Ex-Leader of Teamsters Local Pleads Not Guilty to Extortion, Embezzlement

A former president of a Teamsters local pleaded not guilty to charges of extortion and embezzlement in federal court yesterday and was released on $250,000 bail after officials arrested him at his Lower Manhattan home yesterday morning.

Prosecutors accuse Anthony Rumore, 63, of ordering union members and staff to work as his chauffeur, run errands, and collect contributions for a legal defense fund he established in response to earlier accusations of wrongdoing by a union review board.

Between 1988 and 2004, Mr. Rumore served as president of Local 812 of the Teamsters union, which represents about 4,000 workers in the beverage trade and industrial and textile industries in New York City.

He also was president of a Teamsters council that coordinated activities with the local groups between 1997 and 2005. Employees did not raise objections because they feared being fired, the indictment said.

An attorney for Mr. Rumore, Thomas Puccio, did not comment on the charges after Mr. Rumore's appearance before a magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Ronald Ellis.

In 2003, prosecutors say Mr. Rumore ordered his staff to collect $30,000 in contributions from union members for a legal defense fund he created in response to a disciplinary proceeding against him by a court-appointed monitoring board.

The panel charged Mr. Rumore with embezzlement and improper behavior for his alleged role in similar activities that federal prosecutors described yesterday.

If convicted, Mr. Rumore could face up to 25 years in prison.