Carey Rides Out

WASHINGTON: Corrupted, investigated and humiliated, Ron Carey has requested a leave of absence from the Teamsters. And he's not going out for ice. "This is the end of Ron Carey," says TIME's Edward Barnes, who has been reporting on the ongoing investigation. "Indictments are probably imminent. He won't be back."

The Carey tale is a disheartening one. Reform-minded Teamsters who put Carey at their head in 1991 say he sold out the movement, cutting deals with Old-Guard elements and undermining his own support until he had to steal from the union to eke out the disputed win over Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. Carey's double-dealing also embarrassed government overseers who spent $20 million to ensure a clean election most of it on watching Hoffa.

In a re-run election for which no date has even been set, Hoffa is no longer a shoo-in, having recently come under investigation himself. "The election process is in turmoil," says Barnes. "It's open political season for whoever wants to run." Anyone except Ron Carey.