Posts tagged FBI
Closing arguments are underway in John Dougherty embezzlement trial
December 4, 2023 // Dougherty threatened to “beat up,” “run over” and put potential witnesses “under the water” in a speech secretly recorded by an FBI informant. Costello, addressing the jury Monday morning, pointed to the frequency with which those supposed mistakes occurred. “This conduct was not a one-time mistake,” he said. “It was something that was done all the time. It was pervasive. It was intentional. In fact, it was so pervasive it just became routine.”
PENNSYLVANIA: Shapiro Appoints Teachers’ Union Fox to Oversee PA’s Pension Henhouse
November 30, 2023 // espite that huge infusion of money, however, the plan reported a $40 billion deficit, and retirees had not seen a benefit increase in nine years. Meanwhile, according to The Inquirer, PSERS “is still paying lawyers to deal with the fallout of a scandal touched off by an exaggerated profit report and scrutinized land deals. More than $6 million has been paid already, and ongoing litigation suggests an internal probe that coincided with investigations by federal authorities left some unanswered questions. The PSERS fund is also offloading $1.4 billion in “directly owned real estate,” some of it priced at a loss, but officials wouldn't say how much of the proceeds would go to the agency or how it might be reinvested.”
FBI, IRS search Duval teachers union offices; financial wrongdoing suspected
September 8, 2023 // Several federal agents including the FBI and IRS are working on an investigation into the Duval Teachers United in Jacksonville's San Marco community. They had been at the teachers union facility at 1601 Atlantic Blvd. since Wednesday morning and left late in the afternoon taking with them computer equipment and loads of additional materials, as witnessed by The Florida Times-Union. The Times-Union has learned it involves potential misappropriation of funds, and prominent defense attorney Hank Coxe also was spotted at the scene. Several agents were seen coming out with loaded-up boxes and bags and placing them into vehicles.
Orange County’s Police Unions Are Increasingly Electing, Unseating Their Own Bosses
August 30, 2023 // But in both Anaheim and Santa Ana, the police unions account for some of the largest political spending on citywide elections. And in both cities, the result has been massive raises for police officers, despite concerns from some residents that such raises were fiscally irresponsible – forcing Anaheim residents to dip into their general fund reserves in 2020. At the county, big Sheriff Deputy raises created conditions where critical investments in public health couldn’t be made, an impact largely unnoticed by the public. Until the pandemic arrived.
Who will control New Jersey’s ports now that the state has withdrawn from Waterfront Commission?
August 17, 2023 // The commission’s death was a triumph for Gov. Phil Murphy, whose administration took the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court, and his allies in the International Longshoremen’s Association, the maritime labor union that has controlled hiring at the port for decades. In late July, Murphy traveled to the union’s international convention in Hollywood, Fl. to celebrate the victory and salute the man he calls a “dear friend” and “partner in growing the New Jersey economy,” ILA President Harold J. Daggett. “I am happy to report that as of last Monday, the commission has been officially dissolved,” said Murphy, addressing more than 1,000 cheering union members assembled in the grand ballroom of The Diplomat Beach Resort. “Now we can finally begin to turn the page, and together, I look forward to starting a new chapter at our ports.” Murphy’s speech came a day after a profanity-laced address by Daggett, who promised a “painful” comeuppance for union foes and companies that would attempt to replace workers with automation. He vowed to cripple port commerce next year if the union’s contract demands aren’t met. “Mark my words! There’s going to be an explosion,” Daggett said. “Someone must take the bull by the horns, and that’s me… Don’t f–k with the maritime unions around the world. We will shut you down!”
An FBI informant in Johnny Doc’s inner circle didn’t violate his right to fair trial, judge says
August 3, 2023 // Though recording someone outside of a law enforcement investigation without their consent is a crime in Pennsylvania, the FBI, based on those tapes, enlisted the cooperator to begin working as an official confidential informant out of concern that statements such as those were an attempt by Dougherty to intimidate witnesses in the case against him, Blake said. And for the next several months, the informant continued to record Dougherty at union meetings up to and throughout his 2021 trial. The labor leader learned of the mole’s existence only after his conviction and as he prepared for a second trial on extortion charges related to threats he allegedly made to a union contractor who tried to fire his nephew.
Ex-NYPD union boss delays fraud sentence with re-entry class while collecting six-figure city pension
June 14, 2023 // Ed Mullins — who faces up to 20 years behind bars for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in union dues from the Sergeants Benevolent Association — was scheduled to be sentenced on May 25 in the federal case. But Mullins, 61, managed to delay the potential prison term to complete a 12-week pre-sentencing course run by the Focus Forward Project that helps criminal defendants prepare for life in lockup and re-entry into society, according to court documents. Federal prosecutors said he used the member dues to pay for hundreds of personal high-end meals as well as clothing, jewelry and home appliances — and even a relative’s college education.
Boilermakers union president ousted after claims of ‘shocking’ corruption
June 7, 2023 // The action to remove Jones comes as a federal criminal investigation into the Kansas City-based union’s activities is underway, The Kansas City Star has learned. Several sources confirmed that they have been interviewed by the FBI in recent weeks. The union’s executive committee found that Jones ordered the union to pay his wife, Kateryna, more than $100,000 plus benefits “for apparently no union purpose while she was living in the Ukraine” and spent more than $20,000 in union funds for flights to Ukraine “to visit his wife and to go to the home which he owns in the Ukraine.” Jones and his wife also turned in about $40,000 in receipts for meals in North Carolina — some “quite lavish and expensive” — with no justification for the expenses.
The Largest Teachers Union Embezzlements of All Time
February 8, 2023 // Denise Inez Owens was the treasurer of the Worcester County Teachers Association when she stole more than $433,000 of state and national dues money to feed her gambling addiction. The Maryland State Education Association discovered the theft in March 2009, but did not report it to authorities. Instead the union persuaded Owens to sign a confession and agree to a restitution plan. Owens then resigned her union position and returned to work as a middle school teacher without notifying the school district or union members of her crime. A newspaper discovered the incident three years later when the state union filed an insurance claim for its losses, and stated the theft was “not reported because of potential impact on membership and loss of members.”