HOTEL EMPLOYEES (HERE)
DOL: Wilhelm-Imposed Trusteeship Invalid
The U.S. Dep't of Labor recently found that a trusteeship
imposed by John Wilhelm, president of
Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Int'l Union, on HERE Local 1
in Chicago failed to comply with federal labor law. After an investigation
of alleged violations of Title III of the Labor-Mgmt. Reporting & Disclosure
Act, popularly known as the Landrum-Griffin
Act, DOL's Office of Labor-Mgmt. Standards concluded that HERE had
failed to hold a hearing either before or after the imposition of the trusteeship.
In a Nov. 29, 2000 letter to HERE, OLMS's enforcement division chief, Lary
Yud, called on HERE to hold a hearing to, "rectify the trusteeship's lack
of validity under Section 304(c) of the LMRDA."
Wilhelm imposed the invalid trusteeship over Local 1 on Nov. 29, 1999. Wilhelm alleged that the trusteeship was "voluntary" and that the trusteeship was based on the local's financial problems and its emerging challenges with organizing. Wilhelm's view appears soft when contrasted with a report written in 1998 by HERE's court-appointed monitor, Kurt Muellenberg, who concluded that the local had been burdened by fraud, financial mismanagement, nepotism, cronyism, and undemocratic practices and, "should have been placed in trusteeship many years ago." Local 1 was the home of ex-boss Edward Hanley, the longtime HERE boss who was forced to resign in 1998 amid allegations of misuse of union funds and later died.
Martin Prieb, one of the Local 1 members who requested the federal probe, said he was suspicious about HERE's intentions with respect to Local 1. "I think Wilhelm will use the hearing as a tool to justify the trusteeship," Prieb said. "We remain steadfast in our conviction that his intentions are suspicious at best. The trusteeship has seriously undermined the democratic processes within this local. We hope Wilhelm will someday come clean with the members." [BNA 12/20/00]
LABORERS (LIUNA)
Coia Crony, Sabitoni, New #2 at LIUNA
Armand E. Sabitoni of Rhode Island will succeed Carl E. Booker as secretary-treasurer
of the Laborers' Int'l Union of N.
Am., according to a union announcement Dec. 20. Sabitoni, currently
a LIUNA vice-president, is a second-generation LIUNA boss. He was named
assistant to the president Jan. 1, 2000. Sabitoni is expected to
run for formal election for secretary-treasurer at LIUNA's 2001 convention
in (where else?) Las Vegas. [BNA 12/21/00]
Here's a quick Sabitoni bio. Sabitoni was one of 39 named defendants in the U.S. Dep't of Justice's 1994 draft racketeering complaint against LIUNA. Another was disgraced ex-LIUNA president and admitted criminal Arthur Armand Coia. DOJ wrote: "Armand Sabitoni is a long-time associate of Arthur A. Coia, whom he replaced as regional manager of the New England Regional Office of LIUNA in February 1993."
Further, like Coia, Sabitoni is an attorney by trade. Coia recently lost his law license for two years because of his guilty plea to tax crimes. The Providence firm that still has Coia's name, Coia & Lepore, Ltd., lists Sabitoni on its website: <www.coialepore.com>.
Additionally, at an Oct. 1997 meeting of LIUNA's Connecticut business agents, dissident leader Ronald Nobili of LIUNA Local 665 was allegedly physically threatened and punched for his pro-union democracy views. Sabitoni, as regional manager, presided over the meeting. He told the Hartford Courant, "Not a word was said by the regional manger. The intimidation was condoned [by Sabitoni] as far as I was concerned."
IRON WORKERS (BSOIW)
D.C. Probe Charges Fourth Boss with Embezzlement
James E. Cole, the general secretary of the Int'l Ass'n of Bridge,
Structural & Ornamental Iron Workers, was secretly indicted last month
by a federal grand jury for union embezzlement. The 18-count indictment
was unsealed Jan. 3 in U.S. Dist. Court in Wash., D.C. Cole is the fourth
BSOIW boss to face charges in a FBI probe involving allegations of corruption
within the BSOIW hierarchy and D.C. police force. The others have pled
guilty.
The indictment alleges that starting in 1992, Cole and others cheated the union by using its money to pay for personal outings and services from restaurants, hotels and golf courses. It accuses Cole of mail fraud, embezzlement, making false statements and concealment. Cole allegedly used union credit cards and other accounts to benefit himself, his family and friends. For example, he allegedly used more that $10,000 for a Scotland vacation, a high school reunion trip, and anniversary flowers for his wife. Further, he allegedly failed to report nearly $20,000 in disbursements to BSOIW president Jake West in 1996-98. West has not been charged.
Cole was the union's treasurer from 1985 until 1998, when he became secretary. Other bosses charged in the probe are Darrel E. Shelton, a former general organizer, who pleaded guilty to embezzling as much as $120,000; Fred G. Summers, the former executive director of organizing, who admitted embezzling more than $50,000; and Michael J. Brennan, the ex-head of the Iron Workers Political Action League, who pleaded guilty to charges involving the theft of $7,000 .[Wash. Post 1/4/01]
TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Hoffa Ally Allegedly Lied about Organized Crime Ties
A new report accuses Michael C. Bane, president of Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters
Local 614 in Pontiac, Mich., of lying under oath about his personal relationships
with Detroit organized crime figures. Bane, who was convicted of embezzlement
in the 1970s, has been affiliated with the local for more than 30 years
and became president in 1990.
The new accusations were detailed in a 23-page report by Charles M. Carberry, chief investigator for IBT's Independent Review Bd. The Dec. 21 report, submitted to IBT president James P. Hoffa, charges that Bane "brought reproach" on IBT because he failed to cooperate with IRB. Bane gave "intentionally misleading testimony" to IRB concerning his relationship and association with Vincent Meli, Vito Giacalone, Anthony LaPiana, Jr., and Nove Tocco, identified by the FBI or court testimony as members of the Detroit mob. The charges arose from sworn testimony Bane gave to IRB during four separate hearings conducted between 1991 and Oct. 6, 2000.
Nove Tocco, one of four men convicted in the 1998 federal trial of the Detroit mob, told the FBI he had known Bane since the 1970s and that together they had taken kickbacks from restaurant owners and during contract negotiations for hotel and restaurant employees. Tocco also said Bane was friendly with Vincent Meli, LaPiana and others. To support his claim that he knows Bane, Tocco also related incidents in which Bane participated with them. Other witnesses, such as retired FBI agents, supported Tocco's accounts. The FBI also produced wiretaps of conversations Bane had with the crime figures, as well as surveillance reports.
Under IBT's consent decree with DOJ, Hoffa has 90 days in which to either file charges against Bane, hold a hearing and forward a written report to IRB. Hoffa can also reject the recommended charges, but he must provide a written explanation to IRB. The case against Bane may be difficult for Hoffa. Bane's father, Joe Bane, Sr., was a close ally of Hoffa's father, James R. Hoffa. The younger Bane has also been a staunch supporter of the younger Hoffa. In 1991, he worked to change IBT's constitution to allow Hoffa to be eligible to run for IBT office. [Det. News 12/28/00]
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES (AFSCME)
Diop Mentally Unfit for Trial
N.Y. State Justice William Leibovitz ruled Dec. 21 that ex-Am. Fed'n
of State, County & Municipal Employees Dist. Council 37 boss Albert
A. Diop was not mentally fit to stand trial on charges of embezzling
more than $1 million from the union's Local 1549. Leibovitz said that Diop
was "an incapacitated person" and that he be committed to a state mental
hospital. Leibovitz issued his ruling after hearing the reports of
two court-appointed psychiatrists. Diop was to go on trial for allegedly
stealing money from his local for lavish vacations and personal items.
AFSCME forced Diop to resign for alleged financial misconduct after an audit found $2 million in improper expenditures by Diop, Local 1549 officials James Edey, Lionel Scott and Mary Wilson. The four made more than $1 million in "unexplained payments" and from 1994-98 made almost $1 million credit card purchases for alleged personal expenses. Reportedly, Diop lived in a secret penthouse apartment above union headquarters paid for by the union. He was one of the best paid union bosses in the city, earning $191,000 a year from the local and another $18,000 from AFSCME.
Diop had been scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 22 by N.Y. State Justice Bonnie Wittner on his prior conviction of stuffing ballot boxes to win passage of an union contract for city employees in 1996. Leibovitz ruling means that no sentence will be forthcoming. Diop will be taken to a mental hospital where he will be held pending an examination in six months. If he is found to still be unfit, another examination will be conducted six months later. After that, he will be examined once a year until he is found fit to stand trial. [N.Y. Times; Newsday, UPI 12/22/00]
QUOTABLE QUOTE
"Congratulations, John Sweeney. The AFL-CIO chief was Al Gore's
staunchest supporter, and this week George W. Bush rewarded him by nominating
his worst nightmare as the next secretary of labor.
As a Hispanic women who once belonged to a teachers' union, Linda Chavez, will be difficult for Democrats to defeat. Yet as a veteran of ideological combat, she won't hesitate to speak to workers over the heads of union leaders. She's conservative but no blunderbuss. Which is precisely why she's a threat to Mr. Sweeney, and an encouraging sign about Mr. Bush."
- Paul A. Gigot, Columnist, Wall Street Journal, Jan. 5, 2001.
- - - - - -
ADDITIONAL BRIEFS NOT INCLUDED ON THE FAX EDITION OF THIS UNION CORRUPTION UPDATE:
- - - - - -
TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Teamsters Ethics Code Behind Schedule
The Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters is several months behind schedule in its
development and implementation of a comprehensive ethics code. The code
was to have been unveiled in Oct. 2000. But after undergoing two draft
versions, it now looks like the final document will not be ready for the
IBT board's final consideration and approval until at least Feb. 2001,
according to Edwin H. Stier, ex-assistant U.S. attorney hired by IBT to
head internal reform effort. Also delayed is a comprehensive review
of the degree of organized crime influence still found in the union long
troubled by a history of organized crime connections. The report originally
was due for release this fall.
Announced in July 1999, IBT's Project RISE (respect, integrity, strength, ethics) is an internal anti-corruption plan intended a remove the influence of organized crime from the union and to set up self-policing procedures to prevent reoccurrences. [BNA 12/29/00] It questionable whether an internal union "anti-corruption" effort is meaningful. A strong anti-corruption push by the Departments of Justice and Labor as well as Congress would undoubtedly be far more effective to catching and deterring corrupt union bosses.
TEXTILE EMPLOYEES
Las Vegas Dissident Loses NLRB Case
Textile Processors, Serv. Trades, Healthcare, Prof'l & Tech. Employees
Local 311 in Las Vegas did not violate the Nat'l Labor Relations Act by
removing a dissident from membership status a week after she lost her job,
thereby causing her to be ineligible to run for office, the Nat'l Labor
Relations Bd. ruled Dec. 15. Reversing the finding of an administrative
law judge, the Board determined the local's decisions were "strictly internal
union matters" and, therefore not an unfair labor practice under Section
8(b) of the act.
Suzanne Pollack was a "long-time dissident" member of Local 311. After she was discharged from her job with Tiffany Cleaners, a unionized firm, in 1988, she took a job with a nonunion cleaner for a year. During this time, Pollack continued to pay her dues and ran unsuccessfully for president of the local. Pollack subsequently wrote to the Dep't of Labor challenging the election and filed other complaints with the local's executive board regarding officers' salaries. DOL and the union both rejected her charges.
By 1991, when Pollack was again working for a unionized company, Mission Linen, Local 311 was nearly bankrupt. The national union placed the local into trusteeship and appointed a special trustee to take over its affairs. The trustee changed many of the local's existing procedures. Among them, the trusteeship implemented the practice of immediately offering withdrawal to any member who lost his job with a signatory employer.
During the next year, Pollack continued to complain to both the national
president and DOL about local spending practices under the trusteeship.
In 1992, the union president told Pollack the trusteeship would be ending
in 1993, and Pollack indicated her interest in running for office. Later
that month, however, she was removed from her steward's position because
she did not speak Spanish and subsequently terminated from her job at Mission
Linen as well. In 1993, when Pollack attempted to pay her membership dues,
the union refused to accept them on the grounds she was not working for
a unionized company. She filed unfair labor practice charges against the
union and the
company.
The company reached an informal agreement settling Pollack's charge, but an administrative law judge found the union violated Section 8(b)(1)(A) of the act by refusing to accept her dues. The judge concluded the local's rationale for rejecting the dues tender was a sham in retaliation for her internal union activities and that, even if the rule was valid, the union had illegally retaliated against her for her dissident activities. [BNA 1/5/01]
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.
Union Corruption Update Article Index (by Union)
Union Corruption Update Article Index (by State)
Organized Labor Accountability Project