LABORERS (LIUNA)
Coia Resigns, Gets $335,000 a Year, No Plea Deal Cited
On Sep. 30, the Bureau of Nat'l Affairs reported
that Laborers' Int'l Union of No. Am. president Arthur A. Coia -- who has
been repeatedly accused of organized crime ties by the Dep't of Justice
-- would plead guilty to a felony for an improper association with a union
vendor and that Coia would be forced by DOJ to resign as part of plea.
On Dec. 6, Coia -- a personal and political friend of Bill Clinton -- resigned
effective Jan. 1. There was no report of any plea or that DOJ had any role
in the resignation.
Coia's attorney, Howard Gutman, LIUNA and DOJ either denied or refused to comment on whether DOJ had a role in the resignation or if DOJ's probe is ongoing. But, the Providence J.-Bull. reported that DOJ's John Russell said DOJ knew of the terms of Coia's resignation. Further, one source close to LIUNA's failed "internal reform effort," when asked if there was a quid pro quo for Coia's retirement, told BNA that it would be "hard to imagine why [Coia] would step down without some reassurance from [DOJ]" such as a plea deal. In Coia's circumstances, the source said why, from a legal perspective, would Coia decide to retire "if he did not have a signed commitment from the government of what he would get in return" for resigning. Asked about the timing of Coia's announcement, another BNA source said the announcement date was affected by the report first published by BNA which "likely dragged this thing out." Absent the media reports, he speculated, that the announcement would have been made sooner and perhaps would have been "more graceful." In Oct., Coia angrily accused DOJ of leaking incriminating information about his possible resignation/guilty plea.
Coia will become "general president emeritus," drawing the equivalent of his $335,516-a-year salary for life. Without the new title, he would have gotten less. LIUNA's last convention in 1996 rewrote LIUNA's constitution to let its board raise Coia's pay at any time. The board used that power in 1998 to give him a 34% raise, to $335,516. His pension is based on that amount. "This is a golden parachute" for "a guy who is stepping down under a cloud," said Alex Corns, a dissent leader in Cal. "[Coia's] left this union in a shambles. He got the Ferrari and the membership is being asked to pay him $300,000...for the rest of his life?...That's insane." Corns also criticized DOJ for permitting the lucrative deal. Russell declined to comment on why DOJ permitted it.
Long-time Coia lieutenant, Terence M. O'Sullivan was selected Dec. 5 as Coia's replacement by LIUNA's board that is dominated by Coia allies. O'Sullivan's father was a secretary-treasurer of LIUNA. He has served as Mid-Atlantic regional manager and Coia's assistant. He was also a vice-president and board member. He lives in Va. and will serve out this presidential term which expires in 2001. "It's good news that Coia is getting out of the union. Unfortunately, O'Sullivan is not the kind of reformer that the reformers want," said Jim McGough, leader of the dissent group, Laborers for Justice, based in Chicago.
LIUNA's board also selected Joseph Licastro and Steven Hammond as vice presidents. Licastro also took O'Sullivan's Mid-Atlantic post. Hammond is an ex-special assistant to Coia. He also ran two rocky trusteeships for Coia -- Mason Tenders Dist. Council in N.Y.City and Local 210 in Buffalo. Hammond replaces Peter J. Fosco who was ousted on corruption allegations in Oct. [BNA, N.Y. Times, Newsday, Providence J.-Bull. 12/7/99, Engineering News-Rec. 12/13/99]
DOJ Sues Buffalo Local, LIUNA's Right to Sue Questioned
In one of the best examples yet of the utter failure
of LIUNA's "internal reform effort," the U.S. Atty. for the West. Dist.
of N.Y., Denise E. O'Donnell, filed civil racketeering
suit against LIUNA Local 210 in Buffalo on Dec. 2. It stated: "As a result
of the strong and pervasive ties to organized crime, numerous Local 210
union officers and employees have been chosen by, subject to the approval
of, and have been controlled by various members and associates of organized
crime." The upshot: despite LIUNA's "internal reform effort" supervision
of Local 210 since Feb. 22, 1996, organize crime still reportedly dominates
the historically corrupt local.
Trying to save face, LIUNA and it's ethically-challenged "in-house prosecutor" Robert D. Luskin joined DOJ's suit. But just days later, LIUNA was effectively bounced from the suit after U.S. Dist. Judge Richard J. Arcara questioned whether LIUNA could sue the local, the only named defendant, that LIUNA has run for nearly four years under a trusteeship. An embarrassing legal blunder for Luskin's team.
Aside: Luskin and LIUNA joined DOJ in a similar suit against the Chicago Laborers' Dist. Council in Aug. It's unclear if LIUNA's lack-of-standing problems in Buffalo will raise similar questions in the Chicago suit.
The Buffalo suit named 16 co-conspirators saying they are La Cosa Nostra members or their associates who have kept Local 210 under mob control. DOJ accused them of eight violations of the Racketeer Influenced & Corrupt Orgs. act. They allegedly named mobsters as officers and stewards and hired relatives and cronies for jobs. Many of the suit's allegations were in an initial DOJ suit prepared in 1994, which was shelved after DOJ and LIUNA struck a controversial deal to allow LIUNA to clean-up itself.
DOJ requested Arcara to name a "court liaison officer" to run Local 210 for 5 years. DOJ also asked for Local 210 pay for the costs of the suit and oversight. Arcara took the consent decree under advisement but has not yet issued an order.
Two of the co-conspirators are Joseph E. Todaro and his son, Joseph A. Todaro who also own La Nova Pizzeria. La Nova, one of Buffalo's most successful pizzerias, has made numerous contributions to local charities and military units overseas, and when Bill Clinton & Al Gore and their wives were in Buffalo last year, huge boxes of La Nova pizzas and chicken wings were loaded onto Air Force One. [Buffalo News 12/2, 12/8/99, BNA 12/6/99]
HOTEL & RESTUARANT EMPLOYEES (HERE)
Wilhelm Proudly Defends Hanley
NBC's "Dateline" did a hit Dec. 15 on the chronically corrupt Hotel
Employees & Restaurant Employees Int'l Union focusing on disgraced
ex-boss Edward T. Hanley who resigned last year
under a corruption cloud and two controversial Dep't of Justice immunity
deals. Despite the corruption, Hanley receives $267,000 a year from
HERE. His replacement, John W. Wilhelm,
who holds himself out to be a reformer, appeared to be a Hanley puppet
in his "Dateline" appearance:
DATELINE: Wilhelm... says Hanley deserves his lifetime salary and the
gratitude of the membership.
DATELINE: Is Ed Hanley corrupt?
WILHELM: Not in my view. I believe that President Hanley saved the
union.
DATELINE: Was it right, what Ed Hanley did with the union funds? Was
it in the best interest of the union?
WILHELM: I think everything that I have been told about, that what
President Hanley did was entirely legal.
DATELINE: He made a deal, he would admit no wrongdoing and, in effect,
he walks away from the union. That's not a clear exoneration.
WILHELM: No, nor is it a conviction of anything.
TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Reputed Boston Mobster Guilty
Reputed Patriarca New England mob boss Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme
took the witness stand in U.S. Dist. Court in Boston Dec. 9 and surrendered
his four-year-long fight against the government. Salemme pled guilty to
over a dozen counts of racketeering -- a litany so long that it took U.S.
Dist. Judge Mark Wolf nearly 45 minutes to go through. It included extorting
money and a car from associates and attempting to influence Teamsters officials
involved in film projects in Mass., Cal. and Nev.
The deal calls for Salemme to serve 130 to 162 months in prison. But with time already served, Salemme, 66, could be out of prison in less than 72 months. Wolf must still approve the deal. Salemme was caught in a FBI sting. Others indicted include William M. Winn (convicted) and James M. Moar (acquitted) of Teamsters Local 25. [AP 12/9/99; Boston Herald 12/10/99, 1/11/95 & 12/23/94]
TRANSIT WORKERS (ATU)
D.C. Pension Advisor Indicted
Federal prosecutors Dec. 16 charged Alan B. Bond, president of Albriond
Cap. Mangmnt., a N.Y-based advisory firm whose largest client was the $2.3
billion pension fund of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 in Washington,
D.C., with taking $6.9 million in kickbacks from brokerage firms to help
pay for lavish gifts to ex-Local 689 boss James Thomas.
A fed. grand jury rendered an 11-count indictment against Bond, accusing him of conspiracy, fraud, bribery and making false statements. SEC also filed suit alleging Bond used some of the kickback money to purchase gratuities for pension fund trustees. Specifically, Bond allegedly provided Thomas, who also was a trustee of the fund, with tickets to Dallas Cowboy football games and Broadway shows, paid for his rooms at the prestigious St. Regis Hotel in N.Y., bought him expensive clothes and dinners, and supplied him with limousines and plane tickets. Thomas allegedly received gratuities worth at least $15,000. Thomas wasn't named in the suits. SEC attorney Clifford C. Hyatt said the investigation is continuing.
Allegedly from Sep. 1993 to Nov. 1998, Bond sent trades to three stock-brokerage firms that had agreed to mark up trades and then kick back 57% to 80% of the increase to Bond. SEC charged that Bond also used the kickbacks for a lavish lifestyle, including a Fla. beachfront condo, 75 antique and luxury vehicles and up to $470,000 a month credit card bills. Bond's attorney said he'll plead not guilty. [Bond Buyer & Wash. Post 12/17/99]
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ADDITIONAL BRIEFS NOT INCLUDED ON THE FAX EDITION OF THIS UNION CORRUPTION UPDATE:
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GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES (AFSCME)
DC37 Suffers Another Takeover, Guilty Plea
Am. Fed'n of State, County & Mun. Employees' Dist. Council 37 was
forced to take over yet another one of its locals Dec. 8 after auditors
couldn't account for $100,000 in expenses. DC37
in N.Y. City that has had 24 bosses indicted for corruption with 12 pleading
guilty in the last 13 months.
AFSCME Local 299 boss Gary Tenenbaum has resigned and treasurer Peter Carosella was suspended. The action was taken amid a broad audit of the fiscal practices of all DC37's 56 locals. Details of the undocumented expenses weren't disclosed.
In a related development, the supplier of office supplies to AFSCME Local 1549, pled guilty to kicking back more than $50,000 to two bosses, Robert Myers and James Edey. The supplier, Thomas Kruckmeyer, owner of Call Kruckmeyer, was sentenced to 5 years probation and jurisdiction of his case was transferred to Fort Meyers, Fla., where he lives. Myers and Edey had previously pled guilty on related corruption charges. [Newsday 12/10/99]
TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Hoffa Discusses Hamilton Trial
Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters president, James P. Hoffa, appear Dec. 4 on
CNN's "Evans, Novak, Hunt & Shields." His discussion included the William
W. Hamilton union corruption trial.
NOVAK: Mary Jo White, the U.S. Attorney in New York, has just won a conviction of the former political director of the Teamsters, William Hamilton, under a previous administration, on this deal where they were swapping money in between the Democratic National Committee and the Teamsters illegally. Do you believe, Mr. Hoffa, that the U.S. attorney should extend this investigation to an indictment of the AFL-CIO Secretary-treasurer Richard Trumka?
HOFFA: Well I'm not saying who should be indicted, but I would certainly say this, that I urge the U.S. attorney in New York to pursue all avenues. There are a number of loose ends. I understand the testimony at the Hamilton case opened up all kinds of new evidence that I didn't know about, that the government certainly knows, and there could be further prosecutions. And I think that they should pursue it. I'm not going to name names, but...
NOVAK: You won't name -- you won't name any names, like the president's fundraiser Terence McAuliffe?
HOFFA: I'm not naming any names, but I'm telling that -- I would urge the U.S. attorney to pursue all avenues. If there are people that should be prosecuted for stealing money from the Teamsters, they should do it. I also want to tell you, Bob, that we're going to bring a RICO case and a civil rights case -- civil action against these different people to recover the money.
NOVAK: Trumka?
HOFFA: Well we haven't figured out who we're going to name, but we will name a number of people to get this money back into the treasury because it is the members' money that's been taken and it will be returned to the treasury.
NOVAK: Do you think Trumka, who has taken the Fifth Amendment, should be required to resign as secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO?
HOFFA: Well you know, I'm not going to say whether he should or not. That's a decision the board has to make, the AFL-CIO has to make. And that's not a decision that we're making here today.
NOVAK: Do you believe, sir, that there was a conspiracy between the Clinton White House and the previous administration -- the Ron Carey administration at the Teamsters -- to keep you out of office?
HOFFA: Well, I would say this, that there were ballots stolen in the first election in 1996, and the people running the election did everything they could to make sure that I didn't get elected. I did not have a level playing field. And as it was, we came within 25,000 votes of winning that election. And guess what? Twenty-five thousand votes mysteriously disappeared when we counted the ballots. That couldn't have been done by any -- just somebody walking off the street. These were supposedly government people. And I think that there was a certain sympatico there because they were comfortable with Ron Carey.
HUNT: So you think the Clinton White House was involved in that?
HOFFA: Well, I don't know the details of it, but I certainly think that the government -- I'll talk about the government, the people who ran the election -- tilted towards my opponent and did everything they could to try and make sure that he won. We had an unbelievable campaign and we finally won, and we knew that the Carey people had done illegal things using union money, and we were able to bring that up, get a rerun election, and then we won an overwhelming victory in 1998.
Obituary: Chicago Boss Daniel C. Ligurotis, Sr.
Daniel C. Ligurotis, Sr., the Teamsters boss who was acquitted of murder
in the 1991 shooting death of his son and was later ousted for allegedly
embezzling from the union, died Dec. 9 of complications with cancer.
Ligurotis was ousted in 1993 as secretary-treasurer of Local 705, the second largest Teamsters unit in Chicago and one of the largest in the country, over allegations of corruption. A federal judge ruled that Ligurotis gave himself unauthorized pay increases that amounted to embezzlement, hired convicted felons as union employees and violated rules against having loaded firearms on Teamsters property. In a civil suit filed in 1995 against Ligurotis and others, the Teamsters accused Ligurotis and other top bosses of embezzling at least $4 million from pension and health funds. Half the money was allegedly used to build a fancy restaurant at union headquarters. He also had a pair of bronze busts made in his likeness, which together cost $14,000.
But the most sensational headlines about Mr. Ligurotis had nothing to do with corruption. In 1992, he was acquitted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of his son, 36-year-old Daniel Ligurotis Jr., a Local 705 trustee. The younger Ligurotis was shot in the back of the head the evening of Aug.21, 1991, in the basement of Teamsters headquarters. Ligurotis said he was forced to shoot his son in self-defense after his son threatened to shoot him during an argument over the younger Ligurotis' drug use. A Criminal Court judge said prosecutors failed to prove the charges and acquitted Ligurotis before defense attorneys even began presenting their case. Traces of alcohol, cocaine, Valium and marijuana were found in the younger Ligurotis' blood.
A high school dropout who grew up in Cicero, Ligurotis became a union business representative in 1966, joined the executive board in 1976, became recording secretary in 1981 and became secretary-treasurer in 1986. [Chi. Sun-Times & Chi. Trib. 12/10/99]
HOTEL & RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES
California Unionist Arrested in Protest
Twenty-six union extremists arrested Dec. 9 night on trespassing charges
at the Mission Valley Hilton were detained for several hours, despite what
they said was an earlier commitment from San Diego police that they would
be cited and released.
"We don't know what happened," said Jerry Butkiewicz, secretary-treasurer of the San Diego Labor Council and one of those arrested at the hotel demonstration. "We thought we had it all worked out with the Police Department and then this happens." The mass arrest as part of a labor protest was the first in many years in San Diego. The 11 women arrested at 6 p.m. were released between 1 and 3 a.m. yesterday while the first of the 15 men was released at 8 a.m. The last man was released at 3 p.m., nearly 21 hours after his arrest. Each person posted $270 bail.
Jef Eatchel, secretary-treasurer of Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Int'l Union Local 30, said he met three times with police to discuss the demonstration and how the arrests would be handled. "We thought we had it all straight," said Eatchel, who also was arrested. "We were originally going to take 100 people into the hotel but cut it down to 26 at the request of the police." Eatchel, who Dec. 9 erroneously said that former hotel workers were among those arrested, corrected himself yesterday. Legal advisers told the union to exclude former employees from the hotel lobby protest, he said.
The Mission Valley Hilton has been embroiled in controversy since a hotly contested union-organizing effort was defeated on a 73-68 vote in Mar. 1999. With about 250 demonstrators picketing outside the hotel Thursday, the 26 union activists entered the lobby, seating themselves around a Christmas tree. They chanted union slogans for more than half an hour before being arrested. If convicted of misdemeanor trespassing, the protesters face maximum penalties of six months in jail and $600 fines. [San Diego Union-Trib. 12/11/99]
PROFESSIONAL SPORTS (IBF)
Boss Takes Leave; Superseding Indictment Adds Tax Charges
A federal grand jury Dec. 15 returned a superseding indictment against
Int'l Boxing Fed'n president Robert Lee, Sr.,
his son and two other IBF officials, charging Lee and his son with new
counts of subscribing to false tax returns. Each of the new counts charges
that for the tax years listed, the Lees filed tax returns in which they
failed to disclose additional income in the form of bribes paid to them
by boxing promoters, boxing managers and others. The Superseding Indictment
alleges the bribes were paid to alter ratings of particular boxers and
to provide others with favorable treatment.
The original 32-count Indictment was returned Nov. 3. It charged Lee Sr. and his co-defendants with running the East Orange-based IBF as a racketeering enterprise, in which fighters' rankings were manipulated in exchange for bribes. The Superseding Indictment repeats the same counts and accusations and adds only the charges of filing false tax returns. [USAO D.N.J., Media Release 12/15/99]
Lee, Sr., said Dec. 13 he has taken a leave of absence from the union he founded so he can defend himself against charges he took bribes to rig its rankings. His trial is scheduled for Jan. 11, but is likely to start later in the year. The IBF said Lee's move should persuade federal prosecutors to drop attempts to install a court-appointed monitor for one of boxing's major governing bodies. Ass't U.S. Attorney Joseph G. Braunreuther, lead prosecutor in the effort to get a monitor, refused to comment,
IBF's executive committee unanimously accepted Lee's offer and appointed one of its vice presidents, Hiawatha Knight of Detroit, to serve as president during Lee's absence. Knight, a retired gym teacher and high school athletic coach, was a member of the Mich. State Athletic Boxing Com. from 1978 to 1988, the last eight years as chairwoman.
An indictment and a government lawsuit brought last month accuse Lee and others of taking $338,000 in bribes to change the organization's rankings. The rankings play a big role in determining fights and purses for boxers. [Record (Bergen County, N.J.) 12/14/99]
ELECTIONS & POLITICS
Gore Tries to "Resuscitate" Campaign on Union Front
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and House Minority Leader
Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) were in Nashville, Tenn., the week of Dec. 13 in
an effort to bolster Al Gore's presidential campaign amid static polls
and signs of trouble with organized labor. At the same time, Gore's campaign
is stepping up efforts to transform union members into foot soldiers in
Iowa and N.H. in order to blunt the surprisingly strong challenge by ex-Sen.
Bill Bradley (D-N.J.).
Democratic insiders said the Gore campaign is seeking to demonstrate a united front and to convey the strong support of labor officials in the wake of protests by union members in Seattle over the World Trade Org. "The timing and everything - there's no question they're down there to resuscitate that campaign," one House Democratic leadership aide said.
A union official close to the situation also said Gore wants Daschle and especially Gephardt to "lean on" labor unions to put more - and more effective - political operatives on the ground in Iowa and N.H. "We're having a lot of problems getting turnout in the early primary states," said the labor official. "There's a lot of pressure on the AFL-CIO to get more people in the field. It's getting a little frantic, a little hysterical."
While the labor movement by and large supports Gore, who received the official endorsement of the AFL-CIO in Oct., the union official said some rank-and-file members are not as enthusiastic about the Gore campaign as their leaders. Strategists believe Daschle and Gephardt may help turn that around because of their strong records on pro-labor issues. But there is still concern among union strategists that Gore is floundering and labor leaders should be careful about tying their future to him, especially if control of the House is still in play.
Gore, meanwhile, has finally stepped up his efforts to reach out to Democrats on Capitol Hill. His staff recently started a weekly meeting with top Senate Democratic aides to get on the same page about the campaign. At the Dec. 9 meeting, Gore's aides told the staffers that they want that support to turn into appearances in Iowa and N.H. by leading House and Senate Democrats. Senior Gore aides have been holding the regular meetings with Senate staffers over the last several weeks to brief them on Gore's schedule and brainstorm for ways to help the campaign. This represents a marked change from Clinton, who works closely with party leaders but doesn't have strong personal ties to House and Senate Democrats. [Roll Call 12/13/99]
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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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