Judge Upholds Charge Against Teamsters Chief

Teamsters Union President William McCarthy “furthered an act of racketeering” when he awarded $3.8 million in union printing business to a firm owned by his son-in-law, a federal judge in New York ruled in an opinion released Thursday.

U.S. District Judge David Edelstein, who signed the 1989 consent decree that put the Teamsters under federal supervision, upheld the findings of a report made in February by the union’s court-appointed administrator, Frederick Lacey.

The report does not represent a criminal charge. Lacey, who oversees the union’s daily operations under the consent decree, has the power to suspend or expel Teamsters from the union if the union’s court-appointed investigations office finds that they have committed acts that are harmful to the union’s reputation. No such finding has yet been made in the McCarthy case.

In Orlando, Fla., where the union will begin its national convention Monday, four vice presidents battling for control of the union called on their fellow executive board members to immediately remove McCarthy from office.

“McCarthy’s use of union funds . . . compels us to remove him from office,” said union Vice President Walter Shea, who was fired by McCarthy as an executive assistant and is running for president. Another union vice president, R.V. Durham, is running for president on a slate backed by McCarthy.

McCarthy, 72, announced last year that he would not seek another term because of poor health. He was not available for comment.

Lacey’s investigation found that McCarthy, who heads a local in Boston in addition to serving as president, gave preferential treatment to his son-in-law, Thomas Treacy of Sudbury, Mass.

The union later agreed to rebid the printing contract.