Record
Court opinion
1990-08-27
CourtListener (Free Law Project), text of the opinion
United States v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 745 F. Supp. 908 (S.D.N.Y. 1990): Application XII (Senese, Talerico and Cozzo)
The court upheld the Independent Administrator's decision of 12 July 1990 imposing lifetime suspensions from the Teamsters on three Chicago union officials, on charges that included knowingly associating with members of La Cosa Nostra.
- Date
- 1990-08-27
- Kind
- court-opinion
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-12
- Docket
- 88 Civ. 4486 (DNE) (S.D.N.Y.); 745 F. Supp. 908
- Rights
- Opinion of a United States court. Works of the federal judiciary are in the public domain in the United States (17 U.S.C. § 105). The text was read on CourtListener (Free Law Project).
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge David N. Edelstein, decided 27 August 1990. Application XII asked the court to review “the July 12, 1990 Opinion of the Independent Administrator,” who had held disciplinary hearings on charges brought by the Investigations Officer, Charles M. Carberry, against three officers: Dominic Senese, Joseph Talerico and James Cozzo. The Administrator found just cause and “imposed lifetime suspensions from the IBT.”
The opinion states the charges as follows. Senese, president of Local 703 in Chicago, was charged with belonging to and knowingly associating with members of La Cosa Nostra, “including Joseph Aiuppa, John Cerone, and others.” Talerico, a business agent of Local 727, was charged with having been held in contempt for refusing to answer questions before a federal grand jury “investigating the skimming of funds from a Las Vegas casino,” and with associating with Joseph Aiuppa and Philip Ponto. Cozzo, formerly of Local 786, was charged with membership and with associating with Joseph Lombardo. In reviewing the evidence the court notes testimony by Angelo Lonardo that placed Senese with Aiuppa, “the boss of the Chicago organized crime family,” and Cerone, “that organization’s underboss.”
The court upheld the decision. This was an internal union disciplinary proceeding under the Consent Decree, decided on a “just cause” standard and reviewed for arbitrariness. It is not a criminal conviction, and this page states the charges only as the opinion states them. The Second Circuit affirmed as to Senese and Talerico in 941 F.2d 1292.
