An independent investigations officer ruled that the second-highest official at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is guilty of obstructing an official probe into corruption at the union.
The Teamsters called the charge “baseless” and an attempt to interfere in the Teamsters’ leadership election, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New York has sided with the officer and called on the courts to force the union to comply with the investigation.
At issue in the dispute are internal Teamsters emails that Joseph diGenova, the official in charge of carrying out a 1989 court-ordered consent decree to monitor the Teamsters for corruption and a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, had requested that the union turn over. After repeated requests for them were rebuffed, diGenova demanded on Monday that Teamsters President James Hoffa take action against his second-in-command, General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall.
“The independent investigations officer recommends to the general president that a charge be filed against Ken Hall, the general secretary-treasurer, for bringing reproach upon the IBT and violating its and his legal obligations by engaging in conduct that violated the permanent injunction entered in United States v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters,” the letter to Hoffa said.
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The Teamsters said in a letter mailed Thursday to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that diGenova’s allegations were “baseless” and were interferring with the Teamsters election. The union said it would request a protective order from the court to overrule diGenova.
“The [independent investigations officer’s] surprise attack interferes with the ongoing election, jeopardizes the working relationship between the [officer] and [the Teamsters], and renders farcical the independent disciplinary mechanism of the final order,” Teamsters attorney Viet Dingh said.
The same day, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara urged the court to enforce diGenova’s request and provide all requested documents, saying that under the consent decree, the union had no grounds to refuse it. “The union’s conduct in this regard is unprecedented (and dangerous),” Bharara said.
Under the terms of the consent decree, part of a 1989 settlement with the federal government intended to rid the union of corruption, the Teamsters president has 90 days to respond to the letter and explain what actions are being taken to address it. If the independent investigations officer decides those actions are not sufficient, the officer is authorized to overrule Hoffa and order remedial action.
DiGenova’s letter confirms that his office is running an extensive corruption investigation involving financial improprieties by the union’s top officials. He had requested that Hall provide emails from William C. Smith, Hoffa’s executive assistant, and Nicole Brener-Schmitz, the union’s political director, dating back to 2013.
“Hall’s failure to provide specific reasons for his shielding specific documents from review continued throughout the (investigation) process. The inescapable conclusion was that the secretary-treasurer engaged in conduct to prevent the [independent investigations officer] from examining, among other things, the relationship among high-ranking Teamsters, including himself and other fund trustees, and a facilitator for a vendor who received large contracts from Teamster funds,” diGenova stated in the letter to Hoffa.
“Hall’s violation of his obligations under the Final Agreement and Order and its Rules is analogous to a charge of criminal contempt for failure to comply with a subpoena,” he added.
The letter comes at an awkward time for Hoffa, who is running for re-election and has backed Hall’s bid for another term as general secretary. The election is being done through a mail-in ballot. The deadline to mail in ballots is Nov. 14.
Teamsters spokesman Brett Caldwell told the Washington Examiner that the charges were “politically motivated” as well as lacking merit. Caldwell said the dispute centered on “roughly 50 emails” that have not been turned over. “Mr. diGenova was on the record saying that these remaining emails could be handled through discussions by the parties. With his ‘October Surprise’ action against Mr. Hall, [diGenova] has not only reneged on these promises, but also laid bare a deliberate attempt to undermine the IBT and the integrity of its elections,” Caldwell said.
It was not clear what political interest diGenova would have in the outcome of the Teamsters election. Caldwell did not immediately respond to a follow-up request.
Hoffa’s critics said the union’s lack of cooperation with the independent investigations officer showed the depth of the problems with the current leadership.
“The fact that Hall is willing to risk expulsion from his lucrative and powerful post indicates how important the cover-up is to Hoffa and his inner circle. Hall was charged – and not yet Hoffa – because the general secretary-treasurer has control of all the union’s files and records,” said Teamsters for a Democratic Union, a dissident group within the union opposed to Hoffa’s leadership. The group has said that Hoffa has tried to hide the investigation from rank-and-file members.
• This story has been updated to include reactions by the Teamsters and the filings of the US Attorney’s Office.
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