Posts tagged racketeering
Mob boss sentenced for shaking down Queens-based construction union: Feds
February 29, 2024 // In one consensually recorded conversation, Ricciardo threatened to kill the senior union official, stating that the official would continue to obey him because he knew Ricciardo would “put him in the ground right in front of his wife and kids, right in front of his F**king house, you laugh all you want pal, I’m not afraid to go to jail, let me tell you something, to prove a point? I would f**king shoot him right in front of his wife and kids, call the police, f**k it, let me go, how long you think I’m gonna last anyway?” Ricciardo also worked with Bonanno crime family soldier John Ragano, another resident of Franklin Square also known as “Bazoo” and the “Maniac,” in a scheme to issue fraudulent workplace safety training certifications from two occupational safety schools Ragano purported to operate on Long Island. John Glover and Domenick Ricciardo
Democrat Party’s Embrace of Union Tactics Emboldens Corruption
February 9, 2024 // The Biden administration’s green-lighting of Big Labor’s thuggish tactics has only served to exacerbate union corruption. In 2023, the Office of Labor Management Standards (OLMS) conducted 155 criminal investigations into union activity, handing down 39 indictments and 57 convictions. Union crimes the OLMS prosecuted include petty theft, embezzlement, racketeering, and falsifying records.
The Year of the Union…Corruption?
February 1, 2024 // According to an annual report by the Office of Labor Management Standards (OLMS), over 155 criminal investigations into union-related activity were completed over the past year. As a result, the OLMS distributed 39 indictments and collected 57 convictions for numerous offenses ranging from petty theft to labor racketeering. While these findings are certainly disturbing, they likely only represent a drop in the bucket of national union corruption. This is because, according to the Department of Labor, it is simply “not feasible” to audit every union. Instead, forced to optimize limited resources against widespread corruption, the OLMS has developed an auditing methodology for unions whose “metrics suggest the possibility that there may have been criminal activity.” In 2023, the OLMS conducted 222 of these targeted audits, ultimately finding that 18.3% of these cases warranted criminal action. With nearly 1/5 of audits uncovering some form of wrongdoing, even in the limited sampling size permitted by OLMS resources, it is fair to say that corruption is entrenched within the American labor movement.
Opinion: UAW won’t keep their promises, doesn’t hold to Tennessee values
January 22, 2024 // If VW employees were to join the union, most of their dues wouldn't even stay in Tennessee. Dues would go to union leaders living lavish lifestyles that are out of touch with the workers they claim to represent and also to support largely extreme Democratic policies which are out of touch with Tennessee values. Even though Tennessee is a right-to-work state, once unionized, all their workers would be forced to fall under the UAW contract, even if they don't join. While UAW contracts have income floors, they also have ceilings that cap how much workers can earn. Workers can say goodbye to any pay-for-performance structure which benefits employees that produce strong results.
Big Labor Is an Economic and Political Dead End
October 26, 2023 // While misguided faux populists like Senator Hawley adopt the policy positions of union leaders who want to force as many workers as possible to fund their self-interested political agenda, other Republicans should stand with workers and co-sponsor the Employee Rights Act. It would protect workers’ right to secret-ballot union elections, the right of freelancers to remain independent (as the vast majority prefer), and allow workers to decide for themselves whether they wish to share personal information with union organizers or support union political spending. Too often, labor issues are inaccurately described as having two sides: “union” and “management.” But this populist moment is the perfect time for Congress to stand up for the oft-forgotten but most important third group: actual workers. The Employee Rights Act would be the perfect start. In the face of President Biden’s advancing radical agenda and some Republicans’ erroneously gravitating towards it, this pro-worker legislation can’t be enacted a moment too soon.
Former state police union head gets 2 1/2 years in prison on fraud, racketeering convictions
May 11, 2023 // Lynch paid Pullman a $20,000 kickback in connection with a settlement agreement between the union and the state, prosecutors said. They also defrauded two companies that sought to do business with the state police by hiding the fact that Lynch was paying Pullman to direct vendors to use Lynch’s services, authorities said. They then hid the payments to avoid reporting and paying taxes on that income. Pullman also embezzled union funds by using a debit card tied to a union bank account to pay for thousands of dollars worth of meals and travel for himself and his girlfriend to Florida. The union represents more than 1,500 troopers and sergeants.
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.”
Op-ed: Corruption in the Labor Movement: Labor Rackets
November 17, 2022 // Corruption by labor union officials, whether in service to themselves, political allies, or organized crime syndicates, has been a fixture of American labor history since the labor movement first began to organize in the late 19th century. While the extent of criminal influence in organized labor has declined thanks to extensive federal law enforcement activity and judicial oversight, major corruption scandals continue to dog the union movement. From the recent kickback scheme at the United Auto Workers to the downfall of Philadelphia union boss and political fixer Johnny Doc Dougherty to the confession of former Teamsters boss John Coli, who was well connected to Chicago politicos, systemic corruption persists.
Former President of Massachusetts State Police Union and Former Lobbyist Convicted of RICO, Fraud, Obstruction and Tax Charges
November 17, 2022 // Dana A. Pullman, 60, of Worcester, and Anne M. Lynch, 71, of Hull, were convicted following a 20-day jury trial of one count of racketeering conspiracy, one count of honest services wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, one count of obstruction of justice and one count of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. Pullman was also convicted of two additional counts of wire fraud and two counts of aiding and assisting the filing of a false tax return. Lynch was convicted of an additional count of obstruction of justice and four counts of aiding and assisting in the filing of a false tax return. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock scheduled sentencing for March 8, 2023. Pullman and Lynch were arrested and charged in August 2019 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2019.