Convicted Woburn Teamster Skeeze Sentenced to 30 Months

The former secretary/treasurer of a teamsters union who fulfilled an ugly stereotype about union bosses was sentenced Friday in Boston, according to a statement from the Office of U.S. District Attorney Carmen Ortiz.

John Perry, 62, of Woburn, will do two-and-a-half years in prison and pay a $12,500 fine in light of last year’s conviction on numerous felonies. His co-defendant and so-called “enforcer” Joseph “Jo Jo” Burhoe, 46, of Braintree, was nailed with 70 months in prison.

Perry oversaw the trade show and convention centers division of Local 82, which has since merged with Local 25. The courts say that dating back to 2007, he amassed a track record of racketeering and extorting numerous businesses, including non-profits like the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, the United States Green Building Council, and music entertainment venues.

Evidentally it was not uncommon for Perry and Burhoe to threaten fellow members of Local 82, if their legal rights as union members interefered with Perry’s agenda of personal financial advancement, say the courts.