National Legal and Policy Center -- Organized Labor Accountability Project
 
UNION CORRUPTION UPDATE
 
November 25, 2002 -- Vol. 5, Issue 24

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

 
GOVERNMENT WORKERS (AFSCME)
HI State Union Chief Convicted of Fraud, Embezzlement
United Public Workers (UPW) chief Gary Rodrigues was found guilty by a Honolulu jury on Nov. 19 of fraud and embezzlement that cost UPW members nearly $200,000. Rodrigues reacted by pointing at the fed. prosecutors and saying, "Get a good look at their faces, remember their faces," then later grabbing a microphone from a reporter's hand and smashing it on the ground.

Rodrigues was convicted of accepting kickbacks from 1996-2000 from insurers who did business with the union, which is affiliated with the Amer. Fedn. of State, County & Municipal Employees. Rodrigues also set up consultant contracts with family and friends, supposedly to review the union's benefits programs, but who did little actual work. Also convicted was Rodrigues' daughter, Robin Sabatini, who formed her own company, Four Winds RSK Inc. to take on the union business referred by her father, but spent only one to four days a month on her business, while making more than $142,000 a year.

During the trial, fed. prosecutors presented testimony from Rodrigues' ex-girlfriend and an insurance agent about the agent's weekly payments to Rodrigues, and Rodrigues' payment of "consulting" fees to the girlfriend's father to repay a personal loan. Sabatini's frmr. employer testified  to her "consulting" contracts with her father. The two defendants' lawyers called no witnesses, but argued that prosecutors had failed to prove their case.

It took the jury 15 minutes to read their guilty verdicts on all 101 criminal charges against Rodrigues and Sabatini. Rodrigues' lawyer said he would appeal the convictions. [Honolulu Advertiser 11/20/02]

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.

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