Jere Nash

Davis, Ansara Sentenced; Pay $1,345,000 in Restitution

Submitted by Michael Nelson on Mon, 05/13/2002 - 00:00

The UCU has now learned that the two last unaccounted for defendants in the Teamsters money-laundering scandal were sentenced in Mar. 2002, at two hush hush court hearings, which that have gone unreported by major daily newspapers. When the UCU previously reported that scandal figure Jere Nash was sentenced on Apr. 9, it incorrectly reported that the two other defendants who pled guilty with Nash, had not yet been sentenced. Both were sentenced some 54 months after they pled guilty on Sept. 18, 1997. The three engaged in a series of schemes which led to the embezzlement of some $885,000 from the Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters and to $538,100 in illegal campaign contributions to the failed 1996 reelection campaign of expelled IBT president Ron Carey.

Nash Finally Sentenced, Gets Off Easy

Submitted by Michael Nelson on Mon, 04/15/2002 - 00:00

Almost 55 months after confessing felonious conduct, Teamster money-laundering scandal figure, Jere Nash, has finally been sentenced. U.S. Dist. Judge Thomas P. Griesa (S.D.N.Y., Nixon) sentenced Nash Apr. 9 to a mere two years probation for his role in a series of schemes which lead to the embezzlement of some $885,000 from the Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters' treasury and to $538,100 in illegal campaign contributions to the failed reelection campaign of expelled IBT president Ron Carey. The sentencing appears to have been hush hush: the four N.Y.C. major dailies and the two Washington, D.C., dailies apparently did not cover the sentencing (as of Apr. 15), which is surprising given the red hot coverage of the scandal in the past.

IBT Racketeering Suit Against Carey Dismissed

Submitted by Michael Nelson on Mon, 10/08/2001 - 00:00

The Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters $3 million RICO suit against its ex-boss Ron Carey for allegedly defrauding IBT to finance his 1996 re-election campaign was dismissed Oct. 1 by the U.S. Dist. Judge Laura T. Swain (S.D.N.Y., Clinton). IBT charged that Carey conspired with other individuals and groups to unlawfully swap union contributions to various liberal advocacy groups for reciprocal unlawful payments by those groups to Carey's 1996 campaign. Swain found that IBT failed to present facts sufficient to prove the "existence of a pattern of racketeering activity" and dismissed the suit.

Hamilton Testifies in Carey Trial

Submitted by Michael Nelson on Mon, 09/24/2001 - 00:00

On Sept. 6, in the perjury trial of expelled president of the Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, Ron Carey, the defense apparently got a big boost. Convicted felon William W. Hamilton, IBT's ex-political director, testified that he had never told Carey that a series of political contributions were linked to a money-laundering scheme to generate funds for Carey's 1996 campaign. Currently serving a three-year prison sentence after his Nov. 1999 conviction on charges that he embezzled IBT funds in the scandal and then lied about, Hamilton was called by the prosecution. But his testimony appeared to support the defense's contention that Carey was unaware that the donations were linked to his campaign. He reportedly stated he was testifying without a grant of immunity or any other deal from the prosecution.

Carey Indicted! Trumka Next? Hamilton Loses Appeal

Submitted by Michael Nelson on Mon, 02/05/2001 - 01:00

Ex-Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters president Ron Carey pled not guilty Feb. 1 to federal criminal charges that he knowingly participated in a complex scheme to funnel more than $538,000 in union funds to his failed 1996 reelection campaign. Carey was indicted Jan. 25 on seven counts of perjury and making false statements in connection with the probe of the money-laundering scandal, an action long urged by Carey's IBT rivals and watchdogs, such as the Nat'l Legal & Policy Ctr. Prosecutors alleged that Carey lied when he denied knowledge of a swap of IBT contributions to various groups in return for their arranging for donations to his campaign. Upon arraignment before a federal magistrate judge, Carey was released on his own recognizance.

Carey's campaign manager, Jere Nash, and two consultants, Martin Davis and Michael Ansara, were the first defendants in the scandal to plead guilty to criminal charges way back in Sept. 1997. Although they have cooperated with the government, they have yet to be sentenced.

RICO Suit Against Carey, Not Trumka

Submitted by Michael Nelson on Mon, 04/24/2000 - 00:00

IBT and its boss James P. Hoffa filed a civil racketeering suit Apr. 17 seeking about $9 million in damages against ex-boss Ron Carey and others, but not AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer Richard L. Trumka, for allegedly defrauding IBT of funds used to promote Carey's reelection in 1996. The suit, filed in U.S. Dist. Ct. in Manhattan, charges the defendants with an illegal scheme to defraud the IBT by making bogus IBT contributions to liberal groups, which, in turn, made reciprocal contributions to Carey's campaign.

In addition to Carey, the current defendants are: 1) William W. Hamilton, ex-IBT political director (convicted), 2-4) Carey campaign consultants Martin Davis, Jere Nash, and Michael Ansara (all pled guilty); 5) Ansara's wife, Barbara Arnold; 6) liberal fundraiser Charles Blitz (pled guilty); 7) Cohen, Weiss and Simon law firm and 8) its ex-associate Nathaniel Charny (pled guilty); 9) liberal advocacy group Citizen Action and two of Citizen Action officers, 10) Ira Arlook and 11) Rochelle Davis.