Jackie Presser Indictment Scandal - Health-related Trial Delays and Death

Health-related Trial Delays and Death

On January 12, 1987, Presser underwent successful surgery to remove two cancerous tumors on his lung. Presser's trial resumed two months later, with Presser's attorney claiming that the Department of Justice was hiding documents which confirmed Presser was authorized to engage in the payroll-padding scheme.

As the trial continued, Presser's health worsened. In late July 1987, Judge White granted an indefinite delay after Presser's lawyers turned over evidence that Presser's cancer had returned. The trial resumed in September.

Just a month later, however, Presser was so ill it was rumored he would step down as president of the Teamsters. Presser, who had gone to Phoenix, Arizona, for cancer treatment, was forced to issue a press release denying the rumors.

On January 6, 1988, Presser's attorneys asked for an indefinite delay in the trial in order to let Presser recuperate from his cancer treatment. Although trial was scheduled to resume February 15, Judge White agreed to move the trial date back to July 12. Government attorneys argued Presser was well enough for the trial to resume. But after a series of hearings, Judge White declined to resume the trial until July 12.

Presser's health continued to worsen. on May 4, 1988, Presser told the Teamsters' executive board that he would take a four month leave of absence. Weldon Mathis, the union's secretary-treasurer, took over as acting president. Presser's action came after doctors told him his cancer had returned and that he urgently needed additional chemotherapy. Judge White granted a delay to evaluate Presser's health, leaving the July 12 trial resumption date in jeopardy.

On May 4, 1988, Presser was hospitalized again. Doctors reported that Presser had brain cancer, that four tumors had been found, and that Presser had been flown from the Cleveland Clinic to Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix for treatment. Presser's diagnosis touched off a power struggle within the Teamsters over who would succeed him. Government attorneys conceded that it was now unlikely that Presser's trial would ever resume. Presser underwent a successful operation to remove one tumor on May 17. He later had a tumor removed from his pituitary gland.

On June 6, 1988, Judge White indefinitely postponed Presser's trial after doctors said the Teamster leader had only six months to live.

On June 27, Presser—who had returned to Cleveland—was rushed to Lakewood Hospital in serious condition. Initial reports indicated that he had suffered some sort of cardiac problem, but later tests determined he had a blood clot in his right lung.

Jackie Presser died late in the evening on July 9, 1988, from cardiac arrest brought on by a combination of cancer and heart trouble.

With his death, the scandal concerning his prosecution ended. Legal activity continued against the Teamsters union and several Teamster leaders, as well as certain FBI and DOJ agents and officials. But members of Congress, the press and the public lost interest in the prosecution of such "small fish," and the scandal died out.