ILA official requests reinstatement after embezzling from union

It's rather amazing this guy even had the guts to request reinstatement.  But, they use to be able to get away with this kind of things.   I trust the union members are secretly happy, but they won't be able to say so out loud.

From the Waterfront Commission

Commission Denies Fomer ILA Local 1233 Secretary/Treasurer's Request for Reinstatement on the Longshoreman's Register After Embezzlement Conviction
April 8, 2014
           The Commission denied the Request for Re-instatement to the Longshoreman’s Register by Gregory “Ronnie” Taylor, former ILA Local 1233 Secretary/Treasurer. Taylor was previously decasualized for failing to meet the work requirements. In support of his Request for re-instatement, Taylor indicated that he failed to meet the work requirements because he held the position of Secretary/Treasurer of Local 1233. On February 6, 2013, in the United States District Court, District of New Jersey, Taylor pleaded guilty to Count 26 of an indictment that charged him with issuing a vacation check for $7,852 to himself without authorization. Taylor also admitted that between 2007 and 2010, while serving as secretary-treasurer, he embezzled a total of $71,000 by improperly cashing duplicate paychecks, as well as other checks from the union’s operating account, including for unauthorized credit card expenditures.
           The Commission denied Taylor’s Request for Re-instatement in that his service as Secretary/Treasurer of ILA Local 1233 could not be considered “good cause” for failing to meet work requirements in that Taylor abused his position as Secretary/ Treasurer and breached his fiduciary duty and obligations to the members of the ILA Local 1233.
           

           
click here for link

Waterfront Commission continues to fight to clean up the waterfront

I am repeating this entire statement from the Waterfront Commission web-site.  I trust they won't mind as am sure they want to get some wide distribution of this statement.

Maybe I should try to apply for a job on the waterfront.  Ha.

click here for link

WCNYH
New York Shipping Association and International Longshoremen’s Association Continues to Mislead the Public Regarding Hiring Delays
March 25, 2014
           The statement released today by the coalition led by New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech and New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Bracken accusing the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor of delaying the Port of New York-New Jersey from filling “nearly 700 empty jobs,” is unequivocally and demonstrably false. The release is undoubtedly the result of the intensive lobbying efforts of the New York Shipping Association, Inc. (NYSA) and International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO (ILA), who have filed a federal lawsuit against the Commission because it will not allow them to institutionalize discrimination through collective bargaining agreements, and has instead required them to hire in a fair and non-discriminatory manner.
           Regrettably, the coalition made no attempt to contact the Commission to discover the true facts prior to issuing their statement. Instead, they apparently relied solely on the misrepresentations of the NYSA and ILA who, over the past several months, have been forced to retract similar false accusations of delay in hiring that they made to the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, members of the legislature, the press and even a federal district court judge.
           This is just one more in a series of misleading press releases. Last month, two New Jersey legislators were induced by the NYSA and ILA to issue a statement that “red tape was holding up job creation at the Port of New Jersey,” and that the Commission was delaying the Port from filling “approximately 600 vitally needed jobs.” At that time, there were over 100 individuals referred by the industry, many of whom were military veterans, who had been approved by the Commission to go to work and were simply waiting for the NYSA and the ILA to sponsor them for employment. After meeting with the Commission and discovering the true facts, those legislators immediately issued a public statement urging NYSA President John Nardi to sponsor those individuals so that they may be put to work. Mr. Nardi’s statement today that the NYSA has had to jump through “bureaucratic hoops just to fill one empty position” is simply an attempt to deflect the public pressure that the Commission has been exerting on the NYSA to fill labor shortages.
            Last week, we advised the NYSA that any harm that its members may be suffering is due to the NYSA’s consistent failure to do what is best for them. Today, the Commission stands firmly behind that statement.
            Indeed, the Commission is dedicated to putting people to work in the Port, in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner, as quickly as possible. The Commission has not been the source of any labor shortages or slowdowns in the Port. To the contrary, we have openly criticized the glacial pace at which the NYSA is moving with regard to getting longshoremen sponsored and working in the Port.
            The Commission has also offered a diverse prequalified pool of labor assembled from government employment centers in New York and New Jersey, to alleviate any immediate labor shortages. Those individuals, once described by ILA President Harold Daggett as “garbage,” were summarily rejected. This statement is illustrative of why there remains an incredible lack of diversity in waterfront employment, which has led the New York State Division of Human Rights to file a complaint against the NYSA, ILA and ILA Locals, and the Metropolitan Marine Contractors Association (“MMMCA”). The Commission is clearly not the only agency that is deeply troubled by the ILA’s referral practices and the NYSA and MMMCA’s employer sponsorship system, which have caused a disproportionate number of minorities and women to be excluded from union membership and employment opportunities in the Port.
            Rather than “destroy” the NYSA and ILA’s collective bargaining agreement, as contended by Harold Daggett in today’s statement, the Commission applauded the industry’s hiring plan, which calls for 51% of those hired to be returning veterans, as long as that plan was truly implemented in accordance with its terms. However, over the past several months, the NYSA and ILA have demonstrated that they are, once again, incapable of hiring in a fair manner. Instead of recruiting and hiring military veterans, as promised, they have dedicated most of their efforts to employing and training their own referrals, to the severe disadvantage of the veterans. As a result, the Commission has had to forcefully advocate on behalf of those veterans who are simply waiting for the NYSA and ILA to put them to work in the Port.
            We invite New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech, New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Bracken, or any other member of the coalition to meet with the Commission to discuss the serious falsehoods that they have publically made. Should they refuse to do so, it is incumbent on them to provide the public with any objective, credible facts that would support today’s statement. The Commission assures the public that none exist.

Commissioner Jan Gilhooly appears to be mad as...

Not sure what will translate.  Mad as a wet hen?  Oh well.  The point is this woman (and it seems we women are the ones bringing accountability in many areas..note GM)  is fed up with a whole bunch of people.

She issued this statement which is available on the Waterfront Commission web-site.
click here for link

Statement of New Jersey Commissioner Jan Gilhooly in Response to Coalition Statement Urging Port-Hiring Reforms
March 25, 2014
           I am greatly troubled that continuous misrepresentations are being made to elected New Jersey officials, members of the media and members of the industry. As a 30-year veteran of the United States Secret Service, I will stake my integrity and that of this Commission against that of the NYSA and ILA. The Waterfront Commission will continue to do everything in its power to fulfill its mandate to ensure the fair hiring of a diverse workforce in the Port.
          

Waterfront Commission is busy

Finally, after 70 years, the Waterfront Commission is doing their job.

Every day there is a new press release.  After all these arrests, there will surely be
lots of openings for ILA jobs.

This is the latest

Click here for link

DA Dan Donovan announces the takedown of an insurance fraud ring involving medical professionals and longshoreman
December 18, 2013
           STATEN ISLAND, NY – Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr., New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner Ronald Goldstock of the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, Special Agent in Charge Brian Crowell of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Division (DEA), Chairman Robert Beloten of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board and Superintendent Benjamin M. Lawsky of the New York State Department of Financial Services announced today the arrests and indictments of nine individuals after a 20-month investigation into insurance fraud, the fraudulent dispensing of prescriptions for controlled substances, sale and possession of oxycodone and gambling.
           Targets of the investigation, dubbed “Operation Shore Thing,” include MIHIR BHATT, a pain management doctor; THOMAS E. DINARDO, a chiropractor; STEVEN ALCARAS, NICHOLAS TORNABENE, ROSARIO SAVASTANO and CHRISTOPHER GALASSO, all longshoreman; CHARLES TORNABENE, a laborer, and RITA PATEL, a pharmacist. The investigation also yielded the arrest and indictment of longshoreman JOSEPH FAVUZZA, a known associate of the Colombo crime family who was running an organized gambling operation which involved an Internet gambling site.
           “My father worked as a longshoreman, so I grew up knowing the dangers of the job. I can’t imagine how those risks are multiplied when people show up to work high on narcotics. But that is exactly what happened here, longshoremen abusing painkillers prescribed to them by a pill peddling doctor and a crooked chiropractor who conspired to rip off millions from insurance companies in a complex fraud scam. The number of oxycodone pills prescribed by the doctor in this case is a staggering 1,775,703 over four years, enough to cover 7 miles if you placed pill in front of pill. That distance would stretch from Howland Hook to the foot of my office,” said Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. “This case is a clear example of why we need a national drug database in this country, so that we can track the pill activity in other states and know when our borough is being inundated with over-prescribed painkillers. The one sure result of Operation Shore Thing is that dangerous amounts of oxycodone are no longer illegally flowing through Staten Island. I also want to note that I have the highest regard for the workers who are proud to call themselves longshoremen, and the defendants in this case are an exception to that noble profession.”
           NYPD Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said, “This case is another example of criminals perpetuating and exploiting addiction, at great risk to the public’s safety. It is especially despicable when licensed medical practitioners put profit over others’ welfare. I commend the members of the NYPD’s Organized Crime Investigations Division for their work in bringing the principals of this prescription drug and insurance fraud ring to justice.”
           Commissioner Ronald Goldstock of The Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor stated, “The Port is a dangerous place in which to work; those who we register deserve to be protected from co-workers who make decisions and operate machinery under the influence of narcotics and opioids. We will continue to use our investigative, administrative and drug testing authority to remove drug dealers and users from the docks. These arrests and our administrative revocations make even more disturbing the New York Shipping Association and I.L.A.’s unsuccessful attempts to curb the Commission’s enforcement actions regarding drug testing in the Port.”
           DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian R. Crowell said, “We allege Dr. Bhatt was a pain pill trafficker who wrote over 11,692 prescriptions for Oxycodone products over a two year period, and through his illegal activities, Dr. Bhatt netted illicit proceeds in excess of $12 million at the expense of the pain pill and heroin epidemic our communities face. More than 52 million Americans have abused prescription drugs at least once in their life. Visits by individuals to hospital emergency rooms involving the misuse or abuse of pharmaceutical drugs have doubled over the past five years and law enforcement remains vigilant in bringing to justice those drug traffickers responsible for fueling prescription drug abuse with no regard to public health. I commend the men and women from the NYPD, the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor and the TDS-NY for their diligent investigation.”
           Chairman Robert Beloten of NYS Workers’ Compensation Board stated, “The Workers’ Compensation Board protects injured workers against doctors who overprescribe, who don’t provide the treatment they’re billing for, and who keep their patients in the system not for health care but to line their own pockets. People hurt at work deserve the best health care possible, so we’ll continue fighting health care fraud at all levels with all law enforcement agencies to ensure the integrity of the system.”
           Benjamin M. Lawsky, Superintendent of the Financial Services, said: “As alleged, this criminal network reaped millions of dollars in illicit profits by trafficking in illegal drugs and engaging in insurance fraud and kickbacks. These arrests help put the brakes on that scheme. The Department of Financial Services thanks District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. and all the law enforcement agencies which worked on this investigation.”
           “Operation Shore Thing” commenced in March 2012 and included the use of confidential sources, undercover police officers, electronic surveillance and physical surveillance. The scam was perpetrated by defendant BHATT, who engaged in stealing from insurance companies and fraudulently dispensing narcotic drugs under the guise of a pain management enterprise.
           Patients paid for the alleged pain management services by using their insurance and received prescriptions for oxycodone based upon perfunctory or nonexistent treatment rendered by BHATT at the NYC Wellness Center at 4870 Hylan Blvd., Staten Island, New York, which is owned and operated by DINARDO, and other locations. BHATT billed insurance companies using his own name and through his business, BMB Medical P.C.
           DINARDO would bring patients into his offices, the NYC Wellness Center, and then he and BHATT would direct them to make return office visits, receive chiropractic treatment, magnetic resonance images, nerve conduction tests, and electromyography (“EMGs”), to support a long term insurance billing scheme and the dispensing of oxycodone prescriptions.
           These exams, if done at all, were not conducted properly, and were conducted to give the appearance of an examination to justify further billable office visits, dispensing prescriptions for oxycodone, and lengthy workers compensation claims. Participating patients would call to get prescriptions for oxycodone and would receive them in return for billable office visits that did not occur, or which were perfunctory and lasted only an average 3-5 minutes. Insurance companies would then be billed for procedures that took 25, 40, or 60 minutes.
           BHATT and DINARDO decided which patients were too risky to see because of possible law enforcement surveillance and instructed members of the enterprise on how to avoid detection by law enforcement. DINARDO employed a lookout to surveil possible law enforcement activities in the vicinity of the NYC Wellness Center. He also flagged patients who presented a risk of exposing his criminal/fraudulent activities due to their age, reputation for talking too much, and likelihood of getting caught in illegal pill related activities. BHATT paid DINARDO monetary compensation, under the guise of rent, for providing the location and patients for the fraud.
           BHATT also dispensed prescriptions from his Lyle Place home in Edison, New Jersey, which was not a medical office, while indicating in insurance claims that the prescriptions were generated from office visits occurring in Staten Island. In addition to utilizing NYC Wellness Center, BHATT also perpetrated his fraudulent activities at medical offices located at 456 Arlene St. and 3733 Richmond Avenue in Staten Island, New York, and a location in Queens.
           As part of the conspiracy, BHATT billed Connecticut General Life Insurance (“Cigna”) and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield for services that he did not provide. BHATT also issued prescriptions to ALCARAS, GALASSO, SAVASTANO, NICHOLAS TORNABENE and CHARLES TORNABENE that were paid for, in part, with CVS Caremark insurance.
           BHATT would direct patients to use PATEL, of the Shayona Pharmacy at 147 Smith St. in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, to fill their prescriptions. PATEL, in turn, directed BHATT to issue oxycodone prescriptions to patients based upon their insurance coverage so as to maximize the profit of the conspiracy. PATEL also instructed BHATT how to prescribe oxycodone to avoid detection by law enforcement. Further, PATEL would charge BHATT’s patients more than their insurance copayment to fill their oxycodone prescriptions, yielding herself an ill-gained profit.
           ALCARAS, a longshoreman, managed appointments and the picking up of prescriptions of oxycodone, for the other, separately indicted longshoremen, who received prescriptions for oxycodone without exams by BHATT or after perfunctory visits to his offices. ALCARAS communicated with both BHATT and DINARDO about the suitability for inclusion or exclusion of individual longshoreman as patients. ALCARAS also communicated with BHATT and DINARDO when longshoreman were needed at one of BHATT’s offices for fraudulent exams to justify further fraudulent billing of insurance companies, or to receive fraudulent doctor’s notes to avoid losing their registration as longshoreman.
           From on or about and between Feb. 26, 2013, and April 26, 2013, GALASSO filed false instruments with the Waterfront Commission in order to avoid decasualization, which is the process of removing longshoremen from the register based on failure to meet the work requirements. Specifically, ALCARAS and GALASSO requested doctor’s notes from BHATT and DINARDO for medical treatment of GALASSO that did not occur, and instructed them on how the notes should be written.
           In addition to participating in the insurance fraud, some of the longshoreman also evaded drug tests at work, learning about them beforehand and using devices like prosthetics, cleansing drinks and synthetic urine to try and pass the test. The investigation also uncovered that several of the longshoreman also went to work under the influence of narcotics. NICHOLAS TORNABENE also engaged in selling drugs.
           Recovered during the execution of search warrants were $3 million in assets, as well as 12 pounds of gold and a quantity of oxycodone.
            This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Gabriel McKeen of the Richmond Country District Attorney’s Office, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Amy Legow, Chief of the Investigations Bureau. Also assisting in the prosecution is Assistant District Attorney David Frey, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Bureau.
           Participating agencies and investigators were:

• Detective Jeffrey Quod and members of the New York Police Department’s Organized Crime Investigation Division, Major Investigations Section team, acting under the supervision of Captain John Dusanenko and Lieutenant Jack Iacovou.

• Detective Ralph Grasso and members of Waterfront Commission New York Harbor Brooklyn Field Office, acting under the supervision of Capt. Jeffrey Heinssen. Also, attorney Jeffrey Kwastel of the Waterfront Commission, who was sworn in as a special ADA to assist in the investigation and indictment.

• Detective Lisa Paskewitz and members of the NYPD Asset Forfeiture Unit and the El Dorado Task Force from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, acting under the supervision of Sgt. Gary Galitsky and Lieutenant Charles Scalzo. Detective Paskewitz also worked on the Asset Forfeiture Task Force for Homeland Security, acting under the supervision of Shawn Polonet, group supervisor for the Asset Forfeiture Unit, Homeland Security Investigations, New York.

• The DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad which is comprised of agents and officers from the DEA, NYPD, Town of Orangetown, Westchester County Police Department, acting under the direction of DEA Supervisory Special Agent Special Agent in Charge Brian R. Crowell.

• Inspector General Paul D’Emilia of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Part of the case was also handled by Pamela Davis and David Regazzi, Office of the Fraud Inspector General, New York State Workers’ Compensation Board.

• Senior Investigator Ed Miller and Deputy Chief Investigators Joe Edwards and Anthony Gonzalez of the New York State Department of Financial Services, under the overall supervision of Frauds Bureau Deputy Director Angelo Carbone, Director Frank Orlando and Executive Deputy Superintendent Joy Feigenbaum.

• Brendan Vallely from the Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, New York State Department of Health
           Also, special thanks to AIG and Emblem Health insurance companies for their cooperation, as well as Cigna, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna and CVS Caremark.
           And, credit is to be given to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office for assisting in the investigation.
           The charges contained in the indictments are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The defendants are facing various felony counts including enterprise corruption, scheme to defraud, grand larceny, insurance fraud, filing false business records and conspiracy. FAVUZZA is facing several gambling charges.
           Mihir Bhatt, 47 Medical Doctor 03/07/1966 22 Lyle Place, Edison, NJ Arrested 12/17/13 in New Jersey, awaiting extradition If convicted of the top charge, enterprise corruption, he faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.
           Thomas E. Dinardo, 44 Chiropractor 06/16/1969 3755 Amboy Road, SI NY Arrested and arraigned 12/17/13 Bail set at $90,000 If convicted of the top charge, enterprise corruption, he faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.
           Steven John Alcaras, 42 Longshoreman, assigned to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal 06/24/1971 759 Katan Ave., SI NY Arrested and arraigned 12/17/13 Bail set at $77,500 If convicted of the top charge, enterprise corruption, he faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.
           Nicholas Tornabene, 28 Longshoreman, assigned to the New York Container Terminal at Howland Hook 08/01/1985 8217 16th Ave., Brooklyn NY Arrested and arraigned 12/17/13 Bail set at $25,000 If convicted of the top charge, criminal sale of a controlled substance in the 3rd degree, he faces a maximum of 9 years in prison.
           Charles Tornabene, 28 Laborer 08/01/1985 8217 16th Ave., Brooklyn NY Arrested and arraigned 12/17/13 Bail set at $15,000 If convicted of the top charge, insurance fraud, he faces a maximum of 7 years in prison.
            Rosario Savastano, 28 Longshoreman, assigned to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal 02/27/1985 1777 West 12th St, Brooklyn NY Arrested and arraigned 12/17/13 Bail set at $15,000 If convicted of the top charge, insurance fraud, he faces a maximum of 7 years in prison.
           Christopher Galasso, 29 Longshoreman, assigned to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal 06/07/1984 456 Fanning St., SI NY Arrested and arraigned 12/17/13 Bail set at $15,000 If convicted of the top charge, insurance fraud, he faces a maximum of 7 years in prison.
           Joseph Favuzza, 29 Longshoreman, assigned to the New York Container Terminal at Howland Hook (suspended since 2012 on separate cases) 10/23/1984 92 Fahy Ave., SI NY Arrested and arraigned 12/17/13 Bail set at $5,000 If convicted of the top charge, promoting gambling, he faces a maximum of 4 years in prison.
           Rita Patel, 48 Pharmacist 06/20/1965 4 Hauser Lane, Matawan NJ Arrested 12/17/13 in New Jersey, awaiting extradition If convicted of the top charge, criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance, she faces a maximum of 15 years in prison.
--------------------------------

The Official Report by the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor

 

The Waterfront Commission of New York/New Jersey posted on their web-site the official report submitted to the Governors of New Jersey and New York.  This report was issued in March 2012, but references public hearings conducted in 2010.   Not sure what took them so long to issue the report.  The wheels of government turn slowly.

Click here for link to complete report.

Below is how it starts...

 

 

To the Honorable Chris Christie, Governor, and the Legislature of the State of New Jersey

and To the Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor,and Legislature of the State of New York: 

 

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

Between October 14, 2010 and December 2, 2010, the Waterfront Commission of New

York Harbor (“Commission”) conducted public hearings concerning unfair employment 

practices within the Port of New York District )"the Port", or "the Port of New York-New Jersey")

1

The hearings demonstrated and publicized that certain hiring practices, achieved

primarily through calculated provisions of collective bargaining agreements, illogical

interpretations of other provisions, and claims of “custom and practice,” have created within the

Port no/low-work, no/low-show positions generally characterized by outsized salaries. The

privileged few that are given those jobs are overwhelmingly connected to organized crime

figures or union leadership.

Not much has changed since the early days.  The Waterfront Commission is trying.  We shall see.

Waterfront Commission - continues to "clean house"

The Waterfront Commission is finally doing it's job.   Here's another one they are throwing out.

WCNYH
Pier Superintendent’s License Revoked for Refusal to Take Commission Ordered Drug Tests
November 5, 2013
           Red Hook Container Terminal Probationary Pier Superintendent Thomas Griffith’s license has been revoked for refusing to take Commission ordered urine and hair tests for drug use. At the time he was ordered to take the tests, Griffith was advised that failure to appear for the tests would be considered a positive result and could result in the revocation of his license.
           Griffith had previously been denied a Pier Superintendent’s license in 2008 after it was found that he lacked the required good character and integrity because of prior drug use and false testimony about his drug use. On application of Red Hook Container Terminal dated April 27, 2012, Griffith was issued a temporary, probationary license. Before permanent licensure, Griffith was ordered by the Commission to be tested for illegal drug usage. Griffith failed to appear for the tests.
           After a hearing on the charges, an Administrative Law Judge found that Griffith failed to provide material evidence as required by the Commission (the drug tests) and lacked the requisite good character and integrity required of a Pier Superintendent citing his “historical penchant for fabrication by evasion” regarding his drug use. The Administrative Law Judge recommended that Griffith’s temporary license be revoked and his application for a permanent license be denied. The Commission concurred with the Administrative Law Judge’s findings and revoked his temporary license and denied his application for a permanent license.

           

ILA's complaint about Waterfront Commission not considered valid

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says the Waterfront Commission is not
delaying the hiring of new employees.

This from their web-site

STATEMENT BY PORT AUTHORITY ON THIS WEEK'S MEETING ON HIRING ISSUES IN THE PORT OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY

Date: Nov 07, 2013
Press Release Number: 112-2013
"As the agency that oversees the largest port complex on the East Coast, our goal is simple: To continue to build on the 280,000 jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity that the Port of New York and New Jersey provides to the region. This week, we had a productive meeting with the Waterfront Commission and the New York Shipping Association over hiring at the port at a time when there is a real need for additional employees on the docks. All parties made a great deal of progress, which when effected, will result in the hiring of hundreds of ILA members in the short term. Though work needs to be done to finalize the agreement, we are optimistic as we continue to work with both parties towards a settlement. All parties agree that the Waterfront Commission was and is not delaying hiring, and applicants are actively being referred and processed. All stakeholders continue to work in a cooperative fashion to put people to work as quickly possible."

CONTACT:
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
212-435-7777

ILA Daggatt - Please Do Not Believe His Protests

From Today's Journal of Commerce

International Longshoremen’s Association President Harold Daggett said ILA members in the Port of New York and New Jersey are “fed up” with hiring delays he blames on the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor.

And... from the Waterfront Commission of New York web-site

Former Secretary Treasurer of Local 1233 Sentenced to Jail for Embezzlement of Union Funds
September 12, 2013
           Gregory “Ronnie” Taylor, the former Secretary Treasurer of ILA Local 1233, was sentenced yesterday by the Honorable Joel A. Pisano in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey. Taylor was sentenced to six months in jail, followed by six months of house arrest and three years of supervised release. Taylor was also ordered by the Court to pay $71,000 in restitution to Local 1233 for his role in the embezzlement of union funds. Taylor had pleaded guilty on February 26, 2013 to issuing a vacation check for $7,852 to himself without authorization. Taylor also admitted that between 2007 and 2010, while secretary-treasurer, he embezzled a total of $71,000 by improperly cashing duplicate paychecks, as well as other checks from the union’s operating account, including for unauthorized credit card expenditures.
           Taylor had been arrested on September 15, 2011 for stealing more than $100,000 in union funds for his personal use. The case was investigated by the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor (Detectives Albanese and Petrillo, Assistant Counsel Michelle Demeri and Deputy Director of Audit Jared Filus) the United States Department of Labor. The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey (AUSA V. Grady O’Malley) prosecuted the case.

and another...

Longshoreman’s Registration Revoked After Conviction for Unlawful Possession of Firearm
September 24, 2013
           Longshoreman James J. Sweigart was arrested after he was observed in a Newark diner with a loaded .9mm semi-automatic handgun in the waistband of his pants. Sweigart had no license for the Walther PPK pistol. The Commission temporarily suspended Sweigart’s registration as a longshoreman on January 22, 2013 pending an administrative hearing on the charge. Sweigart pleaded guilty to Unlawful Possession of a Firearm on July 15, 2013 before the Honorable Robert H. Gardner of the Superior Court of Essex County. On September 9, 2013, Sweigart was sentenced to 3 years probation, 25 hours of community service and ordered to surrender his Waterfront registration with prejudice. Today, the Commission accepted that surrender with prejudice and revoked Sweigart’s registration as a longshoreman.
           

          
 and....another!!

Checker Sentenced to Jail For Conspiracy to Defraud the United States
October 16, 2013
           Checker Vincent Fusella was sentenced yesterday in Federal District Court to two months in jail and ordered with his brother Gerardo Fusella to pay more than $ 1 million in restitution. Vincent Fusella had pleaded guilty on February 27, 2013, before the Honorable Kiyo A. Matsumoto in Federal District Court for the Eastern District of New York to Conspiracy to Defraud the United States under the First Count of his Thirty-One Count indictment. Fusella admitted to concealing wages and failing to pay FICA taxes to the IRS on behalf of workers at two trucking companies he and his brother Gerardo Fusella owned – The Fusella Group, LLC and Alpine Investment Group, Inc. His brother Gerardo was also sentenced yesterday and received a forty-six month prison sentence.
           Vincent Fusella was arrested on December 22, 2011 and his license as a Checker was suspended by the Commission that date pending an administrative hearing on the charges in the indictment. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York prosecuted the criminal matter.

Seriously!!!  Daggatt thinks he has a reason to complain about the Waterfront Commission!
Finally, after all these years, they are starting to do their job.   Those wire taps must have
cleared out the bad guys.

Here's hoping they find something on Daggatt and get rid of him.   I feel bad for the union guys.
Losing so much of their money to the bosses.   The way it's going they might not even have a
retirement fund left!

          

          

Racketeers on the New York/ New Jersey Waterfront

 I don't think I need to add any comments to this.....it kind of says it all.

From The Journal of Commerce

 

Administrative law judge upholds Waterfront Commission ruling

An administrative law judge has upheld the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor’s decision to revoke a Ports America hiring agent’s license to work in the Port of New York and New Jersey because of association with racketeers.

The Waterfront Commission revoked the license of Pasquale Pontoriero, who was accused of associating with the late Tino Fiumara, a Genovese mob capo, and Stephen DePiro, a Genovese soldier.

Fiumara died in September of 2010; DePiro is serving a federal prison sentence and awaiting trial on federal racketeering charges involving the extortion of ILA members in the port.

ILA and the Mafia

The ILA has a long history of association with organized crime.   It seems everyone has just
accepted this is the way it is, because they certainly have not cleaned it up, although every once
in a while The Waterfront Commission does something to justify their existence.

This was posted on their web-site.   Click here for the link.

Longshoreman Indicted for Multiple Counts of Perjury Suspended by Commission
August 1, 2012
           The Commission voted to temporarily suspend Dominick Dinapoli's registration as a longshoreman pending an administrative hearing on charges based upon his five count indictment for perjury. Dinapoli has been charged with testifying falsely in a Commission investigation regarding Port personnel associating with an organized crime figure and another career offender. The notice of hearing, approved today by the Commission, charges that Dinapoli violated the Waterfront Commission Act by associating with career offenders, convicted racketeers, and members or associates of organized crime groups, including Mario Gallo (an associate of the Bonanno and Lucchese crime Families), Samuel Santiago (a member or associate of the Latin Kings), and five other career offenders.
           The criminal case is being prosecuted by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

A big part of the problem with the contract negotiations which will resume shortly, is too many people
are concerned if they cause the union problems, they will be wearing cement shoes in the river.

This is not to be taken lightly.   I know of  people who were threatened by the ILA.  They gave in.

The negotiations really should be moved out of the NY/NJ area.

           
           

ILA and the Waterfront Commission

Below is part of the letter from USMX (who is negotiating with the ILA).  Apparently the ILA
thinks (or maybe it's true) that all they have to do is threaten to strike and they will get what they want.

What I don't understand is the comment in the second paragraph about the Waterfront Commission
of New York and New Jersey.  What's this all about?   The contract covers all of the US East/Gulf
ports.   Is the Waterfront Commission still influenced by the mafia?   

When we met during the week of August 20th, USMX presented the issues that we believed
were critical to successfully reaching an agreement. Those issues all center around inefficiencies
that have crept into our operations over the years. I’m referring to archaic work rules and
manning practices, and the system of guarantees and overtime pay practices that result in
millions of dollars being paid for time not worked. These inefficiencies are causing many of our
ports to become prohibitively expensive, harming our competitive ability and threatening the
long term viability of our operations. USMX was hopeful that we would receive the same
consideration from the ILA as we had given it on its critical issues. Instead, our presentations
were simply rejected without any consideration, and when management objected to this lack of
consideration, the ILA responded with a threat to strike.

Many of these issues are the same ones cited in a recent report compiled by the Waterfront
Commission of New York and New Jersey. I’m somewhat at a loss to understand why the ILA
would appear to be willing to have an outside agency attempt to force a solution on the parties,
rather than have the parties address the issues in the collective bargaining arena, at the
bargaining table, where they properly belong.

click here for link to complete letter

More arrests on the NY/NJ waterfront

From The NY/NJ Waterfront Commission web-site

Three New Defendants and Multiple Counts Added to Genovese – ILA Racketeering Indictment.

December 15, 2011

NEWARK, N.J. – Three additional defendants were arrested today and charged in a superseding indictment that adds dozens of counts to a previous indictment charging multiple defendants – including an alleged member and associates of the Genovese organized crime family – with racketeering and related offenses, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman and Eastern District of New York U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch announced.

A 103-count superseding indictment was unsealed this morning in Newark federal court in which previously-charged defendants Stephen Depiro, a soldier in the Genovese organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (the “Genovese family”), and three Genovese family associates – Albert Cernadas, former President of International Longshoremen’s Association (“ILA”) Local 1235 and former ILA Executive Vice President; Nunzio LaGrasso, the Vice President of ILA Local 1478 and ILA Representative; and Richard Dehmer – are charged with racketeering conspiracy, including predicate acts of conspiring to extort Christmastime tributes from ILA members on the New Jersey piers. The superseding indictment includes, as part of the racketeering conspiracy charge, 61 additional predicate acts of extortion of various ILA members by Cernadas and 12 additional predicate acts of extortion of ILA members by Nunzio LaGrasso. In addition to the Christmastime extortion scheme, LaGrasso is charged with the extortion of an ILA dock worker so that the worker could retain a supervisory job at the port.

The superseding indictment also charges newly added defendants Michael Nicolosi, Julio Porrao and Rocco Ferrandino – all current or former ILA supervisors – with extortion conspiracy and extortion. Nunzio LaGrasso and five other defendants, including Thomas Leonardis, the President of ILA Local 1235 and ILA Representative; Robert Ruiz, the Delegate of ILA Local 1235 and ILA Representative; and Vincent Aulisi, former President of ILA Local 1235, are charged with additional counts of extortion of ILA members. Ruiz is also charged with obstructing justice by impeding a grand jury investigation. In total, the superseding indictment contains allegations regarding the extortion of 28 victims.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacquelyn M. Kasulis and Jack Dennehy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Mahajan, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey.

And...this one

PNCT General Foreman Suspended by Commission after Arrest and Indictment on Multiple Extortion Charges.

December 15, 2011

PNCT General Foreman Michael Nicolosi was arrested this morning after being indicted federally on extortion conspiracy and multiple counts of extortion involving the forced collection of Christmas tributes from ILA members to the Genovese Family.

His license as a longshoreman was suspended by Commission vote pending an administrative hearing on the charges.

On The Waterfront

Things haven't changed much on the NY/NJ Piers.

The only difference is now the Waterfront Commission is reporting some of
the problems.

Here are the last few press releases.

WCNYH

Pier Superintendant Arrested and Charged with Managing an Illegal Bookmaking Operation.

December 9, 2011

Maher Terminal Pier Superintendant Joseph Joel DiCosta was arrested this morning by Waterfront Commission detectives and agents from the US Department of Labor on a federal complaint charging him with managing an illegal gambling business in violation of Title 18 USC Section 1955. The complaint charges that DiCosta ran the illegal bookmaking operation from January 2003 to January 2011 utilizing both internet sites and 1-800 telephone numbers.

The criminal case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

DiCosta's license as a Pier Superintendant was suspended by the Commission this afternoon pending an Administrative Hearing on the charges.

WCNYH

Genovese Soldier and Checker Plead Guilty in Port Loan Sharking Case.

October 28, 2011

Genovese Soldier Joseph Queli and Checker Nicholas Bergamotto pleaded guilty today before Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mellaci, Jr. in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

Queli pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Usury (loan sharking) and Money Laundering as well as Filing False Tax Returns. Under the plea agreement, Queli will be sentenced to seven years in state prison.

Bergamotto pleaded guilty to Money Laundering and will be sentenced to a term of probation. Bergamotto has been suspended from the Waterfront since his arrest on April 22, 2010. Both Bergamotto and Queli were highlighted in the Commission’s Public Hearings held last year.

The indictment was the result of an on-going investigation by the Waterfront Commission and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Division of Criminal Justice into organized crime in the Port.

WCNYH

ILA Local 1 Trustee and Shop Steward Removed from Waterfront for Theft, Frauds, and Association with Organized Crime

October 25, 2011

By Commission Order, dated October 25, 2011, William A. Vitale, a suspended shop steward at Maher Terminals and a trustee of ILA Local 1, was removed from working on the Waterfront for the theft of $96,582.75 from Maher Terminals, committing frauds in connection with a sworn interview conducted by the Commission, and associating with an associate of the Genovese Crime Family.

On April 28, 2011, in Union County Superior Court, Vitale pleaded guilty to theft by deception (a crime of the 3rd degree). On September 23, 2011, the Court sentenced Vitale to three (3) years probation and ordered him to pay restitution of $96,582.75 to Maher Terminals, forfeit his Waterfront registration, and resign his position with the ILA. Vitale admitted that he lied and caused false time records to be created which resulted in Maher Terminals paying him for hours that he did not work. He also testified falsely during a sworn Commission interview in response to questions concerning his presence in Florida, California, and Aruba, when he was paid for working at the terminal. Vitale also visited in prison Joseph Lore, an associate of the Genovese Crime Family on the ILA Ethical Practices Counsel’s Barred List, who was convicted of charges pertaining to embezzlement from ILA Local 1588 and using intimidation or force against a witness. Both Vitale and Lore were subjects of testimony during the Commission's 2010 Public Hearings pertaining to "no show" jobs and organized crime associations on the waterfront.

The case was investigated by the Waterfront Commission and prosecuted by the New Jersey Attorney General's Division of Criminal Justice.

WCNYH

Longshoreman suspended by Commission after being arrested for bookmaking on behalf of the Gambino Family

October 20, 2011

Longshoreman Michael Bolger and ten others have been arrested and indicted on charges of Enterprise Corruption, Promoting Gambling in the First Degree, and Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree. The charges allege that Bolger and his co-defendants operated an illegal gambling ring on behalf http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifof the Gambino Crime Family in parts of New York and New Jersey from 2010 to 2011. Bolger has been suspended by the Commission pending an administrative hearing to determine whether his registration as a longshoreman should be revoked. The Organized Crime Task Force of the Office of the New York State Attorney General is prosecuting the case.

click here for link to Waterfront Commission web-site

Government Documents regarding Mafia arrests

I haven't yet started reading this, but on the USDOJ (U.S. Department of Justice) web-site is available details of charges against those arrested today.

Here's the link

USDOJ:OPA: Documents and Resources from the January 20, 2011 "La Cosa Nostra" press conference

More on the Mob arrests on the waterfront

This from The Wall Street Journal

The indictment filed against more than 100 alleged mobsters arrested in a three-state sweep Thursday morning describes a scam used on the New York and New Jersey waterfront.

Three accused Cosa Nostra members would turn up before Christmas, when workers from the International Longshoreman’s Association receive a check from the “container royalty fund”–a sort of year-end bonus for union members. According to the indictment, workers’ payments to the alleged mobster were “induced by wrongful use of actual and threatened force, violence and fear.”

In other words: extortion. The indictment cites incidents going back to 1982, making this scheme a holiday fixture over nearly three decades.

“It’s tradition on the waterfront,” said Ronald Goldstock, a member of the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, which is tasked with countering the influence of organized crime on the docks. “If you want to work there — if you want the good assignments or overtime — you kick back the Christmas check to the people who allow you to work there.”

click here for link to article

Arrests made in extortion of dockworkers in New Jersey

Today, more than 100 persons were arrested in a round-up of Mob types in New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

From the NY Times

An indictment handed up in Newark charges 14 people with racketeering and extortion of Local 1235 of the International Longshoremen’s Association and other dockworkers locals, including several current and former union officials who are said to be affiliated with the Genovese family. The indictment alleges a conspiracy over the course of many years to extort union members around Christmas, when they receive an annual bonus based on the number of cargo containers that move through the port.

And, from Bloomberg News

“It means that actual longshoremen in this case, with real mortgages and real families, were forced to kick back to corrupt officials of ILA Local 1235 between $500 and $5,000 each from their annual Christmas bonus if they hoped to rise above entry level jobs on the docks. Eventually those kickbacks helped line the pockets of the Genovese crime family.

“Organized crime means what it has always meant on the waterfront: mobsters getting rich on the backs of dock workers. This case helps put an end to it.”

It will be interesting to see the list of those arrested.

Stay tuned.

ILA admits Mob still a problem on NY/NJ docks

From the Journal of Commerce, who has covered the Waterfront Commission hearings.

Mob ‘Schemes’ Persist on Docks, Monitor Says
Joseph Bonney | Dec 2, 2010 10:24PM GMT

............

“The schemes are still there. … If you eliminate that, you’re going to bring the costs down,” said Robert C. Stewart, deputy administrator of International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1588, which has been under a court-appointed monitor since 2003.

Stewart testified in the last of six hearings the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor held to highlight no-show jobs and other practices it says drive up costs and invite Mafia influence at the port.

I guess the Waterfront commission hearings are over. This is how it wrapped up.

The hearings ended with the display of several complex charts detailing family and other connections between Genovese crime family members and ILA officials and members that Commissioner Ron Goldstock said included a “privileged few” who received high pay for relatively little work.

Stewart testified that the court-appointed administrators at Local 1588 struggled to break a “culture of corruption” reinforced by decades of Genovese crime family control. He said the mob used its influence over company hiring agents to demand payoffs for jobs and training and relief assignments that led to higher-paying jobs.

He said Local 1588 members used to have to buy tickets to an annual Christmas party of Nicholas Furina, a hiring agent who was banned from the docks after pleading guilty to extorting union members for jobs. He said that practice was banned after the monitors took over.

“People think that if there’s not gunplay down on the piers and people getting beat up and thrown in the river, things must be OK. That’s not the case,” Stewart said.

So, it's improved a little from the days of "On The Waterfront", but not by much.


click here for link to article

Need a job? Apply to be an independent inspector

The Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor (as they call themselves) is taking applications for;

"expressions of interest and statements of qualifications in being considered for appointment as independent private sectors inspector general"

click here for link to explanation and application form

Deadline is Dec. 31, 2010

I suppose that should be enough time for any established company to apply.

These "independent inspectors" will be hired by a stevedore company, who has in the past, had some "questionable" owners. It's the Waterfront Commissions idea of the way to keep organized crime off the Waterfront. Apparently all of the stevedores companies currently licensed are operating under temporary licenses. (as mentioned in my post of Nov. 15

all (stevedoring) companies doing business in the Port were operating on short-term temporary licenses, which were intended to be used only in special circumstances.

I just don't know any companies who would really be in this business, but maybe there are some law firms who might be interested.

I especially like the list of "area of expertise" one can choose from.

Here's the first few

-Accounting/Audits/Financial Review

-Shipping

-Organized Crime

-Unions

-Construction


I guess they listed them in order of most important. I'm not sure.

No Stevedore Company in NY/NJ properly licensed

A year later, the Waterfront Commission is getting around to addressing problems outlined in a report by the New York State Inspector General Joseph Fisch, issued in August 2009. Click here for link to the report.

In the letter dated Sept. 29, 2010 from the Waterfront Commission (their letterhead says of New York Harbor, LOL, considering the majority of the terminals are in New Jersey), they mention the little problem with the Stevedore Companies.

all (stevedoring) companies doing business in the Port were operating on short-term temporary licenses, which were intended to be used only in special circumstances.

I'm not really clear on how they will handle this. It appears that initially they thought they would start running the necessary background checks to get the stevedores properly licensed.

Then, it appears (although this is not clear), that they found out there are too many who won't pass the test.

So now it looks like they will maybe let the stevedore companies who have problems which would keep them from passing the background check, you know, things like "exhibited criminal influence, improper accounting and/or hiring practices," they would let these companies hire IPSIG (Independent Private Sector Inspector General).

Oh my. Has no one learned a thing?

But, I can see the problem. Who are you going to get to act as a Stevedore?

I think the Port is taking applications.

Maybe someone reading this will put together a company and apply.

Waterfront Commission initiates arrests

If you have been reading this blog, you know the NY/NJ Waterfront Commission has been holding hearings this month.

Apparently, when they were preparing for the hearings, they decided they had enough evidence to arrest a couple of guys.

This from The Waterfront Commission web-site

October 13, 2010

Lasher Arrested for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud

Waterfront Commission Detectives and Special Agents from the United States Department of Labor today arrested Pedro Del Valle, Jr., an employee of Island Securing and Maintenance Inc, on a charge of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud. The Complaint alleges that between September 2008 and February 2010, Pedro Del Valle, Jr. was a full-time employee of both Island Securing and Verizon, Inc. and that on numerous occasions Del Valle knowingly and intentionally indicated on sign in sheets that he was working at New York Container Terminal during the same periods of time when records maintained by Verizon indicate that he was working there. The Complaint also alleges that on numerous occasions, Del Valle called in sick, took disability leave, or took family leave from his job at Verizon when in fact he was working at New York Container Terminal on those days. Defendant, together with others, caused direct deposit payments to be wired, in interstate commerce, from a Verizon account in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to defendant’s account in New York for the purpose of executing the above scheme.

The case is prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

And....

October 19, 2010

ILA Local 1 Trustee and Shop Steward charged with Theft
in the Second Degree and Falsifying Records.

On October 19, 2010, William A. Vitale, a shop steward at Maher Terminals and Trustee for ILA Local 1, was charged with theft of over $75,000 by deception, a crime of the 2nd degree, and falsifying records, a crime of the 4th degree.

The complaint alleges that Vitale created a false impression that he was working at Maher Terminals, and he was paid for such work when, in fact, he was not working. Vitale was also alleged to have intentionally deceived Maher Terminals, by causing false payroll records to be submitted.

The case is being prosecuted by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Division of Criminal Justice.