pinky rings and diamond bracelets, and became notorious for wearing loud, brightly colored sports jackets. He also began to gain substantial amounts of weight, a health problem he would fight for the rest of his life. In 1952, Presser lost re-election as union president after members became dissatisfied with his colorful and lavish lifestyle. Early Teamsters career In 1952, Jackie Presser was hired as an organizer by the international Teamsters union and held a series of staff jobs for the next 12 years. Presser's break came in 1964, when he and his father brokered a real estate deal in suburban Cleveland for a group of local investors (which included himself). The investors built an upscale sports club and restaurant on the property secured by a $1.1 million loan from the Teamsters' Central States Pension Fund. The project went bankrupt, however, and the pension fund lost more than $265,000. Presser also undertook a personal transformation at this time. He stopped wearing flashy rings and loud clothing and began expressing a taste for expensive, conservative, tailored suits. He also undertook a series of diets in an unsuccessful attempt to lose weight (he weighed close to 140 kg [300 pounds] for the rest of his life). In 1966, Bill Presser gave his son Jackie a charter to form a new Teamsters local in Cleveland. Jackie Presser organized 12 workers at a local paint company and established Local 507. Presser hired a number of organizers, and Local 507 quickly organized 6,000 workers in dozens of plants and warehouses in the Cleveland area -— making Local 507 the largest Teamster local in the metropolitan area. Bill and Jackie Presser soon were some of the most powerful men in the Teamsters union. By 1972, the father-son combination led the Ohio Conference of Teamsters. Jackie Presser quickly helped make the Ohio Conference a model within the Teamsters for providing social services, engaging in union-member communications, and undertaking effective political activity. Both Pressers were also trustees of the Teamster's Central States Pension Fund, one of the richest and most influential pension plans in the nation. Jackie Presser was elected an international vice president of the Teamsters in 1976. His father, Bill Presser, was forced to resign his vice presidency after he was convicted of extortion and obstruction of justice. According to court testimony, Bill Presser and the Cleveland mob agreed to nominate Jackie as Bill Presser's successor. Bill