Ex-Teamsters Chief Carey Pleads Not Guilty

Former Teamsters President Ron Carey pled not guilty Thursday to charges that he lied to a federal grand jury

nvestigating fund raising for his 1996 re-election bid, Bloomberg reported.

The 64-year-old labor leader was charged in a seven-count indictment that also accuses him of making false statements to a review board probing whether recipients of Teamsters donations in 1996 were required to kick back part of the money to his re-election effort.

Elected as a reformer pledged to clean up the scandal-plagued union, the second-largest in the U.S., Carey faces a prison term of up to five years, if convicted.

Prosecutors say Carey lied about whether $885,000 in Teamsters donations to four groups was part of an illegal scheme to swap donations. A former top aide, William Hamilton Jr., was sentenced last year to three years in prison after he was convicted of participating in the kickback scheme.

Teamsters official Labor laws prohibit spending union money to aid individual candidates in union elections.

Current Teamsters President James P. Hoffa issued a statement supporting the decision to indict Carey on charges of perjury, saying union members “have paid a terrible price for the misdeeds of Mr. Carey.” The union is also suing to recover funds lost because of the fund-raising scheme.