Devil's Pact: Inside the World of the Teamsters Union [Hardcover]

F. C. Duke Zeller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1996

The story of the controversial Teamsters labor union profiles Jackie Presser and his often questionable dealings; reveals the union's underground history; and discusses its affiliations with such figures as JFK, Ronald Reagan, and Sylvester Stallone.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Zeller was in charge of public relations for the Teamsters for 14 years and adviser to four union presidents, although his memoirs focus on the late 1980s and the troubled reign of Jackie Presser, a man he believed?perhaps foolishly?was a friend, with whom he had an "improbable father-son relationship." Presser was both a secret FBI informant and a Mafia crony, and he used the two groups to work his way to the top. But once in power he began to fear them both, with good reason. Zeller is a lively, chatty writer, but his story is at times numbingly thick with byzantine plots of office politics pushed to murderous extremes. One chapter covers gossip he heard about various violent deaths: JFK's, Hoffa's, Marilyn Monroe's. Another deals with the union's Hollywood activities, including its relationship with Sylvester Stallone. There's a good deal of national politics: Reagan was seen (wrongly, it turned out) as a friend who could be trusted not to look into mob connections; Kemp was judged a future president worth encouraging. Even before Presser's slow death from cancer, internal warfare for control of the union began, and continues today as various "reform" factions seek control. When Zeller came to suspect that his own life was in danger, he quit and went to work for Bush's election campaign. Perhaps the book's most unexpected aspect is Zeller's matter-of-fact revelation of his homosexuality; he resists any temptation to write an I Was a Gay Teamster expose. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Zeller was for 14 years the communications director and personal adviser to four Teamster's Union presidents following the mysterious disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. His account is mostly about the sordid goings-on in the union's Washington headquarters?"The Marble Palace"?under the flamboyant Jackie Presser. Zeller declares that Presser made a "devil's pact" that put him under the control of the Mafia while simultaneously acting as an FBI informant. At excessive length, Zeller recounts Presser's intrigues, double dealings, and obsessions and how, when Presser died, the federal government began a crack-down that led to the installation of a reform administration. All this has been told many times before, and Zeller adds very little of substance. Moreover, the writing is leaden. Not recommended.?Harry Frumerman, formerly with Hunter Coll., New York
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Birch Lane Pr; First edition. edition (November 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155972384X
• ISBN-13: 978-1559723848
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #921,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars He's self-interested? Of course. So what?, August 17, 2000

By 

David Itkin (Arlington, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Devil's Pact: Inside the World of the Teamsters Union (Hardcover)

Duke Zeller lived in the center of a maelstrom for 14 years. He uses this memoir to settle scores and put out his version of facts that remain in dispute. I'm puzzled about why other reviewers find these aspects of the book off-putting; this is a book written by a partisan, not a dispassionate history. Zeller's observations about the personalities that enlivened the Teamsters Union during his years of service are colorful and, if you filter for his biases, informative. His relationship with Presser was genuine, a fact even his critics concede. His book affords the reader more insight into Jackie Presser the person than anything else I've read on the topic. Presser, for all his flaws, was a charming rogue who managed to play all sides off against each other right up until his death. For the novice at Teamster history, a person could do worse than reading Steven Brill's "The Teamsters," then Zeller's memoir and then Kenneth Crowe's "Collision: How the Rank and File Took Back the Teamsters." While each author has obvious biases and blind spots, reading the three together provides a pretty good primer on Teamster history from James R. Hoffa through James P. Hoffa.

Zeller is also no slouch as a raconteur. In covering his pre-Teamster days, he tells a hilarious story about being chastised by LBJ for bringing Lynda Bird home late from a date back in the days when Zeller was a teenaged Capitol Hill page.

His tales about Presser's gold-digger wife also ring true, although again he makes sure to get his licks in and settle some old scores.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More politics of Jackie Presser than anything else., February 13, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Devil's Pact: Inside the World of the Teamsters Union (Hardcover)

When begining to read this book, one might think that it is a biography of Presser. However, it is more a consideration of the politics of Presser and the politics that came to characterize the Teamsters over the years. The main problem with this approach is that at times the writing seems superficial and soap opera-esque. It can be rather annoying. In the end, the book is good for a leasure read, but not for a scholarly look at labor institutions. Bob Parks Rockhurst College

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Duke Zeller is a flak with an agenda, June 28, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Devil's Pact: Inside the World of the Teamsters Union (Hardcover)

I found this book to be entirely self-serving to the author's business and personal interests. Famous and powerful people are pictured on the dust jacket, but the story within contains little meat. Zeller spends a lot of time explaining how corrupt and moronic his friends and colleagues were. He describes himself in the midst of the action and playing an important role as a go-between for the Republican Party and corrupt, mafia supported Teamster bosses. His shock and amazement upon becoming the target of a criminal investigation of wrong-doing within the Teamster's Union is incredible. If he took advantage of all the ill-gotten trips, lavish meals and other assorted activities, it is hard to believe he didn't know that he personally was ripping off dues-paying members. In some ways I look at the book as a tragedy. The author is a middle-aged, gay, Republican, corruption tainted flak and seems to be using the book to cash in and try to set himself up for work. To this I attribute the final attack on the new Teamster leadership trying to deal with the sleaze and corruption perpetuated with help from Mr. Zeller