"I was never asked to raise money and I did not raise any money for any candidate in the teamsters election," says Stern.

The Federal Government named a former prosecutor yesterday to monitor the teamsters election, with one of his first obligations to investigate the finances of James P. Hoffa, the front-runner in the race for the union's presidency.

"The teamsters election will be my first obligation," Mr. Cherkasky said in a telephone interview.

The election overseer, Benetta M. Mansfield, was appointed by the Federal courts to supervise the teamsters election.

No Clear Mandate The turnout in the teamsters election leaves Mr. Carey a few things to ponder.

But teamsters elections also were influenced by organized crime.

Federal officials say the money will be used to help finance the new teamster election that was ordered by Barbara Zack Quindel, the Federal official who oversaw last year's teamsters election.

But in May a New York jury found Mr. Salerno and two other defendants not guilty of fixing teamsters elections although he and eight others were convicted of other racketeering charges.

Mr. Gingrich noted two Federal investigations, one into the recent teamsters election and one into Democratic Party campaign finance practices, and said "the very process of constitutional law was undermined in an ongoing manner."

Even before the 1996 campaign and the teamsters election, Citizen Action had relied heavily on union donations to support its $3 million annual budget.