TEACHERS (NEA) / ELECTIONS & POLITICS
Washington Union Sued over Campaign Finance Violations
Washington's Atty. Gen. filed suit Oct. 9 against the Wash. Educ. Ass'n for using agency fees of nonmembers for political purposes, in violation of the state campaign financing law. The Wash. Public Disclosure Comm'n referred the WEA case Sept. 25 to the AG's office after finding "multiple" violations of the Wash. Public Disclosure Act. WPDC concluded that agency fees of more than 4,000 teachers and school employees were used for political contributions without the payers' permission.

The AG's office said it will seek civil penalties, injunctive relief, investigation costs, and attorneys' fees against the union. Under WPDA, the AG can ask for a maximum penalty of $10,000 for each violation. The complaint stated that the AG will seek treble damages "if the violations are proved to be intentional."

The union has admitted to violating the law but claimed the violations are just an accounting problem. Agency fees and union members' dues are deposited in WEA's general treasury. [BNA 10/12/00]  For more on WEA's violations, see the Evergreen Freedom Foundation <http://effwa.org>.

ELECTIONS & POLITICS
NLPC REPORT: Who's Got the Most From Top Union PACs?
The Nat'l Legal & Pol'y Ctr. issued "The Top 20 from the Top 20: 2000 Study of the Top 20 Federal Recipients of Campaign Contributions from the Top 20 Union PACs" on Oct. 23. Here's just the first five House Recipients (all Democratic): 1. Joe Baca (CA-42) $244,000; 2. Mike Ross (AR-04) $205,500; 3. David Bonior (MI-10) $179,300; 4. James Maloney (CT-05) $172,600; 5. Scotty Baesler (KY-06) $169,000.

In addition to the Top 20 House Recipient list, the study also lists the Top 20 Senate Recipients, Top 20 House Incumbent Recipients, Top 20 House Challenger Recipients and Top 20 Republicans Recipients. The study also lists the Top 20 Union PACs -- many of which make regular appearances on the pages of Union Corruption Update -- including, the Teamsters, Laborers, UFCW and Steelworkers. The study, including all the lists, the methodology, and an analysis of the findings, is available at <http://www.nlpc.org.>

"With the heavy involvement of the AFL-CIO and other unions in recent election cycles, this study seeks to answer a basic question: Which candidates are top union PACs investing in this election?"

TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Chicago Bosses Exchange Allegations
Members of Int'l Bhd. Teamsters Local 705 have accused their secretary-treasurer Gerald Zero of misusing more than $500,000 in union dues. The accusations appear to be part an election battle over the Chicago local.  "Gerry Zero took $500,000 in dues money and threw it down the drain with fat salaries for his friends and political allies," said Local 705 president John McCormick, who was among two dozen IBT members protesting outside Local 705 Oct. 16. McCormick is running against Zero for the top post.

McCormick, who three years ago was a Zero supporter and elected as part of Zero's slate, said Zero has bloated the local's staff and had to take out a loan to meet the local's payroll on Oct. 13. McCormick, who is a member of the executive board, also charged that the loan was taken without board approval.

Local 705 is historically corrupt. It was placed under trusteeship in the early 1980s. In 1992, ex-Local 705 secretary-treasurer Daniel C. Ligurotis, Sr., was acquitted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of his son, a Local 705 trustee, who was killed in the basement of Teamsters building. In 1993, Ligurotis was ousted from the union amid allegations of embezzlement. Civil suits filed in 1992 and 1995 accused him and others of hiring convicted felons with mob ties to work at the local and of improperly investing $2 million in an upscale restaurant that ultimately failed. The suits resulted in a $13.5 million settlement.

Zero -- elected as part of a "reform slate" -- was himself convicted in 1996 of misdemeanor battery charges after assaulting a member at Local 705's offices. He was suspended from his post for a year. McCormick said the local had a $200,000 surplus prior to Zero's return. "We're now more than $300,000 in debt," said McCormick, who along with three other board members were fired from their positions as business agents by Zero after his return.

Zero responded that while he was suspended, McCormick and the board ran up unnecessary expenses, including $170,000 for a new dental office. He added they opposed a plan to run the local election simultaneously with an IBT delegate election, which would have saved the local about $100,000. Zero also contended he took action against the board members because they failed to perform their duties as business agents.

Nevertheless, in Aug. 2000, U.S. Dist. Judge Milton Shadur ruled that Zero wrongfully retaliated against McCormick and other board members because they took opposing positions against Zero in union business matters. Shadur ordered Zero to reinstate them and not to interfere with the performance of their duties. Zero is appealing the ruling. Ballots in the local election will be mailed out in Nov. 2000. [Chi. Sun-Times 10/17/00]

POLICE UNIONS (FOP)
Florida Boss Indicted for Pension Abuse
U.S. Atty. Guy A. Lewis annouced Oct. 27 that a grand jury returned a five-count indictment charging former Miami Police Chief and City Manager Donald H. Warshaw with conspiracy and mail fraud. He also served on Bd. of the Miami Police Relief & Pension Fund, which is connected to a local of the Fraternal Order of Police.

The indictment alleges that as an officer and board member on the pension fund, Warshaw had a fiduciary responsibility to act honestly and faithfully in all of his dealings with the pension fund, and to perform his duties free from fraud, self-enrichment and self-dealing. Warshaw is charged with having breached that duty by defrauding the pension fund of its monies.

The indictment then describes a scheme to defraud that extended from May 1993 until at least Apr. 1999 through which Warshaw, who had signing authority over the bank accounts, funneled pension fund monies to himself. Specifically, it alleges that Warshaw made personal charges to credit cards of the pension fund. This and a related charity scheme resulted in a net gain to Warshaw of $80,000. [USAO S.D. Fla., Media Release 9/27/00]

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES (AFSCME)
Local 983 Boss Cheated Immigrants
A N.Y. traffic officer who also serves as the treasurer of a public employees Am. Fed'n of State, County & Mun. Employees Local 983 was charged in court Oct. 18 with cheating two recent immigrants of more than $1,600 while running a tax and immigration aid business. Two women paid the officer, Fernando Rodriguez, who is also a certified public accountant, to help them with tax and immigration paperwork, but he funneled the money to his union and to himself, said Asst. DA Lee Llambelis . He was charged with fraud, grand larceny and petty larceny.

One woman, Arcelia Zacarias, reportedly gave Rodriguez an unaddressed postal money order worth $651 to pay taxes that she owed in 1997. He gave Zacarias a receipt showing that he was making the payment to the IRS, but the IRS soon notified Zacarias that her taxes had not been paid. The U.S. Postal Serv.  reported that the money order was made out to "Local 983 DC 37 AFSCME" and had a note allegedly saying that the payment would go to Hurricane George relief.
 Zacarias' sister, Rosio, also went to Rodriguez, seeking help with her immigration petition. She gave him more than $1,000 in cash and a money order to be made out to the INS to pay for fees. Investigators later found that the money order was deposited into Rodriguez's bank account.

"He used money collected from these individuals to benefit himself or ventures related to his union activities," said Llambelis adding that he was convicted in 1986 on a federal conspiracy charge. Rodriguez was suspended by the Police Dep't. [N.Y. Times 10/19/00]

AUTO WORKERS (UAW)
Kokomo, Indiana Bosses Probed
Bob Bolton considers himself a marked man. The United Auto Workers Local 685 member says he and his family have been threatened and harassed by fellow union members ever since he spoke out about alleged wrongdoing by union leadership. Despite these alleged threats, Bolton and a group of about a dozen Local 685 members have made enough noise that the FBI and others have started looking into the allegations.

Much of the allegations of wrongdoing center on charges that union leaders are being paid for hours they never worked at DaimlerChrysler's Kokomo Transmission Plant or Indiana Transmission Plant. "Most of the time, they [union bosses] are at the hall and getting paid for 12 hours at Chrysler," said Bob Bolton, who was an elected Local 685 officer. Bolton resigned as a committee member Sept. 18 because of the alleged threats. "They're supposed to be representing the members and they're not," Bolton said. "I have been hearing this for years, but no one was willing to come forward out of fear for their job security and even their life."

Trevor Hale, DaimlerChrysler spokesman, said some of the recent allegations brought by Bolton have reached the corporate office. He said the company is looking into aspects of the allegations that relate to it.

Bolton has contacted several organizations, including UAW (Uniting All Workers) Concern, a Detroit-based advocacy group that has investigated wrongdoings in the UAW in the past. Most recently, UAW Concern's work opened a federal probe into alleged corruption in UAW Local 594 in Pontiac, Mich. Pat Meyer, founder of UAW Concern said she has talked to the FBI about the allegations at Local 685.  Bolton said two FBI agents in Indianapolis contacted him about Local 685.

Bolton's accusations have also made their way up to the Int'l UAW. On Sept. 16, UAW bosses attended Local 685's monthly meeting. Member Mark Babb, said he was surprised when he heard a UAW boss threaten Bolton in front of about 200 members. "[The boss] looked directly at him, hesitated, then pointed at him and said he's going to get him and his time is coming. I never dreamed they would threaten him in front of the membership," Babb said. [Kokomo Trib. 9/24/00]

- - - - - -

ADDITIONAL BRIEFS NOT INCLUDED ON THE FAX EDITION OF THIS UNION CORRUPTION UPDATE:

- - - - - -

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES (AFSCME)
Local 1508 Boss Pleads Guilty
A Manhattan union boss who racked up thousands of dollars for hotel rooms in Brooklyn pled guilty Oct. 17 to $3,000 larceny charge and agreed to a sentence of five years probation. Al Cannizzo also agreed to pay $20,000 in restitution to his union, AFSCME Dist. Council 37. Cannizzo was president of AFSCME Local 1508. A union disciplinary panel accused Cannizzo in Feb. 2000 of spending more than $100,000 improperly for hotel rooms, repairs to his personal cars, his personal telephone bills, dry-cleaning, and shoe repair. [Newsday (N.Y.), N.Y. Times 10/18/00]

Three Local 1549 Bosses Plead Guilty
Three more officials of AFSCME Dist. Council 37 have pled guilty to plundering union funds for vacation cruises and other personal use. Lionel Scott, Mary Wilson and Eugene Bruno all pled guilty Oct. 11 in Manhattan to larceny charges.  All were associated with Local 1549. The guilty pleas in this set of indictments leaves ex-Local 1549 president Al Diop as the only defendant.

The indictments involved the use of union expense funds for personal use, and were not directly related to other larceny indictments or the rigging of a contract ratification vote with the city. The three had been scheduled to go on trial with Diop later this month, but abruptly agreed to plead guilty before N.Y. Justice William Leibovitz. Scott agreed to a sentence of 1.5 to 4.5 years in prison for grand larceny; Wilson to 2 to 6 years for grand larceny; and Bruno to 3 years probation for a misdemeanor attempted grand larceny. [Newsday (N.Y.) 10/13/00]

DC37 Boss Sentenced to Prison
Martin Lubin, the second-in-command of AFSCME Dist. Council 37's was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison Oct. 5 for rigging a contract vote to ensure passage.  Justice Bonnie Wittner of State Supreme Court in Manhattan turned down a prosecution recommendation that Lubin get the maximum of 7 years in prison. Lubin was convicted in July 2000 on forgery and related charges stemming from a rigged ratification vote in 1995-96.[Newsday (N.Y.) 10/6/00]
 

Union Corruption Update is made possible by the generous contributions from readers like you. NLPC, P.O. Box 6273, McLean, VA 22106-6273. Thank you.

In addition to the unions and organizations covered in this Union Corruption Update, readers can look forward to news and information on 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 and state-by-state index of all Union Corruption Update articles.

If you have story 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.

Email NLPC

Union Corruption Update Article Index (by Union)

Union Corruption Update Article Index (by State)

Organized Labor Accountability Project

NLPC Home Page