TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Clinton Protester Cleared in Philadelphia
Don Adams, a Clinton protester viciously assaulted by a mob of Teamsters
during a Clinton fundraising visit to Philadelphia on Oct. 2, 1998, was
found not guilty Jul. 8 of trumped-up charges of assaulting a Teamster.
It was the first step toward justice in this Orwellian case.
Adams was part a large Clinton protest and held a sign calling Bill Clinton a "Liar, Pervert, a National Shame." Teamsters wearing "TEAMSTERS FOR CLINTON" t-shirts approached Adams. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters Local 115 boss John Morris reportedly "marked" Adams for violence by placing his hat on Adams' head. Then several Teamsters kicked and punched Adams. He suffered two black eyes, bruises, and a concussion. The incident was videoed by TV news cameras (see http://www.ijot.com/DonAdams/index.htm).
Two Teamsters, Marc Nardone and Kevin McNulty, were charged with assaulting Adams. In response, Morris claimed that he put the hat on Adams to stop him from punching two Teamsters. Then Heather Diocson, Morris' driver, filed a private criminal complaint claiming Adams punched her. Philadelphia Dist. Atty. Lynne Abraham then charged Adams with assault, inciting a riot and reckless endangerment. Adams filed a similar complaint against Morris, but Abraham rejected it because of "contradictory statements" by participants. Adams said "Abraham added salt to the wound by approving...Diocson's false private criminal complaint that I somehow hit her. There was no video or other evidence to substantiate that claim... In fact, the DA's office withheld vindicating evidence, a signed statement by a Philadelphia police officer clearly indicating that I did not hit anyone."
In Jun., Adams and his attorney met with Asst. Dist. Atty. Bruce Sagel. Sagel reportedly said, "everyone knows [Adams] did not strike anybody." But later Sagel said he was merely stating his personal opinion and even later denied it altogether. Adams said after his trial, "I believe [Abraham's] office owes me an apology. This is a definite case of malicious prosecution."
Nardone and McNulty pled guilty in Jun. to criminal conspiracy, riot and simple assault. Morris and the other Teamsters haven't been charged at all. But, Teamsters boss James P. Hoffa is reportedly considering internal union charges against Morris. As for the Dist. Atty.'s Office, Adams is considering not only a state malicious prosecution suit, but also a federal Section 1983 civil rights suit. Section 1983 provides citizens a civil remedy for law enforcement misconduct. [Wall Street Journal 7/7 & 7/9/99]
In addition to the unions and organizations covered in this Union Corruption Update, readers can look forward to news and information on other corrupt and abusive unions in future editions.
All back issues of the Union Corruption Update can be viewed at NLPC's website (www.nlpc.org). Also available is a union-by-union and state-by-state index of all Union Corruption Update articles.
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Union Corruption Update is part of NLPC's Organized Labor Accountability Project which is investigating and exposing corruption and extremism in the Teamsters, LIUNA, AFL-CIO and many other union organizations. NLPC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation promoting ethics and accountability in government through research, education and legal action.
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