'Top Chef' Teamsters Trial: Verdict Reached

MILTON, MA – Four Teamsters facing federal charges following an alleged confrontation with the production company of "Top Chef" at a Milton restaurant in 2014 were found not guilty of all charges Tuesday. John Fidler, Daniel Redmond, Michael Ross and Robert Cafarelli were acquitted of attempted extortion and conspiracy to extort.

A federal jury deliberated for 20 hours before reaching a verdict. The Local 25 union members were accused of using bullying tactics to extort jobs as drivers with union-scale wages.

The trial included testimony from the show's celebrity host, Padma Lakshmi, a model and author who told the court she was "petrified" when a Teamster allegedly harassed her while union members picketed outside of Steel & Rye. Lakshmi said she was a passenger in a vehicle outside the restaurant, where a group of men had formed a line so vehicles could not move forward.

She alleged that one man leaned his arm on her door and said: " 'Oh, lookie here, what a pretty face' or 'What a shame about that pretty face.' "

Lawyers for the men argued they were simply demonstrating against the non-union crew.

In a statement Tuesday, acting U.S. Attorney William Weinreb called the Teamsters' conduct "an affront to all of the hard-working and law-abiding members of organized labor."

Reporting by the Associated Press was used in this story.

Photo caption: Padma Lakshmi arrives for "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee's Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner" held at DAR Constitution Hall on Saturday, April, 29, 2017, in Washington. (Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP)