Hide Article Text (OCR)
• W w ’■* - —— - - » ■the confusion undoubtedly beganInside LaborD I r Q r I Special Unit WillKl LOLL: Probe Labor TerrorBy VICTOR RIESELWASHINGTON, DC —Two Junes ago. a formerTeamster offk.al was walking with his ladv to a bowl-jng ailev in Kansas City, Mo A car rolled past slowlyFrom the passenger side of the front seat came a blast The teamsh r fell 'The car stopped. The killerI « a »CalrtTv he walked to the prone man, side stepping the b *•! Hlt;* put the shotgun barrel against the neckof the dv ,ng n an, pulled the trigger—and with nohash* got back into the death car.The killer and his driver never were publicly identi-f.ed The w-*rlt; Mafia men Fhev knocked out a witness whlt; had turned state's evidence in a Justice Dept probe of the Cosa Nostra link with labor Thlt; man lying in the gore was Fkyd R Haves He had been leader of Teamsters Joint Council -Vi and Local 41 He had. with others, stolen hundreds of thous-sands of dollars He had been convicted, sentenced tofive years and had begun to talk to a federal grand j u r.He had nut talked long Howlt; wr his prosecutor, young Jim Featherstone, had done well anyway.Fcatherstone Heady To RattleHe had gotten a brace of com t. ns He had also beco ue thorough K convinced of trn- tie between themob and some forces which attempt to make a big,unh .lv business ot cnunks of the tbor movement.He and his co!llt; ague- also knew that the decent man inside labor stood no chante—no matter howhigh their stations—against the terrorNow Jim Featherstone enh tu (though he has 11 years behind him in the Justice Dept ), a tough, five* foot, ten-inch, 170 pound official, is back in Washington readv to do battle.With the backing of Henrv (Pete) Peterson, chief of the Criminal Division’s Organis'd Crime and Racketeering Section, Featherstone is quietly setting up atactical labor unit.This iv part of the overall beefing up of the Organized Crime SectionThe special labor unit now has but six attorneys. But there will he more shortlyHas Become Immense ProblemThe unit is an imperative. It comes from the finalrecognit* i mat the racketeers who lave tan- el* d ;n side labor with their muscle and shotguns and dynamite and old-fashioned bras knuckles lt;an’t he beatenbv speeches It has become an immense problem Featherstone and Peterson believe that they are allies of the legitimate labor leaders No one can survive if the mob does Too many labor disputes are bemg settled by violence, bombings, shootings, killihgsIn Birmingham, where the spe lal unit has been looking, they're probing into sabotage of the Alabama Power Co. there, bullets were fired into a transformerlank.In Kentucky fuel ga- lines nav e b* en blasted In Los Angeles a friend of Cosa Nostra’s acidv Johnny Dio is running an independent union, in New Jersey opposition lead* rs in several unions have been killed or beaten. So have they m New York, Chicago, and in a dozen other citiesFeatherstone, only recently back fro: Kansas City,will move h s tactical uni? into “all the logical areas ’* One enormous front ,s the pens n t.lt; d Bill n areinvolved in some unions where the Mafia has its people.The funds arc* not necessar.Sv looted. There are other ways to t* a he a buck. Fere are ka Khacks andspurious investments and rigging of stocks Of course, there i outright embezzlement of some of these funds and union treasuries.And They \re Kunning HardThe tactual labor unit will look for vitiations of the Hobbs anti-racketeering, anti terror, anti-extortion act and into violations of Taft-Hartley (taking something of value; and the pressuring if legitimate husi-nc nen.Peterson and his chief, 1 red Vinson Jr , assistant attornev general and head of the Criminal Division, have guts—do travel. They’ve been in Philadelphia, New Orleans, los Angeles, Boston and l av Vegas—and have ust started Wherever they g the*. Imeup FBI. IRS and Narcotics agents, along with regionalUS attorneysThey snv'frmm being described as la mchsng a newant, rr-.e war. 1’hev re realists But they are runninghardV e uni: will vet right into ihe probes—face to face w.ih the self-appointed untouchables.
Newspaper Details
Port Arthur News
Port Arthur, Texas, US
Mon, Dec 26, 1966
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Madison H.
NA, 25 May 2023
Other Publications Near Port Arthur, Texas
Port Arthur Community Post
Port Arthur News Community Post
Port Arthur News
Port Arthur Daily News
