[2] Tham began life in the Teamsters as an organiser of wholesale grocery sales workers, going on to found the Freight Checkers, Clerical Employees and Helpers Local 856 in San Francisco in 1949.
[5] In 1972, Tham was charged with conspiring with "convicted labor racketeer Anthony DiLorenzo to extort a $190,000 contract from a national air freight company by calling a Teamsters Union strike.
[13] In 1975, Mr. Tham, it is alleged, was helping Australians, including Riley, with negotiating a take-over of the Howard Johnson casino in Las Vegas.
[15] Prior to this, Tham visited Australia in 1974[16] and, according to the National Times, "contacted New South Wales organised crime figures.
"[17] In the case of US v Mangano and Gavarenti (July 1982), Fratianno gave evidence stating that Tham had introduced him to the Australian, Sir Peter Abeles, director of Thomas Nationwide Transport.
[18] Mr Hawke, then President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, was en route to Vancouver to attend a conference of the Socialist International congress and had a stop-over in San Francisco.