TEAMSTERS
A Fourth, Blitz, Pleads Guilty in Teamsters Scandal
Charles Blitz, a CA businessman and liberal campaign fundraiser, pled
guilty Aug. 17 in U.S. District Court to lying to a court-appointed election
monitor about the money-laundering schemes that ruined Teamsters President
Ron Carey. Blitz is the 4th person to plead guilty. Blitz faces 5 years
in prison and a $250,000 fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 2.
No one involved in the scandals has been sentenced to date. [Detroit
News & Newsday 8/18/98]
According to court records, the scheme, that Blitz was a part, illegally raised $110,000 and $75,000 for "Teamsters for a Corruption Free Union" from the liberal Citizen Action and Project Vote, respectively. In return, the Teamsters "donated" $475,000 to Citizen Action and $175,000 to Project Vote. An additional $85,000 to the National Council of Senior Citizens garnered $42,500 for Carey. The total, $227,500, covered Carey's direct mail expenses.
Click here a chart of this and the 5 other schemes that funneled $538,100 to Carey's campaign.
Acting-President Sever Reprimanded
Election Officer Michael G. Cherkasky found Teamsters Secretary-Treasurer
and acting-President Tom Sever committed "very serious" violations of union
rules by retaliating against union officials opposed to Sever's continuation
in office. Sever stripped duties from presidential candidate Tom Leedham
and two others. Cherkasky ordered Sever and an aide to halt retaliatory
actions, but he stopped short of barring Sever from reelection. [Detroit
News 8/18/98]
Ex-Teamsters Boss to Pay $136K for Clean-Up
Robert Sasso, former President of Teamsters Local 282 in Lake Success,
NY, was ordered Jul. 31 by a U.S. District Judge to pay $136,000 for the
local's court-appointed monitors. He is paying 15% of the monitor's estimated
$906,000 cost. Sasso pled guilty in 1994 to a criminal RICO conspiracy
charge. He told prosecutors how the local shared its illegal gains with
the Gambino crime family. While defendants in past cases have agreed to
pay for monitoring costs, Sasso is believed to be the first to litigate
the government's right to ask a court to order a defendant to pay for monitoring.
A 1995 consent decree against Local 282 created the monitoring program
that is charged with removing union bosses engaged in extortion or corrupt
acts such as lax enforcement of contracts for contractors making illegal
kickbacks. [NY Law Journal 8/5/98]
Cleveland Teamsters Boss Guilty of Perjury
The Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 507 in Cleveland was found
guilty Aug. 14 of lying to a federal grand jury regarding a meeting in
which he allegedly asked a food store chain for help in Local 507's election.
Terrence Freeman faces 16 months in prison and a 13-year ban from union
activities. He was cleared, however, on 2 related charges. Assistant U.S.
Attorney James Woole said, "We take perjury before a grand jury very seriously,
and we're pleased with this verdict." [Cleveland Plain Dealer 8/18/98]
Ickes' Independent Counsel Bad for Teamsters
Attorney General Janet Reno is "seriously considering" an independent
counsel to investigate former White House aide Harold M. Ickes for abuses
in the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign. Such a move would be bad news for the
Teamsters, as well as the Laborers Union. Ickes, the White House's DNC
liaison in 1996, is also a longtime union lawyer whose clients have had
severe corruption problems. The probe may include charges of perjury and
campaign finance abuses. Before the Thompson Committee last year, Ickes
vigorously denied that the White House helped the Teamsters in a dispute
with Diamond Walnut Growers. But the Committee later uncovered union memos
stating Ickes had urged then-U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor to
intervene, and Ickes' aide testified that Ickes told her to make sure Kantor
followed through. [Wash. Post 8/19/98]
LABORERS (LIUNA)
NY Boss Resigns Over Ethics Violations
Laborers Int'l. Union of North America's NY political action committee
chairman Samuel Fresina resigned Aug. 6 after W. Neil Eggleston, LIUNA's
in-house appeals officer (and personal attorney for Bill Clinton and Labor
Secretary Alexis Herman), upheld findings against Fresina for "ethical
violations." Fresina, not directly accused of mob ties, had his PAC give
money to Genovese crime family associate Salvatore Lanza. The case revived
allegations of Fresina's ties to the Todaro crime family. The disciplinary
action, brought by LIUNA's in-house prosecutor Robert D. Luskin, bans Fresina
from union office for 5 years and orders him to repay the PAC $50,000.
But, recent questions about Luskin's qualifications, motives and possible
conflicts-of-interest raise concerns about his objectivity in this case.
Fresina also resigned Aug. 13 as business manager of Albany's Local 190.
Apparently, no criminal or civil legal action has been taken against him.
[Albany Times-Union 8/7/98 & 8/14/98]
AFL-CIO
Jailed Boss Loses $366K Appeal
On Aug. 17, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling forcing
Michael L. Fisher, former President of the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO,
and a political consultant to forfeit $366,000 in illegal proceeds tied
to a bribery case. The AFL-CIO boss is currently serving a 39-month prison
term for his role in the scheme. The case brought down Bob Griffin, a Democrat
who served as MO House Speaker for a record 15 years. Fisher and the consultant
were convicted of paying bribes to Griffin in exchange for help in directing
businesses to hire the two as political consultants. The court upheld Griffin's
48-month and the consultant's 50-month prison terms. [KC Star &
St. Louis Post-Dispatch 8/18/98]
ELECTRICAL WORKERS (IBEW)
Hollywood Boss Indicted
Hollywood's Int'l. Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 45 allegedly
had over $63,000 embezzled from it by business manager James E. Jackson.
He was indicted Aug. 14 on 46 counts in U.S. District Court. According
to court records, Jackson used IBEW's credit card for unauthorized non-union
purposes such as Caribbean cruise tickets, airline and hotel expenditures
for family and friends, jewelry and a $3,200 fur coat. IBEW also paid his
unauthorized auto allowances, expenses and insurance and paid 4 years of
his adult daughter's health insurance. [City News Service 8/14/98]
UTILITY WORKERS (UWA)
Boss Pleads Guilty to $40K Theft
Utility Workers of America Local 537 Secretary-Treasurer William S.
George pled guilty Jul. 30 to 6 counts of embezzlement. The plea came after
the Pittsburgh union boss was indicted Apr. 22 in U.S. District Court for
stealing over $40,000 of union members' funds. According to the U.S. Attorney's
Office, George used several schemes, including fraudulent reimbursements
for meals, postal costs and lost wages. The indictment alleged he had UWA
pay for personal cellular phone and florist bills. He also used UWA's credit
card to pay for other personal expenses. George faces 5 years in prison
and $1,500,000 in fines.
CARPENTERS (UBC)
Ousted President Sentenced to 4 years
Frederick Devine, the ousted president of the NY City District Council
of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, was sent to prison Aug. 17 for
up to 4 years for using union dues to fund a "lavish lifestyle." The union
boss squandered $175,000 in union funds on golf trips, car rentals and
expensive dinners. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office said Devine
took union bosses and his family to Florida for weeks around the annual
5-day AFL-CIO winter conferences in Miami. He splurged on luxury hotels
and sometimes treated his wife and his girlfriend to the same trip. Devine
charged the junkets to UBC's operating fund. [NY Post 8/18/98]
Member Beats Union on Appeal
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 19 that a UBC member
can continue a lawsuit charging UBC with unlawfully influencing his firing
and removing him as a shop steward in retaliation for criticism of union
bosses. The ruling reversed a lower court dismissal of Peter Maddalone's
charges against UBC Local 17 and UBC NY City District Council. In Jan.
1995, Maddalone, a former Local 17 vice-president, demonstrated with 50
other members in front of UBC HQ. The same day business manager Enrico
Ruotolo, told him that district council President Frederick Devine wanted
Maddalone and the others "ordered off the job." The next day, Maddalone
was notified that he was no longer shop steward and given his final paycheck.
[BNA Daily Labor Report 8/20/98]
BOILERMAKERS (IBB)
Boss Indicted for Embezzling $25K
The now-former business manager/secretary-treasurer of the Int'l. Brotherhood
of Boilermakers Local 92 in Bloomington, CA, was indicted Aug. 12 by a
federal grand jury for embezzling $25,000 from the union. Labor Department
investigators estimate the total embezzlement closer to $52,000. According
to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Manuel Lujan allegedly charged personal
expenses, including airfare and hotels, on the union's credit cards and
made unauthorized withdrawals from its bank account. [City News Service
8/12/98]
MINE WORKERS (UMW)
Boss Embezzled from UMW
Joseph Volansky was sentenced Aug. 6 in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh
to 3 years probation and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine for embezzling from
the United Mine Workers. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the UMW
District 4 Secretary-Treasurer took an undisclosed amount by falsifying
financial records and illegally using union credit cards. He was barred
from union office for 13 years. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 8/7/98]
QUOTABLE QUOTE
"Of all the experiences I've ever had, this is the most revolting."
-U.S. District Judge David N. Edelstein in an Aug. 19 hearing on the
unresolved saga over the funding of the Teamsters' rerun election which
may be held this year.
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ADDITIONAL BRIEFS NOT INCLUDED ON THE FAX EDITION OF THIS UNION CORRUPTION UPDATE:
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TEAMSTERS
KY Election Scandal Update
Teamsters Local 89 and the Kentucky Democratic Party are now seeking
to block all indictments by the grand jury investigating the Teamsters'
connection to the 1995 election of Gov. Paul Patton (D). Consideration
of indictments began Aug. 17. The action is the latest in the investigation
and legal battle into whether Patton's campaign circumvented spending caps
with the help of the Teamsters and AFL-CIO. Also, the campaign work of
Patton labor aide, Danny Ross, for the Teamsters between stints on the
state payroll, is being probed. [Louisville Courier-Journal 08/19/98]
HOTEL & RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES (HERE)
Nevada Workers Educate Public About Union Bosses
The last 3 years of annual reports of Nevada's Culinary union are now
available to the public thanks to the Nevada Employees for the Right to
Work. "Our mission is to educate people," said NERTW President Bruce Esgar.
"The Culinary, for example, is always ready to point out how businesses
make money at the expense of workers and usually point to executive salaries
as proof." According to Esgar, Culinary Secretary-Treasurer Jim Arnold's
salary includes $27,524 from Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees
Int'l. Union on top of his base salary of $72,641 plus $ 10,400 in expenses,
a total of more than $110,000. Another NERTW member said, "We were surprised
to find out that Culinary bosses make two to three times as much as the
average hotel worker."
Also at issue: the union is $1.2 million in debt despite collecting more than $ 12.6 million in dues. The listed membership of 35,855 for 1997 is short of the 40,000 the union claims, and annual dues collected at $32.50 a month should be near $14 million rather than $12.6 million. Further, the union shipped almost one-third of the $12 million in dues to HERE's offices in Washington, D.C. Anyone interested in more information, can call the NERTW at 702-364-0750.
TRANSPORT WORKERS (TWU)
Member Wins Dues Case
Reversing a 1995 decision in the same case, the National Labor Relations
Board ruled Aug. 20 that the Transport Workers Union of America and TWU
Local 525 violated the National Labor Relations Act by illegally threatening
to get a worker fired for failure to pay union dues. After Local 525 expelled
Douglas Nelson from the union for signing a petition supporting representation
by another union, he stopped paying dues. Local 525's president wrote Nelson
in Feb. 1994 instructing him to pay alleged back dues and sent copies of
the letter to TWU's vice president and attorney. Four days after the first
letter, the president informed Nelson that the union would request that
Johnson Controls World Services, Inc., terminate him if he failed to remit
the dues. NLRB ordered TWU to cease and desist from threatening employees
with discharge and to post a notice informing members of the decision.
[BNA 08/21/98]
STEELWORKERS (USWA)
Union Puts $40M into Organizing
The United Steelworkers of America at its international convention
in Las Vegas created a new $40 million organizing fund for a "dramatic
increase in organizing." Top USWA boss George Becker bellowed, "Our greatest
challenge is organizing. Our ability to organize and grow the union bears
directly on our effectiveness at the bargaining table and in the political
arena." USWA's Organizing Fund begins in Jan. 1999 when an increased dues
payment of $20 per year per member goes into effect. An additional $20
increase starts Jan. 2000.
In addition to the unions and organizations covered in this Union Corruption Update , readers can look forward to news and information on the Communication Workers of America, United Food & Commercial Workers, Service Employees International Union, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, International Longshoremen's & Warehousemen's Union, United Farmer Workers and other corrupt and abusive unions in future editions.
All back issues of the Union Corruption Update can be viewed at NLPC's website (www.nlpc.org). Also available is a union by union index of all Union Corruption Update articles.
If you have ideas or suggestions for future editions of Union Corruption Update , please email NLPC at nlpc@nlpc.org. Thank you.
Union Corruption Update is part of NLPC's Organized Labor Accountability Project which is investigating and exposing corruption and extremism in the Teamsters, LIUNA, AFL-CIO and many other union organizations. NLPC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation promoting ethics and accountability in government through research, education and legal action.
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Organized Labor Accountability Project