lawyer who represented the disgraced and expelled Teamsters President Ron Carey in his 1996 reelection pled guilty Oct. 1 to one count of conspiracy for making false statements to a court-appointed officer. It’s the fifth guilty plea, with one indictment, in the money-laundering scheme which funneled over $538,000 into Carey’s campaign. Nathaniel Charney, of the labor law firm of Cohen, Weiss & Simon, admitted in U.S. Dist. Court in Manhattan to lying to former election officer Barbara Zack Quindel about contributions and to concealing that two employers had sent his law firm checks for the Carey campaign. It’s illegal for employers to contribute to union candidates. Reportedly, Charney vetted contributions to a special fund that took donations from non-Teamsters. He faces 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He acknowledged in court that he is cooperating with prosecutors, which implies that more indictments are likely. [N.Y. Times 10/2/98]
Hoekstra Investigation gets Hard-Won Documents
In last-minute talks, Teamsters’ lawyers agreed Oct. 1 to disclose documents to Rep. Peter Hoekstra’s (R-Mich.) Congressional probe of the union’s scandal-ridden 1996 election that wasted nearly $20 million of taxpayers’ money. Hoekstra’s subcommittee of the House Education & Workforce Committee was prepared to vote Oct. 2 to hold acting union President Tom Sever in contempt of Congress. The documents concern former Teamsters attorney Charles F.C. Ruff and detective Jack Palladino. Ruff is now the White House chief counsel. Palladino, who was hired by Ruff to work for the Teamsters, was employed by the Clinton-Gore ’92 campaign to control “bimbo eruptions.” Evidence uncovered by the probe found that the two were involved in digging up dirt on Ron Carey’s enemies. [Det. News 10/2/98]