Former Teamsters President Ron Carey was acquitted Friday of perjury charges during the investigation of illegal diversion of union funds to his 1996 re-election campaign.

Prosecutors had accused Carey of making false statements to an election officer, an investigator and a review board. The board was investigating allegations that the Carey campaign engaged in illegal efforts to raise money.
In late 1999, similar investigations led to the conviction of Carey's political director, William Hamilton, for embezzlement, mail and wire fraud, and perjury. Hamilton authorized $885,000 in contributions from the financially struggling Teamsters union to four political organizations in exchange for contributions to Carey's 1996 re-election campaign. He was sentenced to three years.
The scheme apparently was a way for Carey's campaign team to get around laws prohibiting the union from paying for the election campaigns of union members. Carey aid he was unaware of the scheme; a federal jury in New York agreed with him.
Carey narrowly defeated James P. Hoffa in the 1996 election. His victory was later overturned after investigators found that Carey's campaign improperly benefited from donations made by the union, and he was ousted from the union.
The former Teamsters boss apparently isn't ruling out a return to organized labor. He told the Associated Press, "It's been in my blood for 40 years." However, he said, it's something he would really have to think about. "I would want to sit back and shake off what has been a tragic part of my life."