National Legal and Policy Center -- Organized Labor Accountability Project
 
UNION CORRUPTION UPDATE
 
October 28, 2002 -- Vol. 5, Issue 22

For Influential Leaders & Important Decision Makers:
Information on America's most corrupt & aggressive unions

 
TEAMSTERS (IBT) / MACHINISTS (IAM)
Union Pension Manager Gets Light Sentence for Kickbacks
A N.Y. pension fund consultant received a lighter-than-requested sentence for paying kickbacks to a union pension trustee without performing any services for the two funds involved.

The U.S. Attny. for the Dist. of Mass. had requested a sentence of one year, six months for George W. Philipps, ex-president and owner of Pension Fund Evaluations, Inc. (PFE) in Centerreach, NY. But U.S. Dist. Judge Nancy Gertner (D. Mass., Clinton) sentenced Philipps to two years probation on Oct. 10 for his role in a scheme carried out with William V. Close, then a trustee of the pension funds of Intl. Bhd. of Teamsters Local 710 and Intl. Assn. of Machinists Local 701, both based in Chicago.

On Feb. 6, 2002, Philipps admitted to paying kickbacks totaling $55,000 to Close between Sept. and Nov. 1997. In return for the payments, Close used his influence to cause the two funds' investment mgr., Fiduciary Mgmt. Associates, to execute the funds' asset trades through PFE brokers. Philipps' firm then agreed to let the brokers keep 70% of the commissions. At Philipps' sentencing, the U.S. Attny. argued that PFE did nothing to earn its commissions other than pay kickbacks to Close, the trustee. [U.S.A.O. D. MA  10/15/02]

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.
 
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