Teamsters President in Scandal Denial

PITTSBURGH: As the investigation into an illegal fund-raising scheme in the Teamsters inches closer to home, the union's President Ron Carey took the victim defense Tuesday denying any knowledge of the scheme run by three former aides. Speaking of the scandal for the first time since his election was thrown out last month, Carey accused his campaign manager Jere Nash and two others of lining their own pockets with Teamsters cash. "What went on here was obviously a complete betrayal of everything we've worked for," said Carey, who ran as a reformer against union corruption and Mafia influence. Nash, consultant Martin Davis, and a third supporter Michael Ansara pleaded guilty last week on conspiracy charges. Federal prosecutors in New York are now focusing on four other members who they believe helped funnel $150,000 in Teamsters money through a pressure group called Citizen Action into Carey's accounts. A court-appointed overseer has until Oct. 6 to decide whether Carey will be disqualified from the next election.