Third Teamster convicted of shaking down local businesses, hospitals

A federal jury today convicted James "Jimmy the Bull" Deamicis on charges of extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion, the US Attorney's office in Boston reports.

Deamcis was an official with the now defunct Local 82 in South Boston. Two other Local 82 leaders - John Perry and Joseph "Jo Jo" Burhoe - were convicted last year by a jury that deadlocked on the charges against Deamicis.

According to the indictment against them, the officials of the local - which was taken over by Local 25 in 2011 - extracted "superfluous" jobs from local businesses and non-profit organizations they didn't even have contracts from between 2007 and 2011.

Deamicis, a former member of Teamsters Local 82, worked in the trade show and moving industries loading and unloading trucks. Since 2007, Deamicis, and others, extorted various entities in 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. Deamicis threatened to picket and disrupt business, sometimes just hours before an event, if the entity did not accede to his demand for unwanted, unnecessary and superfluous jobs.

Among their targets: The House of Blues, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, the United States Green Building Council, Wolfgang Puck and the Westin Waterfront.

Deamicis will be sentenced on March 23, 2016.