Chicago

Former Teamsters Chief Indicted Again on Extortion Charges

In addition to the extortion charges, the indictment lists numerous counts charging Coli underpaid his taxes

Former Teamsters chief John Coli Sr. has once again been indicted by a federal grand jury in Chicago, alleging that he extorted hundreds of thousands of dollars from a business reported to be the Cinespace movie studios on Chicago's West Side.

Coli was previously indicted in July with extorting at least $100,000. The new indictment goes much further, indicating the payments went back to 2014, and now total at least $325,000.

The government charges say the payments were made "induced by the wrongful use of fear of economic loss from threatened work stoppages and other labor unrest."

In addition to the extortion charges, the indictment lists numerous counts charging Coli underpaid his taxes. The government is seeking forfeiture of $325,000, and barring that, seeks to seize a home in the 1200 of West George Street in Chicago.

Cinespace is a thriving facility hosting many hit movie and TV productions, including NBC's "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago PD."

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