Posts tagged FBI
Who will control New Jersey’s ports now that the state has withdrawn from Waterfront Commission?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.”
DC Corrections Officer Stole Thousands From Union for New York Trip, Broadway Show: DOJ
December 21, 2022 // A D.C. corrections officer was arrested Monday and charged with embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from the union that represents officers with the D.C. Department of Corrections, and authorities say he used some of the money for a trip to New York City. Andra Parker, 64, had access to the D.C. Department of Corrections Labor Committee's bank accounts when he was chairman of the union from June 2018 to May 2019 and stole thousands from the organization during that time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation stated in charging documents filed in federal court. Parker, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, spent $7,000 on a trip to New York City for himself and his friends, charging documents say. The trip included $4,000 on rooms and expenses at a Times Square hotel, more than $370 on a New York Knicks game and $616 on "Summer: The Donna Summer Musical," the U.S. Department of Justice said in a release.
Prosecutors want 19 months in prison for ex-Teamsters boss John Coli Sr. in extortion case
October 13, 2022 // In a sentencing memo filed late Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu wrote that Coli’s extortion was “prolonged, calculated, and deliberate,” involving regular bribe payments in “envelopes bursting with wads” of $25,000 in cash. Coli also “milked his position as a union official” in other ways over the years, netting him more than a half a million dollars in benefits including meals in Las Vegas, box seats at baseball and football games and the use of a yacht and two-person crew to cruise around the Italy, the prosecution filing stated.
FBI raids police headquarters in Louisiana and arrests union president
September 1, 2022 // Sgt. Harold “BJ” Sanford Jr., 52, of the Bossier City Police, was booked into jail as an "in-state fugitive for the U.S. Marshals Service," according to KTBS. As of this time, there is no information on the charges or what initiated the arrest. According to a press release, Sanford’s arrest is related to his role as president of the police union.
Former New Bedford police union treasurer sentenced for stealing $50,000 in union funds
June 30, 2022 // “Mr. Fernandes took an oath to protect and serve the people of New Bedford. Instead, he violated the trust bestowed upon him by both the New Bedford community and his fellow officers,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins in a press release. “For several years, Mr. Fernandes stole tens of thousands of dollars in union funds and recklessly spent it on a range of personal expenses including beach vacations, phone bills and online dating. Adding insult to injury, he tried to cover up his theft by backfilling the depleted accounts with more stolen funds from the union’s retirement investment account. Public officials who misuse their positions of trust for their own personal enrichment will be prosecuted. No one is above the law.” U.S. Attorney Rollins, FBI SAC Bonavolonta and Jonathan Russo, district director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor Management Standards made the announcement Monday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia M. Carris, deputy chief of Rollins’ Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit, prosecuted the case. Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Joshua Fernandes, U.S. Senior District Court Judge, Mark L. Wolf
The FBI informant in John Dougherty’s inner circle recorded more than 30 conversations with him
April 29, 2022 // In a court hearing Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl expressed concern that the government had waited until earlier this year — four months after Dougherty was convicted on federal bribery charges in his first trial — to disclose that they had a mole working from within Dougherty’s union, the politically powerful Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.