Jackie Presser (August 6, 1926 – July 9, 1988) was an American labor leader and president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1983 until his death in 1988. He was closely connected to organized crime, and allegedly became president of the Teamsters based on the approval and support of the Cleveland crime family. From 1972 until his death, he was also an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning Mafia influence in the Teamsters union.
Early life Presser was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1926. His grandfather, a Jewish emigrant from Austria, became a garment worker, and was active in and participated in several strikes led by various garment makers' unions in New York City. Presser's father, William (Bill) Presser, was at the time of Jackie's birth a Teamster organizer. The Pressers were very poor: Bill Presser stuffed newspapers into shoes to block holes in the uppers and strengthen worn-out soles. The family often moved into an apartment at the beginning of the month and out again at the end of the month because the Pressers could not afford the rent.Barron, "Jackie Presser Is Dead at 61," New York Times, July 10, 1988.
Bill Presser was however a protege of Jimmy Hoffa and quickly rose within the local, regional and international Teamsters ranks. He was elected president of the Ohio Conference of Teamsters and eventually a vice president of the international union. Bill Presser was also intimately connected with the Cleveland mob.Lindsey, "Nixon Plays Golf With Fitzsimmons at Resort Built With Teamster Loans," New York Times, October 10, 1975.Serrin, "Jackie Presser's Secret Lives Detailed In Government Files," New York Times, March 27, 1989.Yost, "Presser's Career A Parade of Sharp Changes In Fortune," Associated Press, May 16, 1986.
Presser's childhood, by his own account, was a happy one. However, he was deeply influenced by his family's poverty and the anti-semitic prejudice he often encountered.
Presser dropped out of school in the middle of the eighth grade. Using his father's connections, he got a job delivering jukeboxes to local restaurants and bars.Tucker, "Presser Helped By Father In Teamsters Rise," Associated Press, April 21, 1983.
Presser enlisted in the United States Navy in 1943 when he was 17, and served in World War II. After the war, Presser returned to Cleveland and got a job as a truck driver for a vending machine company.
After a year as a truck driver, Presser was hired as a union organizer by Local 10, a Cleveland affiliate of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union. In 1948, Presser was elected president of Local 10. He merged his local with four other local unions in order to improve the workers' collective bargaining position. He also began receiving a markedly larger salary, and spending large amounts of money on travel and automobiles. He wore pinky rings and diamond bracelets, and became notorious for wearing loud, brightly colored sports jackets. He also began to gain substantial amounts of weight, a health problem he would fight for the rest of his life. In 1952, Presser lost re-election as union president after members became dissatisfied with his colorful and lavish lifestyle.
Early Teamsters career In 1952, Jackie Presser was hired as an organizer by the international Teamsters union and held a series of staff jobs for the next 12 years. Presser's break came in 1964, when he and his father brokered a real estate deal in suburban Cleveland for a group of local investors (which included himself). The investors built an upscale sports club and restaurant on the property secured by a $1.1 million loan from the Teamsters' Central States Pension Fund. The project went bankrupt, however, and the pension fund lost more than $265,000.
Presser also undertook a personal transformation at this time. He stopped wearing flashy rings and loud clothing and began expressing a taste for expensive, conservative, tailored suits. He also undertook a series of diets in an unsuccessful attempt to lose weight (he weighed close to 140 kg [300 pounds] for the rest of his life).
In 1966, Bill Presser gave his son Jackie a charter to form a new Teamsters local in Cleveland. Jackie Presser organized 12 workers at a local paint company and established Local 507. Presser hired a number of organizers, and Local 507 quickly organized 6,000 workers in dozens of plants and warehouses in the Cleveland area -— making Local 507 the largest Teamster local in the metropolitan area."Man In the News: A Blend Reflected In Light and Shadows: Jackie Presser," New York Times, April 22, 1983.
Bill and Jackie Presser were soon some of the most powerful men in the Teamsters union. By 1972, the father-son combination led the Ohio Conference of Teamsters. Jackie Presser quickly helped make the Ohio Conference a model within the Teamsters for providing social services, engaging in union-member communications, and undertaking effective political activity. Both Pressers were also trustees of the Teamster's Central States Pension Fund, one of the richest and most influential pension plans in the nation."Jackie Presser: New Teamsters President," United Press International, April 21, 1983.
Jackie Presser was elected an international vice president of the Teamsters in 1976. His father was forced to resign his vice presidency after he was convicted of extortion and obstruction of justice. According to court testimony, Bill Presser and the Cleveland mob agreed to nominate Jackie as Bill's successor. Bill met with Roy Lee Williams, then president of the Central Conference of Teamsters, a regional council which controlled union locals in 14 Midwestern states, including Ohio. Williams, who was working with the Kansas City crime family, agreed to help Presser convince Teamster President Fitzsimmons to make Jackie a vice president. Jackie Presser's subsequent election was unanimous.Serrin, "Teamster Presidency Race Narrows," New York Times, April 20, 1983.Frantz, "Williams Points Finger at Presser," Chicago Tribune, November 3, 1985.Dembart, "Teamster Aide Quits Vice President Post," New York Times, October 9, 1976.
As an international vice president, Presser urged the Teamsters to root out corruption and pushed for a massive public relations campaign to improve the union's image. In 1977, the Teamsters built a large public relations operation at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Presser soon won authorization for a $250,000-a-year advertising campaign, and the union began sponsoring football games on the radio.
However, that same year, Presser, Fitzsimmons, and 17 other Teamster leaders were forced to resign as trustees of the Central States Pension Fund. The Department of Justice had charged Presser and others with making improper loans to mob-controlled Las Vegas casinos, racetracks and real estate investments. In 1978, Presser was named a defendant in a civil suit brought by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), which sought damages and reimbursement on behalf of union retirees.Dobkin, "U.S. Sues to Recover Pension Fund Losses In Teamster Plan," Associated Press, February 1, 1978.
By 1979, Presser was making $231,676 a year. He drew a salary as both secretary-treasurer of Local 507 and as an international vice president of the union."25 Teamster Officials Made More Than $100,000, Group Says," Associated Press, June 23, 1980.
Becoming an FBI informant Jackie Presser, along with his father and Teamsters President Frank Fitzsimmons, became informers for the federal government in 1972. Bill Presser had been indicted by the federal government on charges of bribery, embezzlement and other charges. Jimmy Hoffa, meanwhile, had been released from federal prison and was seeking to regain the presidency of the Teamsters. The three men offered the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) incriminating evidence about Hoffa and other rivals in the Teamsters union. The Pressers agreed to supply their evidence if the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) would drop its indictment against the senior Presser. Unbeknownst to Fitzsimmons, the Pressers told the IRS that they had evidence of illegal activities by Fitzsimmons as well. The IRS was not receptive to the offers, and DOJ refused to drop its indictment of Bill Presser (some charges were eventually dropped, and Bill Presser was found innocent of others). Angry at the government's refusal, Fitzsimmons allegedly contacted White House chief counsel Charles Colson (who was the Nixon administration's liaison to labor groups) and sought a meeting with President Richard Nixon. Embarrassed, IRS and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents subsequently interviewed Jackie Presser in late 1972. Presser's information was verified, and Presser spent the rest of his life as an FBI informer.Lardner, "Teamsters' Presser Led Two Lives As He Rose to the Top of the Union," Washington Post, April 26, 1986; "Document Says Presser Helped FBI Since '70s," United Press International, November 26, 1987; Jackson and Ostrow, "Presser Tipped FBI On 69 Persons, Records Show," Los Angeles Times, December 3, 1987.
Presser began receiving $2,500 a month (roughly $12,500 in 2007 dollars) from the FBI for providing information. Presser was considered a "top-echelon informant", marking him as one of the Bureau's most prized sources.Jackson and Ostrow, "Presser Faces Prospect of New Federal Charges," Los Angeles Times, April 24, 1986.
Shortly thereafter, Presser allegedly received permission from two FBI agents to pad the Local 507 payroll with fake employees. The individuals hired as "ghost employees" were not required to do any work but nevertheless received substantial paychecks. The paychecks, it was later claimed, were a way of funneling payments to Teamsters officials and members of the Cleveland mob.
Involvement with the Mafia According to court records, in 1974 Jackie Presser became deeply involved in Mafia affairs. He allegedly told the leaders of the Chicago crime family that he was willing to do them favors in exchange for money and assistance. Jimmy "The Weasel" Fratianno, a former hitman in the Cleveland crime family and later acting head of the Los Angeles crime family, later testified that Chicago crime boss Joseph Aiuppa told him in 1974 that "if you need anything from Jackie Presser, he said he'll do it for you." Fratianno also testified that he colluded with Presser to set up a union dental program whose profits were skimmed into the bank accounts of Presser and the Mafia.
Organizationally, however, Presser was under the control of the Cleveland crime family.Parry, "Reagan Unaware Appointee Had Reputed Crime Links," Associated Press, December 16, 1980.Koziol, "Witness Tells of Presser Offer to Mob," Chicago Tribune, December 20, 1985; Turner, "Documents Show Strong Ties Between Organized Crime and 2 Top Teamsters," New York Times, September 29, 1980.