LABORERS (LIUNA)
Oregon Pension Manager Pleads Not Guilty
Jeffrey L. Grayson, the Portland, Or., union
fund manager accused of bilking his clients out of hundreds of millions
of dollars, pleaded not guilty to all charges Oct. 26. A federal grand
jury Grayson on Oct. 2 on twenty-two counts of mail fraud,
conspiracy, money laundering, witness tampering, and making illegal payments
to a union pension fund trustee. Grayson's clients, many of them
union pension funds, have lost $355 million in failed and allegedly fraudulent
investments. U.S. Dist, Judge Anna J. Brown (D. Or., Clinton) scheduled
Grayson's trial for Mar. 26, 2002.
The indictment alleges that Grayson paid more than $200,000 to an ex-boss of the Laborers' Int'l Union of N. Am., John D. Abbott, who steered millions of dollars in pension and trust fund money to Grayson's firm, Capital Consultants. Abbott, ex-chairman of four of LIUNA funds, allegedly conspired with Grayson to conceal the payments. Grayson also allegedly tried to pressure an employee to lie to a grand jury about the payments to Abbott. Abbott was business manager of LIUNA's Or., S. Idaho & Wyo. Dist. Council and a trustee on two pension plans, a 401(k) plan, and a health and welfare plan. He pled guilty in Feb. to taking payoffs from Grayson and filing a false tax return. [Oregonian 10/27/01]
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