April 28, 1983

AP WASHINGTON, April 27, A reputed Chicago crime figure, Tony Accardo, "hand-picked" the presidents of two labor unions as part of a plan that skimmed millions of dollars from employee benefit funds, a witness told Senate investigators today.

The leaders were identified as Edward T. Hanley of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees International Union and Angelo Fosco of the Laborers International Union.

The witness, Joseph Hauser, who formerly operated companies that sold health and life insurance to unions and their members, appeared before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

Mr. Hauser called Mr. Accardo an "organized crime leader, whom I have known for many years as Joe Batters." In a telephone interview, Carl M. Walsh, a Chicago lawyer who has represented Mr. Accardo, said he did not think there would "any comment" from his client. Mr. Walsh said that when Mr. Hauser appeared as a Federal witness in previous instances "juries have universally disbelieved his testimony."

Victor Kamber, a spokesman for the laborers union in Washington, called Mr. Hauser a "pathological liar," adding that "his aspersion on the character of Angelo Fosco is outrageous."