Judge declines to drop Teamster charges in ‘Top Chef’ case
BOSTON – A federal magistrate judge has declined to drop extortion charges against four Teamster union members accused of intimidating the staff and crew of “Top Chef” in an effort to get jobs while the show was filmed in Boston last year.
The Boston Globe reports (http://bit.ly/2c8DeT4 ) the ruling Thursday by Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler moves the case forward, possibly toward a jury trial.
An indictment says members of Teamsters Local 25 demanded that union members be hired as drivers, then threatened and harassed the crew for the reality TV show’s non-union production company.
The Teamsters are accused of yelling profanities and racial and homophobic slurs at host Padma Lakshmi and the crew while they filmed at a restaurant in the Boston suburb of Milton.
The four Teamsters have pleaded not guilty.
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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.bostonglobe.com
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