National Legal and Policy Center -- Organized Labor Accountability
Project
UNION CORRUPTION UPDATE
May 12, 2003 -- Vol. 6, Issue 10
For Influential Leaders & Important Decision Makers:
Information on America's most corrupt & aggressive unions
ELEVATOR CONSTRUCTORS (IUEC)
2 More Fish Netted in NYC Racketeering Scheme
Two of the leaders in the racketeering scheme at more than 20 New York City
construction sites from 1989-2001 pled guilty in late April. The scheme of payments for
no-show jobs and "labor peace" cost more than $6 million in lost wages
and benefits.
On April 24, in the U.S. Dist. Court for the Eastern Dist. of NY, Matthew
Joseph Downey, a representative of Local One of the Intl Union of Elevator
Constructors, pled to racketeering, unlawful labor payments, money laundering
conspiracy, witness tampering, and tax evasion. He agreed to forfeit
$800,000 to the United States Government within 120 days from his assets representing
a portion of the racketeering profits.
He was originally indicted on February 5, 2002 on charges relating to a
no-show scheme at construction sites in New York City following a joint investigation
by the New York branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards, the U.S.
Dept. of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration, the FBI, and the
IRS. On April 16, 2002 he was charged in a second indictment for taking
payoffs to help developers at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's
renovation site bill the MTA for no-show workers at inflated rates.
The next day, April 25, in the same court, Local One member and "no-show"
employee Marc DeGennaro was sentenced to three years probation, ordered to
perform 400 hours of community service, and ordered to pay $77,428 in restitution.
He will also forfeit to the U.S. Government $14,230 representing the amount
of unlawful contributions made on his behalf to all benefit plans affiliated
with Local One. He had earlier pled guilty to conspiracy to demand and receive
unlawful labor payments in violation of the Taft-Hartley Act. He was also
indicted on February 5, 2002, on charges of conspiracy, making false statements
under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, money laundering, and conspiracy.
[OLMS, 4/30/03]
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.
Email NLPC
Union Corruption
Update Article Index (by Union)
Union Corruption
Update Article Index (by State)
Organized Labor Accountability
Project
NLPC Home Page