Roy Lee Williams

Roy Lee Williams (born March 22, 1915 in Ottumwa , Iowa , † April 28, 1989 in Leeton , Missouri ) was the President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1981 to 1983.

Roy Williams was the first "Teamster" to have a deal with Cosa Nostra to become president of the union. However, this contact with the bullies was not without consequences: On December 15, 1982 he was convicted of bribery . He was forced to vacate office and on December 3, 1985, despite his old age, served a ten-year sentence in Springfield Prison , but was released after three years.

Life

Early years

At the age of 20 he became a professional driver and, despite his hot-headedness, was considered a “bear-strong buddy” with the “heart in the right place”.

During World War II , he was a sergeant in the field artillery of the United States Army in Europe and personally captured 41 German soldiers by making them believe that an entire platoon was standing behind him .

He returned from the war with many awards, including the Silver Star . Returning to the "Teamsters", his rapid career began at "Local 41" ( Kansas City ). With the help of Floyd Hayes , president of Local 41, and Detroit's Jimmy Hoffa , he became president of the Transport Workers' Union's Midwest Conference.

Teamsters and Cosa Nostra

Jimmy Hoffa had originally planned him for a difficult “local” in Wichita , but then made him the successor to Floyd Hayes in “Local 41”, as this was considered an obstacle when the “Teamsters” opened towards the US Cosa Nostra .

1952 made Williams the acquaintance of Nick Civella as both a meeting of Democrats in Kansas City (Missouri) attended, as both chairmen of the party were. In the same year a meeting between the Teamsters and the La Cosa Nostra had taken place in Chicago , at which the cooperation between the two groups had been discussed. The instructions from Jimmy Hoffa , the President of Teamsters , to Roy Williams were clear: "Do what Nick (Civella) wants": "Do (everything) what Nick (Civella) wants (from you)".

Williams acted in the spirit of Hoffa and worked with Civella , who at that time still belonged to the lower hierarchy of the "family" in Kansas City, but from 1953 can be seen as the boss of the local " Kansas City family " of the Cosa Nostra . When Williams was supposed to testify to the FBI in 1956 - he had just turned down expensive health insurance for his members at Local 41 - two of Civella's people told him to take this insurance package because otherwise his wife, his children and then himself would be killed themselves.

When Williams and Hayes , president of "Local 41", called on Jimmy Hoffa , he gave the instruction to settle and cover up the matter in the spirit of Civella . This made Williams a key figure in the Cosa Nostra infiltration of the Teamsters . Williams even became a close friend of and was practically under Civella's control.

In 1962 the FBI succeeded in proving that Hayes had embezzled US $ 200,000 and thus won him over as a key witness . The questioning in a hotel room, which revolved around Williams , Hoffa , Cosa Nostra and Teamsters , lasted four days . Even a high fence with floodlights and watch dogs could not protect Hayes from the consequences of his testimony. In June 1964 he was shot dead in a parking lot and his wife wounded. The latter was seen as an additional warning to potential future FBI key witnesses. Williams was immediately his successor as president of "Local 41" of the Teamsters .

Central States Pension Fund

Williams had also become a trustee of the new Central States Pension Fund (CSPF), which raised funds from 25 states for their union members as a pension investment. This was wide open as a pot for kickbacks and bribery and in the mid-1970s, the construction and expansion of numerous Mafia casinos in Las Vegas was financed.

So bought z. B. Allen Glick opened two casinos in 1974 for $ 63 million from union funds. The contact was directed through official team circles to Frank Balistrieri , the Milwaukee mafia boss , who then contacted Nick Civella and Williams then practically only had to sign. The fund's manager was Allen Dorfman , whose stepfather Paul Dorfmann had already worked with Hoffa.

Glick then officially hired two of Balistrieri's sons , who were rewarded with $ 100,000 and given the option to participate in the casinos. Frank Rosenthal was hired as manager . Williams received $ 1,500 a month through Civella and continued to climb the corporate ladder, but was still controlled by Civellas. For this purpose, Sam Ancona was installed as a watchdog and contact person in the administration of the Teamsters . When in 1981 - after the death of Frank Fitzsimmons - Williams became President of the Teamstes , he followed him like a shadow.

From Civella's point of view, this was probably also necessary, as he himself was serving his first prison sentence from 1977. The 1964 murder of Hayes had made him and Williams more than interesting to the FBI, and in 1970 it was proven that he was involved in violations of regulations governing gambling.

In 1978 Civella was released early and a series of murders led to the introduction of electronic surveillance of the judiciary in order to keep the mob activity under control. In this context it succeeded z. B. Record conversations between Nick and his brother Carl Civilla that included their support of Roy Williams to succeed Frank Fitzsimmons as President of the Teamsters.

Presidency

The presidency was short-lived as Roy Williams was implicated in the bribery scheme against Senator Howard Walter Cannon of Nevada . He was chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee , which was currently dealing with the deregulation of the transport industry and thus would have broken the monopoly of the Teamsters , which then happened.

In addition, on February 14, 1979, an illegal cash courier from Civella was picked up at the Kansas City airport with two US $ 40,000 parcels, triggering a series of successful house searches .

Williams , two other administrators of the Central States Pension Fund, and Joseph Lombardo were charged with attempted bribery of the Senator on December 15, 1982, but acquitted. Nick Civella died in 1983 a few days after his release.

In 1984 the FBI recorded a conversation between him, Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno , John Trolone ("Peanuts") and Teamsters Officials William J. McCarthy , and Jackie Presser . McCarthy said in this conversation that he needed the decision of a Mafia boss before he could advance further in the Teamsters . And although the New York Times reported the conversation in 1988, McCarthy became president of the union in 1989.

Roy Williams made his testimony at the age of 70 about the entanglements between the Cosa Nostra and the Teamsters ( "labor racketeerimg" ) and was imprisoned on December 3, 1985 for ten years.

"The Manhattan Cosa Nostra Trials in the summer of 1987 accused the boss of the Genovese criminal family , Anthony Salerno, of manipulating the election of Presser (IHT. June 3, 1987). Three months earlier, police investigators had questioned the 72-year-old and sick predecessor Pressers, Roy L. Williams, in the health department of the State Prison in Springfield, Missouri, and learned details from him. "

- Dagobert Lindlau

Release and death

Due to his poor health, Williams was transferred to the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, in September 1988 and was paroled in August 1988. His release was conditional on continuing to be available to the authorities in their investigations.

Only a few statements were made, however, as Roy Lee Williams died seven months later - on April 28, 1989 - after a long period of heart disease at the age of 74 on his farm in Leeton .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Dagobert Lindlau : The Mob. Research on organized crime, dtv , Munich 1989, p. 300, ISBN 3-455-08659-4

Web links

• Readers Digest: "The Devil and Roy Williams" by Eugene H. Methvin (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Frank Fitzsimmons († 1981) George Mock ( Interim President )	President of the " Teamsters " -Union 1981 - 1983	Jackie Presser