Unions & the Mob...

Labor Racketeering defined: the infiltration, domination, and/or use of a union or employee benefit plan for personal benefit by illegal, violent, or fraudulent means. [Source: US Dept. of Labor]

All-too-often, the question is asked: Aren't unions controlled by the mob?

The answer is 'No. Not usually.'

But then a headline like this comes along from the U.S. Justice Department:

Indictment Unsealed Charging Colombo Family Administration Member Theodore Persico and Seven Other Defendants

Along with details [with emphasis throughout] like this:

An eight-count indictment was unsealed this morning in Brooklyn federal court charging eight defendants – Theodore Persico, Jr., Michael Persico, Thomas Petrizzo, Edward Garofalo, Jr.,James Bombino, Louis Romeo, Alicia Dimichelle, and Mike LNU variously with racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, extortion, and embezzlement of union benefit funds. The defendants, who were arrested earlier today, are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge James M. Orenstein, at the U.S. Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, N.Y. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Sandra L. Townes.

[snip]

The indictment also charges Colombo associate Garofalo and his wife, Alicia Dimichelle, with embezzlement from the welfare benefit plan and pension benefit plan funds operated on behalf of union laborers of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 282. As described in the detention memorandum, Garofalo and Dimichelle engaged in a double-breasting scheme in which they used Colombo-controlled non-union shell companies, including DM Equipment, Big R Trucking, T&E Leasing, and Roman Sand and Stone, to circumvent Local 282 collective bargaining agreement union benefit contribution requirements.

The indictment is the latest in the U.S. Attorney Office's on-going efforts to dismantle the Colombo family. Those efforts have led in recent years to indictments and convictions of numerous members of the highest echelons of the crime family, including the 2007 conviction of former Colombo acting boss Alphonse Persico, Jr. and former Colombo administration member John DeRoss on murder in-aid-of racketeering and witness tampering charges, the 2008 conviction of Colombo captain Joseph Baudanza and others on stock fraud charges, and the 2009 indictment of former Colombo street boss Thomas Gioeli and other Colombo captains, soldiers, and associates on numerous racketeering-related murder charges and other crimes of violence.

"La Cosa Nostra continues to profit illegally in numerous sectors of our economy, allegedly including the World Trade Center construction site," stated U.S. Attorney Campbell. "Our Office is dedicated to eliminating these crime families, which take a significant economic toll." U.S. Attorney Campbell praised the outstanding investigative efforts by Special Agents of the FBI and DOL/OIG.

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Demarest stated, "This case illustrates yet again that the mob's aim is to make money, and the means is almost always violence or the threat of violence. Historically, the FBI referred to the economic impact of mob schemes as 'the mob tax.' Our goal continues to be elimination of the mob tax." 

DOL/OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Franzman stated, "Today's RICO indictment represents a significant milestone in our efforts to eliminate the far reaching extortionate control of demolition trucking companies in New York City by the Colomboorganized crime family. Through their actions, two of the defendants allegedly caused the theft of International Brotherhood of Teamsters LU 282 employee benefit plan assets, directly impacting the welfare and retirement benefits of many union members. We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to combat this type of labor racketeering."

Aren't unions controlled by the mob?  Well, sometimes...maybe.

Rated 'M' (for Mature Audiences Only): The Teamsters, a Tart & a Pocketful of Meth...

This sordid story is rated 'M' (for mature audiences only):

A longtime Teamsters union member who drives a vehicle on the "Lost" television production here pleaded guilty last week to a felony drug possession offense as well as to a misdemeanor charge of soliciting sex from an undercover police officer.

Unfortunately, it only gets better from there...

Reynold Kamekona, 53, was arrested the evening of Oct. 21 on Kukui Street after he offered to pay the female officer $50 for oral sex, according to police reports. A plastic bag of crystal methamphetamine was found in his pocket.


He pleaded guilty to third-degree possession of a dangerous drug and the soliciting charge before Circuit Judge Richard Pollack, who set sentencing for March 17.

Two hours after Kamekona entered his plea, Teamsters film and television driver Philip Asiata, who has worked for the "Lost" series part time, appeared before Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario to answer drug charges pending against him.

Asiata, who has a criminal record of more than 125 arrests and 52 convictions, pleaded not guilty.

What a racket...

Teamsters drivers hired for film, television and commercial productions are well-paid, earning as much as $3,000 a week. They are hired based on an internal union seniority grouping system that gives producers little say in employment matters.Men with felony records have been working as movie and television drivers in Hawai'i since the 1960s, when the Teamsters "production unit" was first formed by labor patriarch Arthur Rutledge.

Rutledge defended the employment of felons in the unit, saying he was helping the men rehabilitate themselves.

In the Asiata case, Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario found Asiata mentally incompetent for trial and sent him to Hawai'i State Hospital for treatment and evaluation.

An expert who examined Asiata, Dr. Martin Blinder, said in a report to Pollack that Asiata is unfit for trial due to "polysubstance abuse" and an organic brain injury suffered in 1995.

Blinder said Asiata told him that "before the accident, I was a heroin addict and used crack, but I don't do drugs any more. I'm a Teamster."

No, you really just can't make this stuff up.

Several men identified by law enforcement here as organized-crime figures have worked as drivers for film productions in the past, most notably confessed professional hit man Ronald K. Ching, who was a driver on the "Magnum P.I." television series while simultaneously feeding a $1,000-a-day heroin habit, according to court records.

Read the rest here.

EATING THEIR OWN: Union elections are not pretty...

An election for the leadership of Teamsters Local 237 is getting ugly, according to the New York Daily News.

On one side of the ring is incumbant Greg Floyd and, on the other side, challenger Eunice Rodriguez, a member of the group Members for Change.

Of course, whenever there is a battle over power and control, things can get a bit testy, as seems to be the case here.

[Jakwan] Rivers, a former union business agent, said Floyd and the current union leaders "don't have the best interests of members at heart."

He pointed to Teresa Roberts, a 43-year-old Housing Authority worker who was assaulted on the job.

He said the union has failed to take her problem seriously.

Workers who have tried to campaign on behalf of Members for Change said they have been harassed by Floyd loyalists, and they described some thuggish behavior.

Randy Thorne, a 48-year-old Housing Authority worker, said he was trying to hand out campaign information to workers at the Seth Low Houses on July 29 when he had a confrontation with Local 237 Business Agent Curtis Scott.

"He was distributing Greg Floyd information and I started handing out my information," said Thorne.

"He started snatching my paperwork, ripping it up and cursing. He called me stupid," Thorne added.

Union bosses degrading and fighting members who are trying to change their union? Wow! Now that's a new one....NOT!

TEAMSTERS BOSSES TAKE OVER CHICAGO LOCAL

The Chicago Sun Times is reporting Teamsters El Jefe, Jimmy Hoffa has put Chicago Teamsters Local 726 into trusteeship--which means kicking the elected leaders out while the big boss' appointees move in.

According to the charges, Local 726 leaders are charged with:

• Taking $125,000 out of local pension funds and moving it into local union coffers without pension fund approval or any documentation noting interest rates and repayment terms.
• Breach of fiduciary duties by the three union leaders who also serve as pension fund trustees. They are accused of skipping at least 12 months of mandatory payments to the pension fund and failing to maintain pension fund records.
• Told by an accountant that it was a no-no to transfer money from the pension
  fund to the local, the officers took steps to pay the money back. When Local 726 could not cover the payment, the three officers allegedly made $112,000 in personal loans to the local, a violation of the Teamsters constitution.
• Misled the international union on at least two occasions about financial iabilities and steps being taken to improve those conditions.
• Waiving one year’s worth of membership dues for 27 different members without approval.
  

Hmmm. Teamster leaders? Corruption? It seems these two have danced this playlist before.

Coincidentally, it would appear that this is the same Teamsters local that rejected Chicago Mayor Daley's cost cutting measures, which resulted in layoffs that which was posted on 1-888-NO-UNION.COM's blog (here).

We wonder: Were the union's actions based purely on corruption? Or, were there some old-fashioned, Chicago-style politics at play as well?

TRUCK RAMS TEAMSTERS HALL LOOKING FOR CASH BUT THE MONEY WAS GONE!

According to the Grand Forks Herald, a red stolen pick up truck smashed into a Teamsters hall looking for loot. Unfortunately, according to Teamsters boss Dean Cypher, the cash registers had been emptied earlier.

Teamsters President Dean Cypher said whoever did it was looking for money, but didn't get any. He said cash registers inside the building were smashed, but they had been empty.

Cypher said the red pickup was sticking out of the building when he got there after being called by police.

He said, "all the registers are toast, but we do have the guy on video," because security video got a shot of the suspect.

Ok. Here's the question: Why would a union hall have cash registers?...Except, perhaps, to make change for workers when they go to the union hall to pay their union dues.

Since the union caught the perpetrator of this almost-heist on tape, perhaps we'll learn more soon. Afterall, as the saying goes: It takes a thief to catch an almost thief.

And You Paid Dues for THAT?!? Teamsters & AFSCME Cost 431 Members Their Jobs

When it comes to causing people to lose jobs, there's no singular, man-made force that does it better than today's unions.

Yesterday, Chicago's Mayor Rchard Daley laid off 431 union workers who, were it not for their unions, could have kept their jobs.

"At the close of business today, the city will be forced, under labor agreements and labor law, to take the unfortunate step of laying off 431 employees represented by these two unions," Daley said.

While 41 of the city's 43 unions agreed to reducing their work year a total of 24 days over the next two years, the Teamsters and AFSCME refused the furloughs.

Loss of the 24 days, according to WBBM Radio is a "tough pill to swallow."

But many workers say they see it as the lesser of two evils, and they wish their union would just go along with the mayor's plan to save their jobs. [Emphasis added.]

Of the 431 workers that will be laid off, 141 workers of the 2,000 Teamsters will be laid off and 290 layoffs will come from the 4,500 workers that make up the AFSCME union.

Wow!

These two unions could have saved 431 jobs. Instead, they cost the city workers their jobs.

With union representation like that, why have a union?