Four members of the Teamsters Local 82 union were indicted today by federal authorities for racketeering and extortion of local businesses.
John Perry, 60, of Woburn, James Deamicis, also known as Jimmy the Bull, 49, of Quincy, Joseph Burhoe, also known as Jo Jo, 44, and Thomas Flaherty, 49, both of Braintree, were charged in a 30-count indictment.
The men were members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 82 based in South Boston. Perry served as the union’s secretary treasurer and director of trade shows and convention centers.
The federal indictment alleges that the men, known as the “Perry Crew,” engaged in illegal activities since 2007 to generate money for themselves, their friends and their family.
“Acts of extortion were allegedly perpetrated by the Perry Crew on various entities throughout Boston including hotels, event planners, catering companies, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, music entertainment companies, and non-profit organizations, none of which had collective bargaining agreements with Local 82,” the US Attorney’s office said in a statement.
The indictment accuses the men of threatening to picket and disrupt business at the entities, sometimes just hours before an event, if they did not accept the Perry Crew’s demand for “unwanted, unnecessary and superfluous jobs for themselves, their friends and family.”
The men also allegedly assaulted and threatened other members of their own union.
The Globe reported earlier this year that the Teamsters Union had shut down the 500-member Local 82 for being too “dysfunctional” and ordered it to merge with the larger Local 25 in Charlestown.
