Teamsters Help Marijuana Campaign

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) Last year's drive in California to legalize marijuana
for medical use received a $195,000 boost from an unlikely source: the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

The money came from a contributionswap scheme that illegally bolstered
union President Ron Carey's reelection campaign, according to government
documents and interviews with people familiar with the case.

Carey's December 1996 victory over James P. Hoffa was annulled and a
federal grand jury probe is continuing after three former Carey campaign
advisers confessed to the conspiracy Sept. 18.

According to their testimony and the written decision overturning Carey's
election, consultants Michael Ansara and Martin Davis got wealthy donors to
give to Carey by arranging for the union to donate to causes they supported.

Ansara enlisted West Coast fundraiser Charles Blitz, court records show,
and told him the Teamsters would match or double amounts he raised for
Carey with contributions to causes of his choice.

Jere Nash, Carey's former campaign manager, admitted in court that he
participated in the scheme and alleged that Teamsters political affairs
director William Hamilton facilitated the union payments.

But until now, it wasn't clear what was in the deal for Blitz.

``In return, he was going to get a piece of the action,'' said one source,
who spoke on condition of anonymity. ``And that was going to be used for
the movement to legalize medicinal marijuana in California.''

Blitz used Citizen Action, a liberal consumer group for which he raised
money, as a conduit in the fundraising scheme, court records show.

On Oct. 14, 1996, he directed Citizen Action official Rochelle Davis to ask
the Teamsters for $225,000. On Oct. 23, he had another request for $250,000
sent.

The Teamsters paid $475,000 to Citizen Action's ``Campaign for a
Responsible Congress'' on Oct. 24, with Carey's approval.

Blitz arranged for at least $90,000 of that payment to be funneled to a
Carey committee called Teamsters for a Corruption Free Union. In total, he
directed about $185,000 to the committee, court records show.

Rochelle Davis told investigators that Blitz wanted to support the
medicinal marijuana campaign, according sources familiar with the probe,
and Citizen Action cut a $195,000 check to the Lobby for Individual Freedom
and Equality in late October.

LIFE Lobby director Laurie McBride confirmed that the group, which
advocates on behalf of AIDS victims, received a check in excess of $100,000
from Citizen Action.

Records filed with the California secretary of state show that LIFE Aids
Lobby gave $143,000 to Californians for Medical Rights on Oct. 24 and
$25,000 five days later.

LIFE Lobby changed its name to LIFE AIDS Lobby, director McBride said. Bill
Zimmerman, a leader of the medicinal marijuana group which has changed its
name to Americans for Medical Rights, said McBride's group was a key ally.

``The issue of medicinal marijuana is very important to the AIDS community
in California, and they are very active politically,'' Zimmerman said. LIFE
AIDS Lobby gave nearly $370,000 to Zimmerman's group last year.

Zimmerman said he was unaware that Blitz had anything to do with the
Citizen Action payment to LIFE Lobby, although he said Blitz was involved
in fundraising for his group ``to a limited extent.''

McBride, who failed to produce documents she promised would show that she
had requested the grant from Citizen Action, said she had no contact with
Blitz.

``We applied to Citizen Action for general funds and for outreach programs,
and some of that money ... certainly was used around the proposition for
medicinal marijuana,'' she said.

Blitz's attorney, Stephen Ryan, did not return a request for comment.

Mark MacDougall, attorney for Rochelle Davis, issued a statement saying she
``did not knowingly participate in any financial transactions with the
knowledge that funds drawn from the Teamsters union treasury were to be
fraudulently diverted to the Carey reelection effort.''

As part of the contributionswap, the Teamsters also sent funds to Project
Vote, active in Rep. Loretta Sanchez's race to unseat Rep. Bob Dornan,
RCalif.

Hamilton, the union's former political director, has denied wrongdoing.