Jackie Presser - Final Indictment and Death

Final Indictment and Death

The 1981 investigation into Presser's payroll-padding at Local 507 finally led to a decision by the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute Presser in June 1984. Five days later, the Los Angeles Times named Presser as a U.S. government criminal informant. The report quoted unnamed FBI sources, making this the first time that government officials had confirmed the unverified accusations of mob informants and other reports.

But nearly a year passed before any prosecutorial action was taken. During this time, the Justice Department debated whether to protect Presser as a source or prosecute him. Finally, on May 16, 1985, top Justice Department officials ordered federal attorneys to drop their prosecution of Presser over concerns that his extensive cooperation with the government would be revealed.

Outraged members of Congress demanded an investigation into the handling of the politically sensitive case. Over the next year, Senate investigators learned that FBI field agents had not kept FBI officials fully informed of their actions, that FBI field agents may have improperly approved illegal actions, and that FBI officials did not keep DOJ and DOL officials fully informed of their relationship with Presser.

Presser's attorneys claimed that the FBI had given him permission to initiate and maintain the payroll-padding scheme as a means of shielding him from mob suspicions. Such permission, which is permitted under FBI and DOJ rules and federal law, should bar prosecution, Presser's lawyers argued.

Federal grand juries in Cleveland and Washington, D.C., soon opened investigations into the FBI's handling of the Presser case as well as whether the promises made by FBI agents had been authorized. Justice Department leaders eventually undertook a prosecution of one of the FBI field agents who handled Presser, claiming that he had not been authorized to give Presser permission to engage in the payroll-padding scheme.

In May 1986, federal prosecutors again indicted Jackie Presser for fraud.

Presser's declining health caused numerous delays in his trial. He had surgery to remove two cancerous tumors in January 1987. His cancer returned in June 1987, and he spent several months undergoing chemotherapy and recuperating. He underwent surgery again in the fall of 1987 to remove another cancerous tumor. He suffered additional heart and pituitary gland problems throughout the winter and spring of 1988.

On May 4, 1988, Jackie Presser told the Teamsters executive board that he was taking a four-month leave of absence due to his health problems. Weldon Mathis was named the union's acting president.

Presser was diagnosed with a brain tumor 10 days later, and underwent surgery to have the tumor removed. Presser went home, but was re-admitted to the hospital on June 27 suffering from cardiac problems, a blood clot in his lung and pituitary gland dysfunction.

Jackie Presser died in Cleveland on the evening of Saturday, July 9, 1988. He was three weeks shy of his 62nd birthday. The proximate cause of death was cardiac arrest, a complication of his cancer and ongoing cardiac problems.

Hours after Presser's funeral on July 12, Teamster leaders met a nearby restaurant and agreed to support William J. McCarthy as his successor.