# Labor racketeering Canonical: https://mobfiles.org/labor/ Federal records of organized crime in American unions: the 1953 Detroit report and the McClellan Committee, the Hoffa prosecutions and the 1971 clemency grant, the Teamsters Pension Fund, the 1988 Teamsters civil RICO case and its Consent Decree, the New York waterfront, the Fulton Fish Market, the carpenters and the Javits Center, and the reports of the 1970s and 1980s. This section gathers federal records of organized crime in labor unions: congressional hearings and reports, court opinions, a presidential clemency grant, FBI and Justice Department releases, and photographs marked "No known restrictions on publication." Each record's page says what that record says and what kind of statement it is. A committee's finding, a commission's characterization, a charge and a court's judgment are labelled as what they are. No name from these records is placed on a family chart. People with pages in this section: [James R. Hoffa](/people/james-r-hoffa/), [Dave Beck](/people/dave-beck/), [Roy L. Williams](/people/roy-l-williams/), [Frank Fitzsimmons](/people/frank-fitzsimmons/), [Jackie Presser](/people/jackie-presser/), [Allen Dorfman](/people/allen-dorfman/), [Anthony Provenzano](/people/anthony-provenzano/) and [Anthony M. Scotto](/people/anthony-m-scotto/). ## Hoffa The earliest congressional record of Hoffa's testimony filed here is the [House report on racketeering in the Detroit area](/items/house-1954-detroit-racketeering-report/), on hearings of June 1953. It finds that Teamsters Local 985 built a jukebox monopoly with Hoffa's "cognizance and approval." - His prosecutions: the Supreme Court's opinion in [Hoffa v. United States](/items/courtlistener-hoffa-v-united-states-385-us-293/) (1966), the Sixth Circuit's [Chattanooga jury-tampering decision](/items/courtlistener-us-v-hoffa-349-f2d-20/) (1965), and the Seventh Circuit's [Pension Fund fraud decision](/items/courtlistener-us-v-hoffa-367-f2d-698/) (1966). - [The Executive Grant of Clemency of 23 December 1971](/items/nara-258225384-hoffa-clemency-1971/), signed by President Nixon, with both pages stored. It commuted his sentence on condition that he not manage a union before 6 March 1980. [Hoffa v. Saxbe](/items/courtlistener-hoffa-v-saxbe-378-f-supp-1221/) (1974) upheld the condition and records his entry into Lewisburg on 7 March 1967. - His disappearance: the FBI release of 3 August 1975 in [Vault Part 01](/items/fbi-vault-hoffa-part-01/), [Vault Part 02](/items/fbi-vault-hoffa-part-02/), the [Ford White House counsel's folder](/items/nara-4520501-ford-hoffa-disappearance-file/), and [FBI Detroit's release of 31 July 2025](/items/fbi-detroit-hoffa-50th-anniversary-2025/), which says the investigation remains active. - Photographs: [at the witness table in August 1957](/items/loc-2017657582-hoffa-1957-08-20/), [taking the oath in 1961](/items/loc-2026160448-jimmy-hoffa-oath-1961/), [testifying in 1961](/items/loc-2026160449-jimmy-hoffa-testifying-1961/), [holding papers in 1961](/items/loc-2026162330-jimmy-hoffa-papers-select-committee-1961/) and [with reporters in 1963](/items/loc-2022632583-hoffa-reporters-1963/). ## The McClellan Committee, 1957 to 1960 The Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field was created by [Senate Resolution 74](/items/mcclellan-part-1-s-res-74-1957/) in January 1957. Its hearings are records of questions and answers, and its reports are congressional findings, not court findings. - [Part 5](/items/mcclellan-part-5-beck-1957-03-26/), March 1957: Dave Beck declines to answer. - [Part 10](/items/mcclellan-part-10-new-york-locals-1957/), July 1957: the New York series opens. - [Part 13](/items/mcclellan-part-13-hoffa-1957-08-20/), August 1957: Hoffa's first testimony. - [Part 37](/items/mcclellan-part-37-dorfman-1957-11-05/), November 1957: Allen Dorfman and the subpoenaed records. - [Part 32](/items/mcclellan-part-32-mafia-1958/), June 1958: the hearings headed "Mafia," already filed with the Apalachin records. - [Part 36](/items/mcclellan-part-36-hoffa-1958-08-05/), August 1958: Hoffa recalled as general president. - [Robert P. Scott's testimony in Part 36](/items/mcclellan-part-36-scott-purple-gang-1958/), August 1958, filed with the Detroit records: Scott said Hoffa asked him to seek a retrial for Harry Fletcher, whom the newspapers "wrote up" as head of the Purple Gang. - [Part 43](/items/mcclellan-part-43-dorfman-1959-01-27/), January 1959: Dorfman and the Central Conference of Teamsters insurance. - [Part 48](/items/mcclellan-part-48-new-orleans-coin-machines-1959/), March 1959: coin machines in the New Orleans area. - [Part 55](/items/mcclellan-part-55-provenzano-1959-07-06/), July 1959: Anthony Provenzano declines to answer. - Reports: the [interim report, S. Rept. 85-1417](/items/mcclellan-srept-85-1417-interim-report-1958/) (1958), and the final report's [Part 3](/items/mcclellan-srept-86-1139-part-3-1960/), on the criminal syndicate and Hoffa, and [Part 4](/items/mcclellan-srept-86-1139-part-4-1960/), on the coin-machine industry (1960). - Photographs: [Senator John F. Kennedy at a session on 26 February 1957](/items/loc-2017657538-mcclellan-committee-kennedy-1957/), [the hearing room the same day](/items/loc-2017657535-mcclellan-committee-hearing-room-1957-02-26-a/), [Robert Kennedy briefing the press in 1958](/items/loc-2022887110-robert-kennedy-mcclellan-1958/) and [the jukebox hearing of 1959](/items/loc-2021640244-rackets-committee-jukebox-hearing-1959/). ## The Teamsters Pension Fund and Teamsters locals - Allen Dorfman: [United States v. Dorfman, 470 F.2d 246](/items/courtlistener-us-v-dorfman-470-f2d-246/) (1972) and [690 F.2d 1217](/items/courtlistener-us-v-dorfman-690-f2d-1217/) (1982). - The Senate's [1980 Central States Pension Fund hearings](/items/psi-1980-central-states-pension-fund-hearings/) and [S. Rept. 97-177](/items/psi-1981-srept-97-177/) (1981). - Roy L. Williams: [United States v. Williams, 737 F.2d 594](/items/courtlistener-us-v-williams-737-f2d-594/) (1984), the bribery conspiracy over the Wonderworld property in Las Vegas. - Local 560 in New Jersey: Provenzano's [Hobbs Act conviction](/items/courtlistener-us-v-provenzano-334-f2d-678/) (1964), his [RICO conviction](/items/courtlistener-us-v-provenzano-620-f2d-985/) (1980), and the [civil RICO trusteeship](/items/courtlistener-us-v-local-560-780-f2d-267/) (1985). - Local 507: the 1986 indictment of Jackie Presser and two others, as recited in [United States v. Presser](/items/courtlistener-us-v-presser-844-f2d-1275/) (1988). The indictment is a charge. ## The Teamsters civil RICO case, 1988 to 2015 The Government sued the union, its General Executive Board, "the Commission of La Cosa Nostra" and 26 alleged members in 1988 (88 Civ. 4486). The parties' Consent Decree of 14 March 1989 created court officers to discipline members and run elections. - [708 F. Supp. 1388](/items/courtlistener-us-v-ibt-708-f-supp-1388/) (March 1989): motions to dismiss denied. - [725 F. Supp. 162](/items/courtlistener-us-v-ibt-725-f-supp-162/) (1989) and [905 F.2d 610](/items/courtlistener-us-v-ibt-905-f2d-610/) (1990): the Independent Administrator's disciplinary authority. - [745 F. Supp. 908](/items/courtlistener-us-v-ibt-745-f-supp-908/) (1990) and [941 F.2d 1292](/items/courtlistener-us-v-ibt-941-f2d-1292/) (1991): lifetime suspensions of three Chicago officials. These were internal union proceedings, not criminal convictions. - [931 F.2d 177](/items/courtlistener-us-v-ibt-931-f2d-177/) (1991): the rules for the 1991 election. - [12 F.3d 360](/items/courtlistener-us-v-ibt-12-f3d-360/) (1993): the Independent Review Board. - [The 2015 settlement release](/items/usao-sdny-ibt-consent-decree-settlement-2015/) of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. The Consent Decree itself, the 1988 complaint and the Review Board's reports have not been opened. ## The New York waterfront - [The Waterfront Commission Compact, 67 Stat. 541](/items/statutes-at-large-67-stat-541-waterfront-commission-compact/) (1953), with the two states' findings on "corrupt hiring practices." - [De Veau v. Braisted](/items/courtlistener-de-veau-v-braisted-363-us-144/) (1960), upholding New York's bar on dues collection while a convicted felon held union office. - [United States v. Scotto](/items/courtlistener-us-v-scotto-641-f2d-47/) (1980), the Brooklyn ILA Local 1814 convictions. - The Senate's [1981 waterfront hearings](/items/psi-1981-waterfront-corruption-hearings/) and its [1984 report, S. Rept. 98-369](/items/psi-1984-srept-98-369-waterfront-corruption/). - Photographs: [the shapeup at Pier 92 in 1948](/items/loc-00649640-shapeup-pier-92-1948/) and [longshoremen at Furman Street in 1967](/items/loc-00649637-longshoremen-furman-street-1967/). The 1953 Senate waterfront hearings were not found in an open scan. ## The Fulton Fish Market The Government's 1987 civil RICO suit named as a defendant the "Genovese Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra." The court entered a default judgment against that defendant in 1988. That is the court's caption and judgment. It is not a finding after trial, and it is not a seat on any chart. - [705 F. Supp. 894](/items/courtlistener-us-v-local-359-705-f-supp-894/) (1989): findings after trial; the claims against the union and its two officers were dismissed. - [55 F.3d 64](/items/courtlistener-us-v-local-359-55-f3d-64/) (1995): the court-appointed Market Administrator. - [A photograph of the market's piers](/items/loc-2021705236-fulton-fish-market-pier-frissell-1954-02790/) by Toni Frissell, 1954. ## The carpenters and the Javits Center - [United States v. District Council of Carpenters, 778 F. Supp. 738](/items/courtlistener-us-v-carpenters-district-council-778-f-supp-738/) (1991): motions to dismiss a civil RICO complaint denied. Its allegations are at the pleading stage. - [Sacco v. Pataki](/items/courtlistener-sacco-v-pataki-114-f-supp-2d-264/) (2000): the State's takeover of hiring at the Javits Center in 1995. The opinion's statements about organized crime there are quoted from the press, not found by the court. ## Later hearings and reports - [Labor Management Racketeering](/items/psi-1978-labor-management-racketeering-hearings/), Senate hearings of April 1978. - [S. Rept. 98-595](/items/psi-1984-srept-98-595-hereiu/) (1984), on the hotel and restaurant workers' union. - [The President's Commission's Chicago hearing](/items/pcoc-1985-chicago-hearing-labor-racketeering/) of April 1985, where Jackie Presser appeared under subpoena. - [The Edge](/items/pcoc-1986-the-edge-teamsters-ila/) (1986), the Commission's report on organized crime, business and labor unions: its Teamsters and longshoremen sections. - [The Edge's Atlantic City section](/items/pcoc-1986-the-edge-local-54/), on the struggle for control of hotel workers' Local 54 after the casinos opened, is filed as its own record. ## The statutes The prosecutions here rest on the [Hobbs Act](/items/statutes-at-large-60-stat-420-hobbs-act/) of 1946 and on [RICO](/items/statutes-at-large-84-stat-941-rico-title-ix/), Title IX of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970.