DePonte was responsible for maintaining the underground wells supplying water to the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, a research facility controlled by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture in Suffolk County, NY. On Aug. 13, the day before Local 30 of the Intl. Union of Operating Engineers began a still-ongoing strike, DePonte closed all the valves through which water was pumped into the plant.
Until water supply was restored several hours later, Govt. officials feared that without the water used for drinking, fire fighting and the steam used for decontamination, the infectious diseases studied there might escape the island. DePonte, however, tried to blame replacement workers in an email to Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge, warning that a "catastrophe" might result if what he claimed were untrained workers operated the plant. He also told his hometown newspaper, the Old Saybrook Pictorial Gazette, "I knew when I left everything was fine...I can't help it if the new workers don't know which switches to turn on."
In pleading guilty to violating 18 U.S.C., Sec. 1361 and 3551, DePonte persisted in claiming that "management wouldn't know how to operate the system without a licensed operator." Under the terms of the plea agreement, he will be sentenced to up to six mos. in prison. He also agreed to resign from the center, and could see his license to operate treatment facilities revoked by state officials. [U.S.A.O. E.D. NY, Newsday 12/17/02]
TEACHERS (AFT)
DC Union Officials' Alleged Take from Members Up to $2 Million
What began as a dues over-charge this summer
of $700,000, has apparently mushroomed to a diversion of more than
$2 million from the the Wash. Tchrs. Union (WTU) by its three leading officials.
On Dec. 19, federal agents raided the homes and offices of the ex-officials: president Barbara Bullock, asst. Gwendolyn Hemphill, and treasurer James Baxter, and confiscated a host of personal items that the three purchased with union funds. According to a FBI search warrant, Bullock allegedly purchased more than $1 million in goods and services, including, but not limited to: $500,000 in custom made clothing from Baltimore clothier Van Style, $150,000 at Neiman Marcus, $57,000 for a 288-piece Tiffany sterling silver set from a New Orleans antique dealer, $50,000 at Snazzy Limited in Orange Park, Fla., $50,000 at Nordstrom, $40,000 at Saks Fifth Ave., and $25,000 at Parkway Custom Dry Cleaners in Chevy Chase, Md.
Bullock has run the WTU since 1994. Agents are tracking the three's expenses dating to 1995. The alleged scheme of embezzlement apparently began to unravel this summer, when local teachers found their paycheck dues deductions leaping from $16 to $160, adding up to $700,000. When teachers complained to the Amer. Fedtn. of Teachers HQ in DC, natl. officials began an audit, the results of which they turned over to the U.S. Attny. They also demanded the three officials' resignations.
Agents also searched the homes and offices of relatives of the ex-officials, who allegedly joined in the conspiracy to spend funds from the WTU's checking accounts and credit cards for personal items. Hemphill's brother-in-law, Michael Martin, for instance, allegedly charged the union for such services as "transporting Barbara Bullock in search of additional wardrobe," acc. to his invoice to the WTU.
The U.S. Attny. in DC has not yet filed charges against the three. [Washington Post 12/20/02]
LONGSHOREMEN (ILA)
Man Charged with Shielding Rapist Elected Union President in Fla.
He may be awaiting trial for witness-tampering to protect a fellow
union member of rape. But that didn't stop Local 1408 of the Intl. Longshoremen's
Assn. from electing George Spencer as their president by a vote of 350-331
on Dec. 16.
Spencer will assume the presidency of the Jacksonville union from his brother, Charles, on Jan. 1. The next day, he will appear in court on the charge of bribing the boyfriend of a woman that union member Jerome Williams raped. In fact, the "boyfriend" was an undercover police officer and the transaction was taped by FBI agents investigating the Local. Williams was sentenced to life in prison last year for the kidnapping and rape.
The Local union is also facing a class action lawsuit in which 12 women accuse both Spencers of discrimination and harassment. [WJXT-TV, Jacksonville, Fla.]
U.S. Attny. Calls for Court Takeover of Mob-Riddled Union in NY &
NJ
U.S. Attny. James B. Comey asked Fed. Dist. Judge John Martin (S.D.
NY, G.H.W. Bush) on Dec. 10 to appoint an administrator for a local union
he described as "a cesspool of union corruption" that "for decades...has
offered a hospitable environment for mobsters." Comey asked Judge Martin
to appoint the administrator before union elections on Dec. 27.
Six current and former bosses of Local 1588 of the Intl. Longshoremen's Assn. (ILA) were indicted last May in a N.J. state court for racketeering and extortion at Jersey City's Global Terminal. Among those indicted was John Timpanaro, President of the Local, based in Bayonne, NJ, which represents longshore workers in NY and NJ.
These indictments were the last straw for the U.S. Attny's. Ofc. in Manhattan, which has worked for 12 years to break the grip of the Genovese crime family on 1588. In 1992, The U.S. Attny. agreed to settle a racketeering lawsuit against 1588, based on the replacement of two mob-controlled officers by Eugene G'Sell and John Angelone, who promised to keep organized crime out of the union. In fact, both would later admit that a Genovese associate, Joseph Lore, ordered the two to run for union office in place of the two known mob-controlled officials. According to the FBI, Lore inherited control of Local 1588 after Genovese family member John DiGilio was murdered in 1988.
Lore was supposed to have no influence in the union, or contact with local officials, under the terms of the consent decree settling the fed. lawsuit. But at his 2001 trial, G'Sell and Angelone detailed Lore's control of the union. The two pled guilty in 2000 to embezzling between $1.3-$2.3 million from the union for the benefit of Lore and his girlfriend and ofc. mgr., Denise Bohn. At Lore's trial, the two admitted transferring half the salaries of various officers and employees to Lore instead.
They also testified that Lore controlled all hiring and firing decisions in the union. When then-president Angelone attempted to fire Bohn, Lore summoned him to a diner and said, "You don't fire anybody unless I tell you to fire somebody, you know, and I'll make your life miserable." When Angelone later tried to negotiate a lower rate for a contractor and friend of Lorre to renovate the union hall, Lorre reportedly told Angelone that if anyone who didn't go along with him, Lorre would take a blow torch to his pubic hairs.
Lorre and Bohn were convicted by a fed. jury on Dec. 17, 2001 of conspiracy to embezzle. But as reported above, four current union officials, one ex-official, a terminal hiring agent, and a Genovese associate were indicted this year for extortion and bribery, using job assignments and promotions on the Bayonne waterfront.
Included in the indictments is current 1588 president Timpanaro, who is still planning to conduct officer elections this month. "Under these circumstances," U.S. Attny. Comey argued, "the appointment of an administrator is essential to ensure that the Local is run for the benefit of its members, that Local 1588 funds are not further dissipated by its officers, and that organized crime cannot dominate the Local as it has in the past. The administrator should have the power...to discipline union officers and members; to manage the finances of the union; and to supervise union elections. Given its history of corruption, this union needs an outsider to clean house."
Judge Martin will hear arguments on Comey's motion today. [U.S.A.O. S.D. NY 12/10/02]
UNION DEMOCRACY / SERVICE EMPLOYEES (SEIU)
Union Bosses' Election Misconduct not Discriminatory, but Legal
The denial of a "meaningful vote" to members of a NYC union was not
discriminatory, and therefore, legal under federal labor law, a fed. judge
ruled on Dec. 4. U.S. Dist. Judge Denny Chinn (S.Dist. NY, Clinton) ruled
against John Barry and other members of Local 32-BJ of the Service Employees
Intl. Union in a suit they filed against Local
president Michael Fishman earlier this year.
It was undisputed that on April 24 , Fishman rammed through changes in the local bylaws by: 1) refusing to physically separate members voting "aye" from those voting "nay," even after a request which, under the bylaws, Fishman was required to honor: 2) declaring that he had heard enough "ayes" to constitute a 2/3 majority even though the "ayes" were clearly insufficient to meet that requirement.
Barry and the other members argued that Fishman's conduct violated Sec. 101(a)(1) of the Labor-Mgmt. Reporting & Disclosure Act (LMRDA) of 1959, which provides that "[e]very member of a labor organization shall have equal rights...to vote in elections or referendums of the labor organization...subject to reasonable rules and regulations in such organization's constitution and bylaws." But Judge Chinn opined that since the "complaining union members here...have been denied no privilege or right to vote or nominate which the union has granted to others," the officials' misconduct did not amount to discrimination, and was not covered under the LMRDA.
On that basis, Judge Chinn granted Fishman's motion to dismiss Barry's suit. [Barry v. Fishman, U.S.D.C. S.D. NY]
ULLICO
Ullico Investigator to Join 9/11 Commission
With his report on the inside stock deals at the the union-insurance
company safely under wraps, frmr. Illinois gov. James Thompson is moving
on the Joint Commission on 9/11.
With a fed. grand jury investigating the scheme, Ullico directors appointed Thompson in April to conduct an internal review of the sales. Thompson finished the report in Sept., but agreed with Ullico lawyers that the report was protected by attorney/client privilege. With this claim, Ullico president Robert Georgine is keeping it out of the hands of the U.S. Attny. for Wash., D.C. A DC grand jury is investigating the stock deals from which several union directors, incl. Georgine, made millions of dollars in profits in 2000 and 2001, even as Ullico's stock fell.
On Dec. 16, U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert appointed Thompson to the joint commission investigating the 9/11 attack, now chaired by ex-NJ gov. Thomas Kean. [United Press Intl. 12/16/02]
- - - - - - -
ADDITIONAL BRIEFS NOT INCLUDED ON THE FAX EDITION OF THIS UNION CORRUPTION UPDATE:
- - - - - -
QUOTABLE QUOTE
National Review Writer Chronicles Hindrances to Fighting Union Corruption
"Meanwhile, the office that oversees union financial reporting was
gutted during the Clinton administration. The Office of Labor Management
Standards was reduced from 431 employees in 1992 to just 260 in 2001. Its
budget dropped from $ 33 million in 1997 -- the start of Clinton's second
term -- to $ 30.6 million in 2001. Not surprisingly, effective oversight
suffered. Compliance audits dipped from 800 in 1992 to just 238 last year,
and criminal convictions during
the same period fell from 177 to 101."
-- Sam Dealey, National Review, Dec. 6, 2002
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES (AFSCME)
Ex-HI Union Chief Continues Legal Fight as Intl. Takes over State
Affiliate
Lawyers for Ex-United Public Wrkrs. (UPW) chief
Gary Rodrigues and his daughter asked a fed. judge to order an acquittal
or a new trial on over 100 charges of embezzlement, of which the two were
convicted in November.
But as Rodrigues' lawyers charged fed. prosecutors with misconduct in the Rodrigues trial, the Amer. Fedtn. of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) took control of its state affiliate, the UPW, and suspended its bd. members and state officers. AFSCME officials took the action after Rodrigues, in violation of AFSCME orders, convened a bd. meeting after his conviction. Ignoring the wishes of local officials acting on AFSCME authority, the Bd. appointed Rodrigues' choice of a temporary UPW director.
AFSCME officials then sent a delegation from their Washington. DC. headquarters to Honolulu, which placed the UPW under direct control of the Intl. on Dec. 5. [Honolulu Advertiser: 12/17/02, 12/6/02]
Ex-Ohio Treasurer Charged with Embezzlement
On Nov. 8, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. CT. for the Southern Dist. of Ohio,
Jeffrey L. Williams, former treasurer of Local 11 of the Amer. Fedtn. of
State, County & Municipal Employees, was charged in an information
with embezzling $3,312.65 in union funds. The charges were brought following
an investigation by the Cleveland branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt.
Standards. [DOL OLMS 12/12/02]
TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Ex-NY Teamster Boss Indicted for Extortion
Richard Jedlicka was arrested Dec. 10 on charges of extortion that
he allegedly carried out as a Carmel, NY, Teamster official in the 1990s.
He is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attny. for the East. Dist. of NY.
Jedlicka was a business agent with Local 456 of the Intl. Bhd. of Teamsters in 1996 and 1997, when he allegedly threatened an unidentified construction company with violence unless the company paid money and no-show job wages to the Local. According to the indictment, the union stopped work at the site until the owner gave them what they wanted.
In 1999, the fed. Independent Rev. Bd. (IRB) implicated Jedlicka in a scheme allowing union officers to buy union-owned cars for their personal use at below-market prices. Jedlicka was cleared at the time, but the long-time president of Local 456, Edward Doyle, was forced to resign his office for his role in the scam.
Michael Kulstad, a spokesman for the U.S. Attny., declined to name the company allegedly victimized by Jedlicka, but did say that "the investigation is continuing." [White Plains Journal News 12/17/02]
Ex-Bookkeeper Sentenced for Falsification in Calif.
On December 12 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District
of California, Cathy R. Josselyn, former bookkeeper for Teamsters Local
853, was sentenced to one year of probation, fined $25, and ordered to
perform 100 hours of community service. Josselyn pled guilty on September
9, 2002, to making false entries in union financial records following a
joint investigation by the San Francisco branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt.
Standards and the Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector General.
[DOL OLMS 12/19/02]
STEELWORKERS (USW)
Boyfriend of Ex-Union Boss on Run Pleads Guilty to Harboring &
Embezzlement
On December 11, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District
of Virginia, Robert E. Martin, Jr., a former
member of Steelworkers Local 9336, pled guilty to one count of harboring
a fugitive, Elizabeth J. George, who was previously indicted for embezzlement
from a union disaster relief fund.
As part of the plea agreement, Martin agreed to pay Local 9336 $900.71 in restitution for funds he falsely claimed for lost work time due to a plant explosion in 2000. Martin was released on bond after being incarcerated since September 9, 2002 on the harboring charge. The charges were brought following a joint investigation by the Pittsburgh branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards and the Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector General. [DOL OLMS 12/19/02]
Ex-Fin. Secy. Charged with Embezzlement in PA Fed. Ct.
On Dec. 4, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Middle Dist. of Penn.,
James Hubler, former financial secy. of Steelworkers Local 14375, was charged
in an information with embezzling approximately $27,000 in union funds
between May 15, 1998 and Feb. 1, 2001.
Hubler's alleged embezzlement was not limited to his role in the union. He is also charged in the Columbia County Court with embezzling $33,348 from Conyngham Township and the Schuylkill School district in Sept., 2001. The fed. charge of uynion embezzlement was brought following an investigation by the Philadelphia branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [DOL OLMS 12/12/02, Shamokin News-Item 12/19/02]
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES (NAGE) / SERVICE EMPLOYEES (SEIU)
Ex-National Boss Gives up Fight to Recapture Union
Former union president Kenneth Lyons has given up his effort
to wrest back control of the national union he was ousted from for ignoring
Mass. ethics rules. In Aug., U.S. Dist.
Judge Morris Lasker (D. Mass., Johnson) upheld the takeover of the Natl.
Assn. of Govt. Employees (NAGE) by its intl. parent, the Service Employees
Intl. Union (SEIU).
Lyons founded the NAGE 40 years ago. But SEIU officials concluded in Nov. 2001 that Lyons had spent hundreds of dollars on meals for the state's chief labor negotiator. Lyons sued to overturn the SEIU ruling, but Judge Lasker entered a summary judgment for the SEIU, ruling that no NAGE officials were pressured into agreeing with the SEIU takeover. Lyons recently withdrew his appeal of Lasker's ruling. [Quincy, MA, Patriot Ledger 12/5/02]
STAGE EMPLOYEES
Ex-SD Stagehand Union Boss Changes Plea, Confesses to Embezzlement
On December 12, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Court for South Dakota, Jo
Ann Vaughn, frmr. treasurer of the Intl. Alliance Theatrical, Stage &
Picture Operators Local 220, pled guilty to one count of embezzling approximately
$33,000 (not exceeding $29,000 in union funds). Vaughn had pled not guilty
on October 22 to one count of embezzlement and one count of fraud for causing
a false report to be made. She will be sentenced on March 10, 2003. The
charges were brought following an investigation by the Minneapolis Resident
Investigator branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [USAO, SD
12/12/02: DOL OLMS 12/19/02]
BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION UNIONS
Ex-Chattanooga Ofc. Mgr. Charged with Embezzling $28,000
On November 22, in the U.S. Dist. Court for the Eastern Dist. of Tenn.,
Chris Keith, former office manager of the Building and Construction Trades
Council in Chattanooga, was charged in a one-count information with embezzling
$28,092 by writing unauthorized checks payable to himself, and by making
unauthorized financial withdraws from the Council's accounts. The charge
was brought following an investigation by the Nashville branch of the U.S.
Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [USAO, ED TN, 11/22/02: DOL OLMS 12/19/02]
MUSICIANS (AFM)
Husband & Wife Sentenced for Embezzlement in W. Va.
Thomas and Deborah Bailey were sentenced
on Dec. 9 for embezzling just over $15,000 from the Charleston Musician's
union. The couple will share the responsibility of repaying the funds they
stole from Local 136 of the Amer. Fedn. of Musicians. But as the Local's
frmr. president, Mr. Bailey must also spend
15 mos. in prison, and pay a $4,000 fine for the theft he attempted
to blame entirely on his wife, the union's former ofc. mgr. Mrs. Bailey
was paced on 5 yrs. probation, and escaped a fine from U.S. Dist. Judge
Charles H. Hadden (D. W. Va., Ford). [Charleston Gazette 12/10/02]
Ex-Musician Union Boss Sentenced in Texas Fed. Ct.
On Nov. 19, in the U.S. Ct. for the West. Dist. of Texas, Pedro Ojeda,
former secy.-treasurer of Musicians Local 23 in San Antonio, was sentenced
to five years probation including six months home confinement and 100 hours
of community service. Ojeda was also ordered to pay remaining restitution
in the amount of $250. Ojeda pled guilty to one count of embezzlement on
September 19, 2002 following an investigation by the New Orleans branch
of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [DOL OLMS 12/12/02]
TRANSIT WORKERS (ATU)
Frmr. Secy.-Treasurer Agrees to Plead Guilty in Penn. Fed. Ct.
On Nov. 26, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Middle Dist. of Penn., a
plea agreement was filed in which Laura L. McClurg, former secretary-treasurer
of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1195, agreed to plead guilty to one
count of concealing union records after a $2,295 shortage of union funds
was uncovered. An information was filed on September 3, 2002, following
an investigation by the Philadelphia branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt.
Standards. [DOL OLMS 12/12/02]
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES / SERVICE EMPLOYEES (SEIU)
Ex-Puerto Rican Union Chief Sentenced for Embezzlement
On Nov. 25, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for Puerto Rico, Abdiel Navarro,
former administrator, Union General de Trabajadores, Local 1199, SEIU,
was sentenced to six months home confinement with electronic monitoring
followed by two years probation. Navarro
was ordered to make restitution of $33,851.58 and pay a fine of $800. Navarro
pled guilty to embezzling union funds following an investigation by
the Atlanta branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [DOL OLMS
12/12/02]
TEXTILE EMPLOYEES (UNITE)
Ex-President Sentenced in NC Court
On December 12, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District
of North Carolina, Sullivan Hamlet, former president of Local 2603 of the
Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees in Greensboro,
was sentenced to one year of supervised release. Hamlet previously made
$4,567 in restitution and pled guilty to embezzling union funds following
an investigation by the Nashville branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt.
Standards. [DOL OLMS 12/19/02]
GRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS
Frmr. Minn. Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Theft
On December 11, in Blue Earth (Minnesota) District Court, Adam Wobbrock,
former treasurer of Graphic Communications International Union Local 379-C,
pled guilty to one count of theft related to an embezzlement of $3,675.36
of union funds. The charges were brought following an investigation by
the Milwaukee branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [DOL OLMS
12/19/02]
POSTAL WORKERS (APWU)
Ex-NC President Sentenced to Home Confinement & Restitution
On December 9, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District
of North Carolina, Hugh Credle, former president of Amer. Postal Workers
Local 1616 in Roanoke Rapids, was sentenced to six months of home confinement
followed by three years of supervised release. Credle was also ordered
to make restitution in the amount of $6,734 and pay a $5,000 fine. Credle
previously made $1,700 in restitution. On August 19, 2002, Credle pled
guilty to embezzling union funds following an investigation by the Nashville
branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [DOL OLMS 12/19/02]
AFL-CIO
Frmr. NO Secy. Sentenced for Embezzlement
On November 20, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District
of Louisiana, Joyce Griffin, former secretary of the New Orleans Metal
Trades Department, was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to
pay restitution of $2,383. Griffin pled guilty to one count of embezzlement
on August 14, 2002, following an investigation by the New Orleans branch
of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [DOL OLMS 12/19/02]
ELECTRONIC WORKERS (IUE)
Ex-Miss. President Sentenced for Failing to Keep Govt.-Required
Records
On November 15, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District
of Mississippi, Richard Smith, former president of Electrical Workers IUE
Local 770 was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay a fine
of $2,500. Smith pled guilty to one count of failing to maintain union
records on August 22, 2002 following an investigation by the New Orleans
branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [DOL OLMS 12/19/02]
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