19, 1997, three months after the election. Hoffa asserted that, at the direction of President Carey, the Teamsters union had paid $97,000 to Michael Ansara, owner of a Massachusetts-based direct mail firm, for get-out-the-vote work in the 1996 Presidential and Congressional elections—work which was not done. Ansara's wife, Barbara Arnold, then made a $95,000 contribution to the Carey re-election effort days later. The deal, Hoffa alleged, had been brokered by Martin Davis, owner of another direct mail business which had done work for the union and the Carey campaign. Hoffa claimed the donation was pivotal because it permitted the Carey campaign to make a last-minute anti-Hoffa mailing. The use of union funds in a race for union office is prohibited by federal law, and it is also illegal for employers or their family members to contribute to union elections. Carey dismissed the allegations, claiming that it was mere "serendipity" that the donation came on the heels of the payment. Nonetheless, Carey returned the donation, and a day later returned another $126,000 in donations to other contributors without explanation. The refunds constituted nearly 10 percent of Carey's total campaign fund-raising. On March 26, a Federal grand jury in Manhattan began investigating the allegations. On June 6, 1997, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted Davis on charges of conspiracy, embezzlement, and violations of federal labor law for masterminding the kickback scheme. Ansara pleaded guilty to conspiracy and admitted he had used the union's money to reimburse his wife for her donations to the Carey re-election effort. The Carey campaign tried to shield its internal documents from federal investigators, arguing they were protected by attorney–client privilege, but this claim was dismissed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. UPS strike As the financial scandal worsened, Carey faced a major strike against UPS. Carey had ordered Teamsters staff and local leaders to begin preparing for a strike against UPS a year before the contract expiration deadline. A questionnaire was sent to all Teamster-represented workers at UPS asking them what their key contract issues were, and the union made those issues the centerpiece of its negotiation strategy and strike effort. The union also circulated a petition which obtained 100,000 member signatures supporting its negotiating strategy, held numerous small rallies four months ahead of the strike deadline to identify and overcome problems with member mobilization, distributed 50,000 whistles for use at rallies,