TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Teamster-Financed Study Claims Fed. Oversight No Longer Necessary
In an internal report costing more than $2 million, the law firm of
Stier, Anderson & Malone claims that the Teamsters union is no longer
dominated by organized crime racketeers, and that "the time is ripe" to
end the federal govt's supervision of the union.
The Intl. Bhd. of Teamsters has functioned under the supervision of the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Sou. Dist. of NY since 1989. The IBT hierarchy agreed to settle a complaint by fed. prosecutors that racketeers affiliated with the Cosa Nostra organized crime enterprise completely controlled the union. Under the consent decree, the Independent Review Board (IRB) was formed with broad powers of investigation over the Intl. and its affiliates, even to override internal decisions by the union hierarchy. The IRB continues its work under the supervision of U.S. Dist. Judge Loretta A. Preska (S.D.NY, G.H.W. Bush).
The report, commissioned by the Teamsters and released Oct. 3, argues that the govt. monitoring "allowed the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to change course," and that under IBT president James P. Hoffa's leadership, "the union has institutionalized its commitment to cultural reform through union-defined and enforced standards of conduct." The report's authors concede, ‘[w]hat constitutes reform, however, can be a contentious subject...As a political tactic, those out of power often describe themselves...as ‘reformers' regardless of whether any changes that would occur through their ascension to power could properly be termed ‘reforms.'" A recent case involving of Hoffa's closest allies illustrates that dilemma.
On May 30, the IRB barred William Hogan, Jr., Chicago's most powerful Teamster, from the union for life due to a plot to drive down wages and benefits for Las Vegas IBT Local 631 to help a Chicago-based firm in which his brother had a stake. Also banned for life was Dane Passo, a Chicago Teamster who became Hoffa's right-hand-man at IBT headquarters in Washington.
The IRB ruled that Hogan and Passo colluded with United Serv. Companies to have the firm's nonunion employees perform work at Las Vegas trade shows and conventions at less than half the hourly wage of Local 631 members, thus allowing other contractors to pay the same wages even to union workers. Hogan's brother, Michael, was United's vice-president. Reportedly, Hogan and Passo engineered Hoffa's firing of Local 631 officials who opposed the deal. Only when IRB began investigating did Hoffa stop Hogan and Passo's campaign. Hoffa responded to warnings about Passo's links to organized crime by one of the report's authors, Edwin Stier, by raising Passo's salary and keeping Passo as his "special representative" to the besieged Las Vegas Local.
"With the Independent Review Board still forced to take action against corruption in the Teamsters union, it is highly premature to end federal supervision of the union," said David Kendrick, Director of NLPC's Organized Labor Accountability Project. [The Teamsters: Perception & Reality. Stier, Anderson & Malone, LLC: The New Republic, 4/8/02]
CARPENTERS
Ex-Treas. Indicted in Pensacola, Fla., Fed. Ct.
A frmr. official of the United Bhd. of Carpenters (UBC) was indicted
on Sept. 17 for allegedly embezzling nearly $30,000 from the Local union
that he ran.
Geoffrey R. Barron began running Local 2471 in Pensacola, Fla., in Aug. 1997. But by agreement with the Central/N. Fla. Carpenters Regional Council, Barron received his compensation from the Council, not the Local. According to the indictment, Barron wrote checks to himself from the Local's two checking accts., one for general funds, the other for contingency expenses. Barron also allegedly used the Local's credit card for personal expenses unrelated to the union business for which he was entitled to use the card. From Oct. 1997 through Jan. 2001, Barron allegedly stole $29,855 from the Local's accts, mostly derived from members' dues payments.
Barron was indicted in the U.S. Dist. Ct., N.Dist. of Fla. on one count of embezzlement in violation of U.S.C. 29, Sec. 501(c). The indictment resulted from an investigation by the Atlanta branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [U.S.A.O. N.D. FL 9/17/02, DOL OLMS 10/3/02]
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES (AFSCME)
Ex-NY State Boss Gets Light Sentence for Cooperation
A frmr. govt. union director who confessed to embezzling thousands
of dollars with his brothers-in-law received a lenient sentence after the
U.S. Attny. lauded his "substantial assistance" in the fed. investigation.
Lawrence Germano, frmr. exec.-dir. of Dist. Council 82 of the Amer. Fed.
of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), was sentenced on Sept.
25 to five years' probation and six months of home detention, 120 hrs of
community service, and $50,000 in restitution.
Germano pled guilty on Dec. 13, 2001 to mail fraud in a computer-consulting scam with a company run by his brothers-in-law, Anthony and Ronald Pizzolo. In the fall of 1993, Germano retained a company controlled by the Pizzolos, M & P Trade Group, to work on the union's computers. Germnao presented the Pizzolos' invoices as an "emergency," thus allowing him to bypass the normal check-writing process and pay more than $194,000 to M & P from Oct. 1993 through Feb. 1994. Germano never disclosed his relationship with the Pizzolos, nor the relationship between the Pizzolos and the consultant working with Council 82 on M & P's behalf, Armando Poleo.
Poleo only received $750 a week from the Pizzolos, and in Feb. 1994, complained to Germano. From March through Dec., Germano directly paid Poleo $228,958 from the union. According to the plea agreement, Germano defrauded Council 82 of $50,000 through those payments.
In 1995, fed. investigators launched a probe of the Albany-based Council's finances that was soon followed up by AFSCME officials. It was found that a number of Council officers, incl. Joseph Puma and Thomas Kennedy, had used the union's credit card to pay for out-of-state trips and visits to strip bars. From 1992-94, the reserves of Council 82 plunged $3.6 million. Germano, Puma and Kennedy were purged from the union, but only Germano was ever charged by fed. prosecutors. He was sentenced by U.S. Dist. Judge Lawrence Kahn, [N.D.N.Y., Clinton.] [Albany Times-Union 9/26/02]
IRON WORKERS (IAIW)
Poor Health Delays Trial of Ex-Ironworkers Pres.
U.S. Dist. Ct. Judge Thomas F. Hogan (U.S.D.Ct. D.C., Reagan) "postponed
indefinitely" the trial of Jake West, frmr. president
of the Intl. Assn. of Iron Workers, acc. to West's attny. West
was indicted in Aug. 2001 on charges that embezzled more than $50,000
from the union for personal expenses. That trial was scheduled to begin
Oct. 2. But Hogan, while refusing to dismiss the case, ruled that West
is "medically incompetent" to stand trial.
West is still scheduled to be tried on Oct. 15 on charges that he diverted $37,000 in pension and other union funds to a frmr. union rival who wasn't entitled to them. That trial is also expected to be postponed. [Engineering News-Record, 10/7/02]
QUOTABLE QUOTE/ Unions and Organized Crime
Frmr. "Goodfella" Pulls Back Veil on Mob Control of Construction
Unions
Excerpt from "The O'Reilly Factor," Oct. 1, 2002: Bill O'Reilly, Mafia
informant Henry Hill and Attny. Robert Simel
O'REILLY: The Big Dig in Boston and road construction surrounding New York City have both gone billions over budget and is taking forever. There are heavy rumors of mob involvement not only on these projects but also all over America.
The question is: Why is this being allowed to happen? Why is organized crime scooping up our tax dollars...
Now, Counselor, can you get specific about what organized crime does to, number one, slow these projects down, and, number two, how do they make money doing it?
ROBERT SIMEL, HENRY HILL'S ATTORNEY:...What they want to do from the beginning is get a piece of the pie going into it. So they'll sit down, and the unions and the builders will all come together and come up with a number. Part of that number is going to organized crime.
And what they do is they get some no-show jobs, they get some people who show up that don't do anything, they get money that's actually coming out of the construction itself, sheet rock, materials that disappear, and those are the kinds of things...
O'REILLY: And the State of New York, the State of Massachusetts -- they don't supervise this, or they don't -- what do they do?
SIMEL: They have no control.
HILL: Bill, I had my first union card when I was 14 years old. The shop steward used to pick me up. Now that's the guy the union puts in there to watch over the safety conditions of the job, and that's -- you know -- and he controlled probably 10 ghost -- you know, 10 phantoms that did not show up, and I -- well, I used to show up occasionally...
O'REILLY:...Can we assume that most construction projects in New York
City and Boston and
other -- most are being run this way by organized crime? Can we assume
that?
HILL: Well, the government is -- the government has taken over quite a few unions and -- you know -- and they -- they've put a dent in it, but it's never going to go away. There's just way too much money involved in it, and it's something that -- you know, that -- it's there for good. I mean... every -- every other concrete that they pour in the city is taxed, and every ounce of steel that comes out -- you know, comes out of those mills is taxed.
O'REILLY: All right. When you say "taxed," that means there's a piece of that going to organized crime. They just peel off the money and give it to them.
HILL: Absolutely. And then -- and then you have the pension funds. Now the -- you know...
O'REILLY: Yes. I don't want to get into the pension funds now. That's just too...big...All right. Now, Mr. Hill, do you think there's any way you can clean this up? Could Governor Pataki do something about this, if he wanted to, in New York?
HILL: Listen, if Giuliani couldn't do it, no one can do it.
BAKERY & TOBACCO WORKERS
Ex-OK Pres. Returns Embezzled Funds
On Sept. 23, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the West. Dist. of Okla.,
Nolan Butler, former president of Bakery, Grain & Tobacco Workers Local
366 in Edmond, acknowledged embezzling $14,619 in union funds, and completed
his restitution of the full amount stolen. According to its LM-2 disclosure
form filed with the Dept. of Labor, the Local discovered Butler's embezzlement
in 2000. He admitted forgery and making unauthorized personal charges and
cash advances using the union's credit card. The charges were brought following
an investigation by the Dallas branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmnt.
Standards. [U.S.A.O. W.D. OK, DOL OLMS 10/3/02]
- - - - - -
ADDITIONAL BRIEFS NOT INCLUDED ON THE FAX EDITION OF THIS UNION CORRUPTION UPDATE:
- - - - - -
LABORERS (LIUNA)
Ex-CA Bus. Mgr. Sentenced for Embezzlement, Falsification
On Sept. 25, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Eastern Dist. of Calif.,
Jeremias Lopez, former business manager of Laborers Local 220, was sentenced
to ten months confinement followed by twelve months of supervised release,
ordered to pay $10,814 in restitution to the union's bonding company, ordered
to pay a special assessment of $25, and ordered to be subject to regular
drug testing. The court recommended that the sentence be served at the
Turning Point drug/alcohol rehabilitation center in Bakersfield.
On July 10, 2002, Lopez pled guilty to falsifying union records and admitted embezzling receipts from the Laborers Intl. Union of N. Amer. of between $10,000 and $30,000 following an investigation by the Los Angeles branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [DOL OLMS 10/3/02]
AUTO WORKERS (UAW)
Ex-MI Pres. Admits Theft from Defunct Union
Isador Hampton, frmr. president of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local
835, pled guilty on Oct. 3 to embezzling $10,389 from the union, even after
it was merged into another Local. Hampton entered his plea in the U.S.
Dist. Ct. for the East. Dist. of Mich.
According to the plea agreement, Hampton was President of the Madison Heights Local from 1989 until June 30, 2000. Beginning in March 2000, Hampton directed the Fin. Secy. to co-sign checks made out to Hampton, ostensibly for salary and union expenses. After Local 835 merged into Local 771 in July, Hampton continued to issue checks to himself from the still-active bank acct. of Local 835. He was indicted on Sept. 17 after an investigation by the Detroit branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmnt. Standards [U.S.A.O. E.D. Mich. 10/3/02]
MUSICIANS (AFM)
Ex-Secy.-Treas. Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Funds from Texas Local
Pedro Ojeda, frmr. Secy.-Treasurer of the Amer. Fed. of Musicians Local
23 in San Antonio, confessed to stealing $10,250 from the union between
March 1998 and April 1999. Ojeda entered his plea before U.S. Dist. Judge
Edward C. Prado (W.D. TX, Reagan) on Sept. 19.
According to the Factual Basis submitted with the plea, Ojeda began keeping irregular hrs. at the union's headquarters, and often failed to show up at all. Finally, Ojeda confessed his embezzlement to the union president, and began repaying the money he had stolen by writing himself extra paychecks, checks he cashed for himself, and unauthorized withdraws from the union's savings acct. Ojeda has repaid $10,000 to the union.
Ojeda was indicted July 22 on one count of embezzlement in violation of U.S.C. 29, Sec. 501(c), and one count of falsification of union records in violation of U.S.C. 29, Sec. 439(c). In return for his guilty plea to the embezzlement charge, the U.S. Attny. agreed to ask Judge Prado to dismiss the falsification charge, and to recommend a lighter sentence based on Ojeda's acceptance of responsibility. [U.S.A.O. W.D. Tex. 9/19/02]
CARPENTERS (UBC)
Minneapolis Fin. Secy. Charged with Embezzlement
The U.S. Attny. for the Dist. of Minn. filed an Information on Oct.
1 against Jerome J. Dube, alleging that he embezzled more than $14,000
from the local union he served as Fin. Secy.
According to the U.S. Attny., Dube made cash advances of $8,584 on the credit card, issued by United Bhd. of Carpenters Local 1865, without pre-approval by the Local's Exec. Bd. from Nov. 1999 through June 2000. He also allegedly withdrew $5,593 from the union's checking acct. for claimed salary and reimbursement expenses from Dec. 1998 through July 2000. Finally, in June 2000, Dube is alleged to have cashed a check from the union's Strike Fund for $310. [U.S.A.O. D. Minn. 10/1/02]
ALLIED-INDUSTRIAL WORKERS [PACE]
Ex-Secy.-Treas. Sentenced for Theft, Falsification of Union Records
On Sept. 23, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Middle Dist. of Tenn.,
Mike Bruce, frmr. secy.-treasurer of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical
& Energy Workers (PACE), Local 5-80 in Franklin, was sentenced to one
month of home detention followed by three years of supervised probation
and ordered to pay $6,923 in restitution to the union. He previously pled
guilty to making false entries in required union records to conceal his
embezzlement of $6,923 in union funds after he was charged in a two-count
indictment following an investigation by the Nashville branch of the U.S.
Ofc. of Labor-Mgmnt. Standards. [DOL OLMS 10/3/02]
ELECTRONIC WORKERS (IUE)
Ohio Boss Sentenced to 3 Yrs. Probation, Restitution of $4,666
On Sept. 26, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the South. Dist. of Ohio,
Judith F. Hamilton, frmr. fin. secy. of Electrical
Workers (IUE) Local 713, was sentenced to three years probation and
ordered to pay $4,666.40 in remaining restitution. On May 9, 2002, she
pled guilty to embezzling $6,766.40 in union funds following an investigation
by the Cleveland branch of the U.S. Ofc.of Labor-Mgmt. Standards [DOL
OLMS 10/3/02]
TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Ex-Ky Pres. Used Union Funds to Pay Off Car Lease
Kenneth Stacy pled guilty on Sept. 26 in the U.S. Dist. Ct. in Lexington,
Ky., to one felony count of union embezzlement. The frmr. president of
Intl. Bhd. of Teamsters Local 651 admitted to a scheme in which the Lexington
union paid the remaining $10,360 of the lease on Stacy's personal car in
Feb. 1998. He was Local 651's president until May 2001. Stacy entered his
guilty plea before U.S. Dist. Judge Jennifer B. Coffman (East. Dist. Ky.,
Clinton). He faces a maximum punishment of five years in prison, a $250,000
fine, and five years of supervised release, in addition to being barred
from serving as a union officer for 13 years. Judge Coffman set Stacy's
sentencing for Dec. 12, 2002 in Lexington.
Handling the investigation and prosecution, respectively, were: Daniel Walsh, Dist. Director of the Cincinnati branch of the U.S. Dept. of Labor's Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards, and Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, U.S. Attny. for the East. Dist. of Ky. [U.S.A.O. E.D. Ky, DOL OLMS]
UNION DEMOCRACY
New Election Ordered in CA Machinists Local
On Sept. 13, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the North. Dist. of Calif.,
Judge Ronald M. Whyte (H.W. Bush) granted the U.S. Secy. of Labor's motion
for summary judgment, declared the Dec. 2, 2000 election conducted by Intl.
Assn. of Machinists (IAM) Local Lodge 2228 in Sunnyvale, Calif., null and
void, and ordered the a new election for the office of president under
DOL supervision.
The case was brought after an investigation by the San Fran. branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards revealed that the successful candidate for the office of president was ineligible to run. During the OLMS investigation, the union installed the losing candidate as president. The IAM hierarchy placed Local Lodge 2228 in trusteeship and conducted a new election not under the supervision of the Secretary. Judge Whyte held that the Secy's right to a supervised election cannot be defeated by any subsequent independent action of the union, whether it occurs before the Secy. files an action or afterward. [DOL OLMS, 9/26/02]
DOL Orders New Election after Candidate Uses Postal Facilities in
Campaign
On Oct. 4, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the East. Dist. of Penn.,
the Secy. of Labor filed a civil suit seeking a new election for the office
of branch president of Local 308 of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union
after an investigation established that a candidate for office in the February
2002 election utilized U.S. Postal Service facilities in Philadelphia for
printing her campaign literature. The union is affiliated with the Laborers
Intl. Union of N. America. The literature was distributed to at least 50
members in a race decided by a 12-vote margin. The case was brought following
an investigation by the Philadelphia branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmnt.
Standards. [DOL OLMS 10/9/02]
DOL Rejection of Teamsters' Complaint Upheld in Fed. Ct.
On Sept. 30, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Sou. District of NY,
the court granted the Secy's. motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by
members of Teamsters Local 97 contesting the Dept. of Labor's (DOL) rejection
of their complaint of Local 97's December 2000 officer elections. DOL denied
the election complaint because of the complainants' failure to exhaust
internal union remedies.
The court adopted the DOL position that the complainants were required to appeal the decision of the Teamsters Joint Council within fifteen days to the General Executive Board as required by the intl. union's constitution. The court rejected the complainants' arguments that the appeal requirement was unreasonably burdensome and too long and complex to follow. [DOL OLMS 10/9/02]
HOTEL & RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES (HERE)
Ex-Iowa Bus. Mgr. Admits to Union Embezzlement
Karl Roush, ex-Bus. Mgr. of Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees
Local 497 was arraigned in the Linn County (Iowa) court on Sept. 11 on
one charge of Theft in the 2nd degree. According to the County Attny.,
Roush admitted converting $1,822 of union funds to his own use between
Feb. and July of 2001. He pled not guilty at his arraignment. The charges
were brought after an investigation by the St. Louis branch of the U.S.
Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [Linn County Ct. 9/11/02, DOL OLMS
10/3/02]
MAINTENANCE OF WAY (BMWE)
Miss. Union Chief Indicted for Using Union Funds for Personal Travel
Willie Corbett, Local Chrmn. of Maintenance of Way Employees, Lodge
616 in Union, Miss., was indicted on Sept. 23 for concealment of union
records. According to the indictment, handed down in the U.S. Dist. Ct.
for the Sou. Dist. of Miss., Corbett hid details of his travel on union
records required to be maintained under the Landrum-Griffin Act (U.S.C.
29, Sec. 436), and passed off transportation receipts for a second traveler
as union-related. The charges were brought following an investigation by
the New Orleans branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmnt. Standards. [U.S.A.O.
S.D. Miss. 9/23/02, DOL OLMS 10/3/02]
TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Whistleblower on Teamster Racketeering in Mass. Film Industry Vindicated
Robin Dawson, who warned of local Teamsters'
strong-arming of the film industry, now runs the reconstituted bureau
in charge of movie-making in Massachusetts. And on Sept. 26, she and other
business, film and tourism leaders celebrated the first feature film to
be shot in Mass. in two years. The movie, Mystic River, is being directed
by Clint Eastwood.
As Director of the old Mass. Film Bureau, Dawson warned ex-govs. William Weld (R), and Paul Celluci (R), that shakedowns and expense padding by Intl. Bhd. of Teamsters Local 25 were hindering filmmaking in Mass, acc. to records obtained by the Boston Herald under a Freedom of Information Act request. Allegedly, the Local's boss, George Cashman, even approved the beating of a female snack truck driver who refused to turn her concession contract over to a teamster on the set of the movie, "What's the Worst that Could Happen?"
In March of this year, it was revealed that Dawson was cooperating with a federal investigation of the Local and Cashman. She received several threats to her personal safety, and was offered a safe house for her protection. While the investigation of the union's heavy-handed tactics in movie-making continues, Cashman has already been indicted on separate charges of bribery and embezzlement related to the Local's Health & Insurance Plan.
The Film Bureau was shut down in July, but has now been re-formed with Dawson as the Exec. Director. [Hollywood Reporter 9/27/02]
Union Corruption Update is made possible by the generous contributions from readers like you. NLPC, PO Box 6821, Falls Church, VA 22040. Thank you. Union Corruption Update is part of NLPC's Organized Labor Accountability Project which is investigating and exposing corruption 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.
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 (http://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.
Looking for a LM-2, LM-3, or LM-4 Annual Financial Report from the
Department of Labor? Visit http://www.dol-union-reports.gov.
Union Corruption Update Article Index (by Union)
Union Corruption Update Article Index (by State)
Organized Labor Accountability Project