Devil's Pact: Inside the World of the Teamsters Union - Hardcover

Zeller, F. C. Duke

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 155972384X ISBN 13: 9781559723848

Publisher: Birch Lane Pr, 1996

Synopsis

Written by a former adviser to four union presidents, this account of the story behind the Teamsters Union tells of the deal Ronald Reagan made to ignore the Mafia's control of the Teamsters in order to get the union's endorsement and how the Teamsters set up a multimillion-dollar slush fund to held elect Bill Clinton president. Included, too, is the intimate account of flamboyant rise of Jackie Presser the most mysterious and complex figure ever to preside over the union. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews

If you like tales of greed, power, sex, dirty politics, and organized crime, this is for you. Zeller, a former communications director for the Teamsters, unveils his experiences with leading figures in the Teamsters union, especially Jackie Presser. All-powerful and responsible to no one within the union, Presser embraced an apparent Teamster tradition of living up to Lord Acton's dictum that absolute power corrupts absolutely. In this world indictments, mob connections, internecine warfare, misogynist sex, and the overriding pursuit of money, money, money are simply the background, the assumed norm. For something to stand out it has to be really sensational, like tapes implicating Bobby Kennedy in the death of Marilyn Monroe, or really amazing, like Presser simultaneously holding the position of Teamster president, maintaining close contact with key figures in organized crime, and serving as an FBI informant. The story of the close, behind-the-scenes relationship between the Teamsters and the White House, including involvement in both Reagan electoral campaigns and ties to prominent Reagan administration officials, might surprise some people. After reading this volume, however, one is left feeling that the most surprising experience one could have with the Teamsters would be meeting an important officer who was actually interested in helping the membership. Zeller's veracity cannot be taken for granted, but the sheer volume of dirt being shoveled provides one assurance: If even one percent of what he relates is true, it would be sufficient. This is not a work with profound themes or insightful analysis; however, the content alone is enough to capture and keep the reader's interest. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly

Zeller was in charge of public relations for the Teamsters for 14 years and adviser to four union presidents, although his memoirs focus on the late 1980s and the troubled reign of Jackie Presser, a man he believed?perhaps foolishly?was a friend, with whom he had an "improbable father-son relationship." Presser was both a secret FBI informant and a Mafia crony, and he used the two groups to work his way to the top. But once in power he began to fear them both, with good reason. Zeller is a lively, chatty writer, but his story is at times numbingly thick with byzantine plots of office politics pushed to murderous extremes. One chapter covers gossip he heard about various violent deaths: JFK's, Hoffa's, Marilyn Monroe's. Another deals with the union's Hollywood activities, including its relationship with Sylvester Stallone. There's a good deal of national politics: Reagan was seen (wrongly, it turned out) as a friend who could be trusted not to look into mob connections; Kemp was judged a future president worth encouraging. Even before Presser's slow death from cancer, internal warfare for control of the union began, and continues today as various "reform" factions seek control. When Zeller came to suspect that his own life was in danger, he quit and went to work for Bush's election campaign. Perhaps the book's most unexpected aspect is Zeller's matter-of-fact revelation of his homosexuality; he resists any temptation to write an I Was a Gay Teamster expose. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Birch Lane Pr
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 155972384X
• ISBN 13: 9781559723848
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368