Jackie Presser - Bid For Presidency

Bid For Presidency

In February 1983, Presser was re-elected to the international union's policy committee.

Just two months later, Roy Williams was convicted for conspiring to bribe U.S. Senator Howard Cannon. Williams announced he would resign as Teamsters president while appealing his conviction.

Williams' conviction was no surprise to Presser. Beginning in 1979, Presser began providing the Justice Department with extensive information on Williams. It was Presser who had turned over the critical evidence which showed Williams had arranged to give Sen. Cannon a parcel of land as a bribe to defeat trucking deregulation legislation.

Press reports at the time claimed that a ferocious fight erupted over Williams' successor. Williams' resignation came just 15 days before the Teamster convention, at which a successor would have to be elected. In addition to Presser, other candidates for the presidency were reported to be M.E. (Andy) Anderson, president of the statewide Teamsters organization in California; Joseph Morgan, president of the Teamsters in Florida; Don Peters, president of the large Teamsters local in Chicago; and Ray Schoessling, secretary-treasurer of the international Teamsters union and a Williams appointee. The press reported that Presser had formed an alliance with Anderson, which gave him enough votes to win the presidency.

In fact, no internal fight existed. Instead, mafia families in Chicago, Cleveland and various cities on the East Coast had met shortly after Williams' resignation announcement and picked Presser to lead the Teamsters. Initially, organized crime figures did not prefer Presser. But mob leaders Angelo Lonardo, Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, and Milton "Maishe" Rockman (Scalish's brother-in-law) met with mafia officials throughout the country to build support for a Presser presidency. The final decision was made at a meeting in a Chicago hotel attended by Jackie Cerone, Aiuppa, Lonardo and Rockman. Presser himself informed the FBI shortly after the mob meeting that he "had the support of all the East Coast families" and that he would be the next Teamsters' president.

Jackie Presser was elected president of the Teamsters on April 21, 1983. He pledged to re-invigorate the union, organize new members, and end trucking deregulation. He also said he had no opinion as to whether the Teamsters should rejoin the AFL-CIO.

Shortly after his election, Presser told his FBI contacts that anyone who sought to do business with him needed to go through the mafia first.

Presser's biggest opponent within the Teamsters was actually William J. McCarthy, president of Joint Council 10 (which covered all Teamster locals in New England). In an attempt to discredit McCarthy, Presser told the FBI that McCarthy had sought the support of organized crime in an unsuccessful attempt to persuade Presser to appoint him secretary-treasurer in 1983.

Reports later showed that Presser was paid more than a half million dollars in salary in 1983 (the year of his election to the presidency). He received $216,000 as secretary-treasurer and executive officer of Local 507; $42,500 as vice chairman of the Ohio Conference of Teamsters; and $59,500 as president of Teamsters Joint Council 41 in Ohio. His presidential salary was $216,000 a year.