Teamster fund crackdown brings suits against 17

Continuing its crackdown against alleged abuses of the scandal-ridden Teamsters Central States pension fund, the Labor Department brought suit against 17 fund trustees, attorneys, and agents, alleging they violated financial obligations in a scheme involving a $7 million loan for land development on Florida's Gulf Coast.

The defendants were accused in papers filed in a Florida federal court with purchasing undeveloped land for $6.7 million in a 1977 foreclosure sale, when they knew the market value was considerably lower. The government is seeking reimbursement of an undesignated amount lost to the fund.