EUGENE METHVIN ARTICLES REVEAL ORGANIZED CRIME PRESENCE IN FOUR UNIONS

132 Cong Rec S 10909 Friday, August 8, 1986;(Legislative day of Monday, August 4, 1986)
Congressional Record -- Senate
Friday, August 8, 1986;
(Legislative day of Monday, August 4, 1986)
99th Cong. 2nd Sess.
132 Cong Rec S 10909

REFERENCE: Vol. 132 No. 108; Continuation of Senate Proceedings of August 8, 1985, Issue No. 108; and Proceedings of August 9, 1985, Issue No. 109.

TITLE: EUGENE METHVIN ARTICLES REVEAL ORGANIZED CRIME PRESENCE IN FOUR UNIONS

SPEAKER: MR. NUNN

TEXT:  
   Text that appears in UPPER CASE identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.  

MR. NUNN. MR. PRESIDENT, EUGENE H. METHVIN, A SENIOR EDITOR OF THE READER'S DIGEST, IS A RESPECTED AND RESOURCEFUL REPORTER ON THE SUBJECT OF ORGANIZED CRIME. SINCE HIS DAYS ON THE NOW DEFUNCT WASHINGTON DAILY NEWS SOME 20 YEARS AGO, MR. METHVIN HAD KEPT HIS READERS INFORMED ON THE WORKINGS OF ORGANIZED CRIMINALS -- AND THE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF LAW ENFORCEMENT IN COMBATTING THEM.

TWO RECENT DIGEST ARTICLES BY MR. METHVIN ARE ESPECIALLY INFORMATIVE BECAUSE THEY REVEAL THE LENGTHS TO WHICH ORGANIZED CRIME FIGURES HAVE GONE TO INFILTRATE FOUR INTERNATIONAL UNIONS.

IN "THE DEVIL AND ROY WILLIAMS," WHICH APPEARS IN THE JUNE 1986 ISSUE, MR. METHVIN RECOUNTS THE TRAGIC CAREER OF FORMER TEAMSTERS PRESIDENT ROY LEE WILLIAMS, A MUCH-DECORATED WORLD WAR II ARTILLERY SERGEANT WHO RETURNED FROM EUROPE TO HIS TRUCK DRIVING JOB IN KANSAS CITY TO BEGIN HIS RISE IN THE HIERARCHY OF THE UNION, A RISE SPONSORED IN SUBSTANTIAL PART BY JIMMY HOFFA AND ORGANIZED CRIME FIGURE NICK CIVELLA.

WILLIAMS, WHO WAS A FIFTH AMENDMENT WITNESS BEFORE THE PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS IN 1980 WHEN I WAS CHAIRMAN, WAS CONVICTED OF ATTEMPTED BRIBERY IN 1985 AND IS NOW SERVING A 10-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE. HE WAS THE THIRD TEAMSTERS UNION PRESIDENT TO GO TO PRISON.

SIMILARLY, MR. METHVIN'S "IT'S TIME TO PUT LABOR RACKETEERS OUT OF BUSINESS," APPEARING IN THE JULY 1986 ISSUE, DOCUMENTS THE PRESENCE OF ORGANIZED CRIME FIGURES IN THE TEAMSTERS AND THREE OTHER UNIONS -- THE INTERNATIONAL LONGSHOREMEN'S ASSOCIATION, THE HOTEL EMPLOYEES AND RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL AND THE LABORERS' INTERNATIONAL.

MR. PRESIDENT, I ASK TO HAVE PRINTED IN THE RECORD AT THIS POINT BOTH OF MR. METHVIN'S ARTICLES FROM THE READER'S DIGEST.

THE ARTICLES FOLLOW:

THE DEVIL AND ROY WILLIAMS

(BY EUGENE H. METHVIN)

AS PRESIDENT OF THE NATION'S LARGEST UNION, THE 1.7-MILLION-MEMBER INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, ROY LEE WILLIAMS SEEMED UNTOUCHABLE. HE RULED SUPREME IN THE UNION'S PALATIAL MARBLE HEADQUARTERS AT THE FOOT OF CAPITOL HILL, AND IN 1981 HE BECAME THE FIRST LABOR LEADER TO BE INVITED TO THE WHITE HOUSE TO CONSULT WITH PRESIDENT REAGAN.

BUT ON DECEMBER 3, 1985, WILLIAMS BEGAN A TEN-YEAR SENTENCE IN A FEDERAL PRISON IN SPRINGFIELD, MO. AT AGE 70, STICKEN WITH EMPHYSEMA AND DEPENDENT ON A WHEELCHAIR, HE NOW FACES THE PROSPECT OF ENDING HIS DAYS BEHIND BARS, A FITTING FINALE TO A DEADLY BARGAIN HE MADE WITH THE MAFIA DEVIL MORE THAN 30 YEARS AGO.

PRECISELY WHEN WILLIAMS SOLD HIS SOUL EVEN HE DOESN'T KNOW. "I GOT MYSELF IN A WEB BEFORE I REALLY KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON," HE SAYS.

WHAT NICK WANTS

WILLIAMS BEGAN DRIVING A TRUCK IN 1935 AT AGE 20. ALTHOUGH HUSKY AND HOT-TEMPERED, HE WAS, A FELLOW TEAMSTER RECALLS, "REALLY GOOD-HEARTED." IN WORLD WAR II, HE WAS A FIELD-ARTILLERY SERGEANT WHO FOUGHT ACROSS EUROPE. HE SINGLE-HANDEDLY CAPTURED 41 GERMANS IN A CHURCH BY BLUFFING THEM INTO THINKING HE HAD A WHOLE PLATOON BEHIND HIM.

COMING HOME WITH A CHEST FULL OF MEDALS, INCLUDING THE SILVER STAR, HE RETURNED TO HIS TRUCK-DRIVING JOB IN KANSAS CITY AND ROSE RAPIDLY IN THE TEAMSTERS. HE HAD TWO POWERFUL MENTORS: FLOYD HAYES, LONGTIME RULER OF KANSAS CITY'S LOCAL 41, AND A TOUGH DETROITER NAMED JIMMY HOFFA, THEN THE RISING BOSS OF THE TEAMSTERS' MULTI-STATE MIDWEST CONFERENCE.

HOFFA TAPPED WILLIAMS TO TAKE OVER A TROUBLED WICHITA LOCAL. LATER, WHEN HAYES' GRIP ON LOCAL 41 BEGAN TO SLIP, HOFFA DECIDED TO MAKE WILLIAMS HIS SUCCESSOR.

HAYES, A TYPICAL 1930S-ERA UNION BRAWLER, TOOK KICKBACKS ON "SWEETHEART" DEALS AND EMBEZZLED UNIONFUNDS. BUT HE FIERCELY OPPOSED MOB GANGSTERS. "LET THOSE GUYS GET THEIR TENTACLES ON YOU," HE WARNED WILLIAMS, "AND THEY'LL RUN THIS UNION AND YOU TOO."

WILLIAMS DISREGARDED HAYES'S ADVICE. WHILE REPRESENTING THE TEAMSTERS IN KANSAS CITY'S TURBULENT DEMOCRATIC PARTY POLITICS, HE BEGAN WORKING WITH NICK CIVELLA, WHO REPRESENTED A LARGE ITALIAN-AMERICAN POLITICAL CLUB AND WAS ALREADY IN THE UPPER LEVELS OF KANSAS CITY'S MAFIA HIERARCHY. HE AND WILLIAMS BECAME "CLOSE PERSONAL FRIENDS."

IN 1952, ACCORDING TO THE FBI, WILLIAMS ATTENDED A SECRET CHICAGO MEETING OF MIDWEST MOB LEADERS, WHERE IT WAS AGREED THAT WILLIAMS WOULD RUN THE KANSAS CITY TEAMSTERS AND IN TURN "COOPERATE WITH THE SYNDICATE." WILLIAMS DISCUSSED ALL MAJOR UNION PROBLEMS WITH CIVELLA BEFORE MAKING DECISIONS. IF THEY DISAGREED, ORDERS CAME FROM HOFFA: "DO WHAT NICK WANTS."

PLAYING FOR KEEPS

AT FIRST WILLIAMS DID NOT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND THE DEADLY GRIP OF HIS SYNDICATE ALLIANCE. HE WAS SOON ENLIGHTENED. ACCORDING TO FBI TESTIMONY, IN 1956, WHEN WILLIAMS RESISTED BUYING A COSTLY OUTPATIENT-CARE PACKAGE FOR LOCAL 41 MEMBERS, HE WAS VISITED BY TWO OF CIVELLA'S GANGSTERS. "BUY THE MEDICAL PLAN," THE GOONS WARNED, "OR WE'LL KILL YOUR CHILDREN AND YOUR WIFE. YOU GO LAST."

WILLIAMS BROKE INTO ANGUISHED TEARS AS HE TOLD HAYES WHAT HAD HAPPENED. CONVINCED THAT THE PROGRAM WOULD DEVASTATE THEIR UNION FINANCIALLY, THE TWO MEN FLEW TO DETROIT TO CONSULT HOFFA, WHO MET THEM WITH TWO MOBSTERS AT HIS ELBOW. "BUY THE PLAN," HOFFA ORDERED, "AND RAISE DUES TO COVER IT." THEY DID.

REPEATED DUES HIKES GENERATED RANK-AND-FILE OPPOSITION. ONE CRITIC, JAKE HENDERSON, ESPECIALLY IRRITATED WILLIAMS, WHO COULD BE AS TOUGH AS ANYONE IN DEFENDING HIS UNION CONTROL. ACCORDING TO FBI TESTIMONY, WILLIAMS TOLD HAYES HE WAS GOING TO HAVE HENDERSON SHOT -- JUST TO SCARE HIM. ONE NIGHT IN 1959 A SHOTGUN BLAST TORE THROUGH HENDERSON'S LIVING-ROOM WINDOW, PEPPERING HIS LEGS WITH 65 PELLETS.

WILLIAMS PLAYED A KEY ROLE WHEN THE HOFFA-MAFIA ALLIANCE COMPLETED ITS TAKEOVER AT THE TEAMSTERS' 1957 MIAMI CONVENTION. HE CHAIRED THE CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE AND ENGINEERED THE SEATING OF DELEGATES WHO SENATE INVESTIGATORS CONCLUDED WERE CHOSEN IMPROPERLY, SOME FROM "PAPER LOCALS" CREATED BY THE SYNDICATE.

HOFFA HAD ALREADY REWARDED WILLIAMS BY MAKING HIM A TRUSTEE OF THE NEW CENTRAL STATES PENSION FUND (CSPF), INTO WHICH EMPLOYERS IN 25 STATES POURED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR THEIR UNION EMPLOYEES. FOR HOFFA AND HIS MAFIA ALLIES, THE CSPF BECAME A RICH LODE FROM WHICH TO MINE PAYOFFS AND KICKBACKS.

BY THE MID-1970S, THE MOB WAS BRAZENLY SIPHONING MILLIONS EACH YEAR OUT OF LAS VEGAS CASINOS BOUGHT WITH "LOANS" FROM THE CSPF. BUT JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROSECUTORS WERE POWERLESS TO CRACK THE TEAMSTER-MAFIA COMBINE WITHOUT WITNESSES -- AND MOB "HIT MEN" RUTHLESSLY SEALED THE LIPS OF ALL WHO MIGHT TESTIFY.

ONE SUCH WAS FLOYD HAYES. IN 1962 THE FBI FILED A CASE AGAINST HAYES, WILLIAMS AND THEIR COHORTS FOR EMBEZZLING MORE THAN $200,000 IN UNION FUNDS. ALTHOUGH HAYES AND OTHERS WERE CONVICTED, WILLIAMS WAS ACQUITTED WHEN WITNESSES AT THE TRIAL PROVED MYSTERIOUSLY VAGUE ABOUT HIS ROLE. THE G-MEN VISITED HAYES, WHO AGREED TO BECOME A GOVERNMENT WITNESS. HE SPENT FOUR DAYS IN A CHICAGO HOTEL ROOM TELLING THE FBI ABOUT WILLIAMS, HOFFA AND THEIR MAFIA "CONNECTION," AND DETAILING THE CASINO SKIMMING OPERATION.

AS A GOVERNMENT WITNESS, HAYES WAS NOW A PRIME MAFIA TARGET. HE BUILT A HIGH FENCE AROUND HIS HOME, FLOODLIGHTED THE YARD AND KEPT ROAMING WATCHDOGS. BUT IN JUNE 1964, GANGSTERS CAUGHT UP WITH HIM IN A PARKING LOT AND RIDDLED HIM WITH BULLETS. THEY ALSO WOUNDED HIS WIFE. "THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO SHOOT HER," HAYES' FBI CONTACT SAYS. "THAT WAS A MESSAGE" -- TO ANYONE ELSE WHO MIGHT GET OUT OF LINE.

SEE MY FRIEND

AS WILLIAMS ROSE THROUGH UNION RANKS, HE WAS ALWAYS UNDER CIVELLA'S CONTROL. CIVELLA ASSIGNED A TOP ASSOCIATE, SAM ANCONA, AS HIS "MESSENGER" TO WILLIAMS. ANCONA OCCUPIED AN ADJOINING OFFICE IN TEAMSTER HALL ANDBECAME AN OFFICIAL IN A JOINT COUNCIL OVERSEEING MORE THAN 20,000 UNION MEMBERS IN TWO STATES. EVEN AFTER WILLIAMS BECAME TEAMSTER PRESIDENT IN 1981, CIVELLA'S "MESSENGER" TRAVELED WITH HIM WHEREVER HE WENT.

MOBSTERS IN OTHER CITIES SOUGHT TO CUT DEALS DIRECTLY WITH WILLIAMS, BUT CIVELLA ORDERED HIM TO REFUSE. AND WILLIAMS DID. "YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'VE GOT TO GO," HE ALWAYS RESPONDED. "GO SEE MY FRIEND IN KANSAS CITY."

ONE BUSINESSMAN WHO WENT THROUGH HIS FRIEND IN KANSAS CITY WAS ALLEN GLICK, A SAN DIEGO REAL-ESTATE DEVELOPER. IN 1974 GLICK SOUGHT A $63-MILLION TEAMSTER LOAN TO BUY TWO LAS VEGAS CASINOS. CHICAGO TEAMSTER OFFICIALS REFERRED GLICK TO MILWAUKEE MAFIA BOSS FRANK BALISTRIERI, WHO THEN CONTACTED CIVELLA; WITH WILLIAMS SIGNING OFF, GLICK GOT HIS LOAN. GLICK NEXT HIRED BALISTRIERI'S TWO SONS AS "LEGAL RETAINERS" FOR A FEE OF OVER $100,000 AND GAVE THEM AN OPTION TO BUY A HALF-INTEREST IN THE CASINOS FOR A MERE $25,000. HE ALSO AGREED TO HIRE AS HIS MANAGER REPUTED CHICAGO MAFIA ASSOICATE FRANK ROSENTHAL.

BUT GLICK QUICKLY FOUND THAT HE WAS A MERE FIGUREHEAD. MILLIONS WERE SKIMMED FROM HIS CASINOS, AND CASH FLOWED MONTHLY TO MAFIA BOSSES IN KANSAS CITY, MILWAUKEE, CHICAGO AND CLEVELAND. FROM THIS MONEY, CIVELLA GAVE WILLIAMS $1500 A MONTH. (ALTHOUGH 11 PEOPLE WERE EVENTUALLY CONVICTED IN THE SKIMMING, ROSENTHAL WAS NEVER CHARGED, AND THE BALISTRIERI SONS, THOUGH INDICTED, WERE NEVER CONVICTED.)

THE CHAIN OF EVENTS LEADING TO ROY WILLIAMS'S DOWNFALL BEGAN AFTER HAYES'S MURDER, WHEN THE FBI PUT A NEW AGENT, BILL OUSELEY, ON CIVELLA'S TRAIL. USING A COURT-AUTHORIZED WIRETAP, OUSELEY EAVES-DROPPED ON CIVELLA'S BOOKIE FOR WEEKS. FINALLY, HE STRUCK GOLD. ONE A 1970 WEEKEND, CIVELLA HIMSELF CALLED HIS BOOKMAKING HEADQUARTERS FOR A REPORT ON THE WAGERING. HIS CONVICTION FOR CONSPIRACY TO VIOLATE INTERSTATE GAMBLING LAWS WAS ENOUGH TO SEND HIM OFF TO HIS FIRST PRISON TERM IN 1977.

ABOUT THE TIME CIVELLA WAS PAROLED IN 1978, A WAVE OF MOB MURDERS PERSUADED KANSAS CITY'S FEDERAL JUDGES TO AUTHORIZE NEW ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE. OUSELEY AND HIS COLLEAGUES RECORDED CIVELLA AND HIS BROTHER CARL PLOTTING TO USE THE MAFIA TO PROMOTE WILLIAMS AS FRANK FITZSIMMONS'S SUCCESSOR IN THE TEAMSTER PRESIDENCY. WHEN FITZSIMMONS DIED IN 1981, THE MAFIA "SHADOW GOVERNMENT" QUICKLY NAMED WILLIAMS.

THE G-MEN ALSO UNCOVERED A PLAN INVOLVING WILLIAMS IN THE SALE OF VALUABLE TEAMSTER REAL ESTATE IN LAS VEGAS TO SEN. HOWARD CANNON (D., NEV.), THEN CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE. THE SALE WAS TO BE IN RETURN FOR A COMMITMENT TO DELAY TRUCKING-DEREGULATION LEGISLATION. ONE NIGHT OUSELEY ALSO MONITORED THE CIVELLA BROTHERS COOLLY DISCUSSING WHETHER TO BRING IN OUTSIDE KILLERS TO MURDER A GANGLAND ENEMY. THAT CONVERSATION WAS ENOUGH FOR A FEDERAL JUDGE TO SEND CIVELLA BACK TO PRISON. (HE DIED A FEW DAYS AFTER HIS RELEASE IN 1983.)

VIEW FROM THE DARK SIDE

AS THE SURVEILLANCE EVIDENCE ACCUMULATED, OUSELEY AND HIS COLLEAGUES DECIDED TO MAKE THEIR MOVE. ON FEBRUARY 14, 1979, THEY GRABBED CIVELLA'S COURIER ARRIVING AT THE KANSAS CITY AIRPORT WITH TWO $40,000 PACKAGES OF STOLEN CASINO CASH. THAT WAS THE SIGNAL FOR FBI TEAMS WITH DOZENS OF SEARCH WARRANTS TO RAID THE HOMES OF THE CIVELLAS AND SIX OTHER MOBSTERS, AS WELL AS LAS VEGAS CASINO OFFICES. THE G-MEN SEIZED A BONANZA OF EVIDENCE: GUNS, BULLETPROOF VESTS, AND CODED RECORDS OF CASINO-CASH PAYOFFS TO TEAMSTER AND MAFIA FIGURES.

WILLIAMS, ANOTHER FORMER PENSION-FUND TRUSTEE, A CURRENT TRUSTEE AND TWO MAFIA FIGURES WERE CONVICTED OF CONSPIRACY TO BRIBE SENATOR CANNON. THE SENATOR WAS NEVER INDICTED, BUT IN 1982, WITH THE TRIAL MAKING HEADLINES, NEVADA'S VOTERS DEFEATED HIS BID FOR A FIFTH TERM.

LAST OCTOBER ROY WILLIAMS TOOK THE STAND IN KANSAS CITY TO TESTIFY AGAINST HIS ERSTWHILE MAFIA ALLIES. FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HEARD INSIDE TESTIMONY CONFIRMING THE MOB'S REIGN OF TERROR OVER THE NATION'S LARGEST UNION. WILLIAMS TOLD HOW, DURING THE YEARS HE SPENT CLIMBING THE TEAMSTER HIERARCHY, ONE UNION MEMBER HAD BEEN MURDERED AND LEFT IN A CAR TRUNK AND ANOTHER SHOT IN THE HEAD AND TOSSED ON HIS FATHER'S GRAVE. "I WAS AFRAID, YES, SIR," SAID WILLIAMS.

WHY WAS HE TESTIFYING? "I DECIDED I WOULD COME UP WITH THE TRUTH THAT I HAD BEEN WITHHOLDING FOR MANY YEARS," WILLIAMS ANSWERED. "I'M SEVENTY YEARS OLD, SIR, AND WHEN YOU GET ON THE DARK SIDE OF THE CLOUD, YOU THINK A LITTLE DIFFERENT."

ONE MONTH LATER THE PRISON DOORS CLANGED SHUT ON ROY WILLIAMS, THE ULTIMATE PAYOFF FOR HIS 30-YEAR ALLIANCE WITH THE DEVIL.

TODAY THE $7-BILLION CSPF IS UNDER FEDERAL-COURT SUPERVISION AND ITS INVESTING IS SUPERVISED BY INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL MANAGERS. BUT HUNDREDS OF OTHER TEAMSTER BENEFIT FUNDS HAVE NO SUCH PROTECTION. WILLIAMS ALLEGES THAT DURING HIS YEARS WITH THE TEAMSTERS, EVERY MAJOR TEAMSTER LOCAL HAD "SOME CONNECTION WITH ORGANIZED CRIME" AND THAT HIS SUCCESSOR AS TEAMSTER PRESIDENT, JACKIE PRESSER, IS AS CONTROLLED BY THE MOB "AS I WAS."

[FROM THE READER'S DIGEST, JULY 1986]

IT'S TIME TO PUT LABOR RACKETEERS OUT OF BUSINESS

(BY EUGENE H. METHVIN)

JOE TEITELBAUM, OWNER OF A MIAMI STEVEDORING COMPANY, BECAME SO FED UP IN 1975 WITH SHAKEDOWNS BY THE INTERNATIONAL LONGSHOREMEN'S ASSOCIATION (ILA) THAT HE TURNED TO THE FBI. THE G-MEN WERE ECSTATIC TO HAVE AN INDUSTRY INSIDER BOLD ENOUGH TO WEAR SECRET TAPE RECORDERS AND INTRODUCE UNDERCOVER AGENTS TO HIS BUSINESS.

A FEDERAL PROBE LASTING FIVE YEARS UNCOVERED A MASSIVE, MAFIA-MANAGED CARTEL STRETCHING FROM BOSTON TO HOUSTON. THE RACKETEERS SOLD LABOR PEACE ON THE DOCKS WHERE DELAYS CAN COST SHIPOWNERS $35,000 A DAY, RIGGED BIDS ON SHIP REPAIRS, ORCHESTRATED FRAUDULENT WORKMEN'S-COMPENSATION CLAIMS, SHOOK DOWN EMPLOYERS FOR PAYOFFS AND FINGERED CARGOES FOR TRUCK HIJACKERS. DOCKWORKERS EVEN HAD TO PAY A DAILY KICKBACK TO GET WORK.

THE FBI'S BIGGEST CATCH WAS THE ILA'S NO. 3 OFFICER, ANTHONY SCOTTO, BOSS OF BROOKLYN LOCAL 1814. FBI ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE CAPTURED IRREFUTABLE EVIDENCE THAT SCOTTO WAS A CAPO IN THE GAMBINO GANG, ONE OF NEW YORK'S TOP CRIME FAMILIES. THE GAMBINO ORGANIZATION CONTROLLED THE DOCKS AS FAR SOUTH AS NORFOLK, VA., WHILE THE GENOVESE GANG -- ANOTHER MAJOR NEW YORK CRIME FAMILY -- RAN THE ILA LOCALS FARTHER SOUTH.

BY 1981 JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROSECUTORS HAD CONVICTED 52 UNION OFFICERS AND 58 COMPANY EXECUTIVES AND CORPORATIONS. DESPITE THE CONVICTIONS, LITTLE CHANGED. THE FBI SUBSEQUENTLY RECORDED GAMBINO BOSS PAUL CASTELLANO BOASTING, "IT'S OUR INTERNATIONAL." LAST JANUARY THE PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION ON ORGANIZED CRIME REPORTED, "LIFE ON THE DOCKS TODAY REMAINS MUCH AS IT WAS."

BAD FOUR

THE FRUSTRATING RESULT OF THIS, THE MOST SUCCESSFUL LABOR-RACKETEERING PROBE THE FBI EVER MOUNTED, UNDERLINES A NATIONAL SCANDAL: FOUR MAJOR AMERICAN LABOR UNIONS, WITH A TOTAL OF NEARLY THREE MILLION WORKERS, ARE DOMINATED BY LA COSA NOSTRA, THE CRIME SYNDICATE, AND ITS ALLIES. THE "BAD FOUR" ARE:

THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS (IBT), WHOSE 1.9 MILLION MEMBERS RANGE FROM AIRLINE PILOTS TO TRUCK DRIVERS. THE IBT HAS BEEN UNDER THE MOB'S THUMB FOR THREE DECADES. FORMER PRESIDENT ROY WILLIAMS, IMPRISONED FOR CONSPIRING WITH MAFIA LEADERS TO BRIBE A U.S. SENATOR, ACKNOWLEDGED UNDER OATH THAT EVERY MAJOR TEAMSTER LOCAL "HAD SOME CONNECTION WITH ORGANIZED CRIME" AND HIS SUCCESSOR, JACKIE PRESSER, IS AS CONTROLLED "AS I WAS."*

THE ILA, REPRESENTING 116,000 DOCKWORKERS ON THE EAST COAST, THE GULF COAST AND THE GREAT LAKES. THROUGH THIS UNION, REPORTS FBI DIRECTOR WILLIAM WEBSTER, THE MOB IMPOSES A "RACKET TARIFF" ON ALL GOODS SHIPPED THROUGH U.S. PORTS. SYNDICATE-MANAGED THEFTS AT MIAMI DOCKS ALONE TOTAL $2 BILLION A YEAR -- COSTS THAT ARE PASSED DIRECTLY TO SHIPPERS AND CONSUMERS.

THE HOTEL EMPLOYEES AND RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL (HERE), WHOSE 400,000 MEMBERS ARE "OWNED" BY THE CHICAGO MAFIA, ACCORDING TO CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY AND THE FBI. IN NINE YEARS THE UNION'S ASSETS HAVE DROPPED FROM $21.4 MILLION TO LESS THAN $14 MILLION. MILLIONS HAVE BEEN SIPHONED AWAY IN "LOANS" TO GANGSTERS AND ASSOCIATES.

THE LABORERS' INTERNATIONAL (LIU), WHOSE 509,000 MEMBERS ARE CONCENTRATED IN HEAVY CONSTRUCTION AND THE BUILDING TRADES. IN ADDITION TO EXTORTING KICKBACKS AND PAYOFFS, LIU LEADERS RIG BIDS, FIX PRICES AND ORDER CONTRACTORS TO BUY SUPPLIES FROM MOB-CONTROLLED FIRMS. BY ONE AUTHORITATIVE ESTIMATE, THE MAFIA MONOPOLY ADDS 20 PERCENT TO CONSTUCTION COSTS IN NEW YORK CITY.

THE PRESIDENTS OF ALL FOUR OF THESE UNIONS HAVE INVOKED THE FIFTH AMENDMENT IN REFUSING TO ANSWER OFFICIAL INQUIRIES ABOUT CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES. THOUGH AFL-CIO POLICY PROHIBITS OFFICIALS WHO TAKE THE FIFTH FROM HOLDING UNION OFFICE, THE PRESIDENTS OF THE THREE AFL-CIO UNIONS CONTINUE TO SIT ON THE PARENT BODY'S EXECUTIVE BOARD. (THE TEAMSTERS WERE EXPELLED FROM THE AFL-CIO FOR CORRUPTION IN 1957.)

NEGLECTED WEAPONS

FEDERAL LAW-ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES, FOR THEIR PART, HAVE AMPLE LEGAL POWER TO CLEAN UP THESE UNIONS, PARTICULARLY WITH TWO WEAPONS CONGRESS GAVE THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT IN THE 1970 RACKETEER INFLUENCED & CORRUPT ORGANIZATIONS STATUTE (RICO).

LEGISLATORS PROVIDED IN RICO BOTH CRIMINAL AND CIVIL SANCTIONS FOR THOSE ENGAGED IN A "PATTERN OF RACKETEERING." TO IMPRISON THEM, PROSECUTORS MUST PRODUCE "PROOF BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT." BUT IN A CIVIL PROCEEDING, GOVERNMENT PROSECUTORS OR PRIVATE PARTIES NEED ONLY SUPPLY A "PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE." THEN A JURY OR JUDGE CAN IMPOSE TRIPLE DAMAGES. A JUDGE CAN DISSOLVE OR SEIZE RACKETEERS' COMPANIES, OUST THEM FROM THEIR UNION POSTS OR WELFARE-FUND TRUSTEESHIPS, AND BAN THEM FOR LIFE FROM SPECIFIED BUSINESS OR UNION ACTIVITY.

THE LATE SEN. JOHN L. MCCLELLAN (D., ARK.), THE LEGISLATION'S AUTHOR, PREDICTED THE CIVIL RICO LAW WOULD ASSURE THE "WHOLESALE REMOVAL OF ORGANIZED CRIME FROM OUR ORGANIZATIONS AND FORFEITURE OF THEIR ILL-GOTTEN GAINS."

BUT IN 15 YEARS, THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT'S ORGANIZED-CRIME STRIKE FORCES HAVE BROUGHT JUST 68 CRIMINAL RICO PROSECUTIONS, WITH A DISTINCT MINORITY OF THOSE AGAINST UNION RACKETEERS. THESE CASES YIELDED ONLY $1.1 MILLION IN FINES AND $3.2 MILLION IN FORFEITED ASSETS. THE NEGLECT OF THE CIVIL RICO WEAPON HAS BEEN EVEN WORSE: A MERE SIX CASES IN 15 YEARS, ONLY ONE AGAINST A UNION RACKET.

BY CONTRAST, STATES THAT HAVE ADOPTED THEIR OWN RICO STATUTES HAVE PUT WASHINGTON'S RECORD TO SHAME. FLORIDA HAS HAD ITS STATUTE ONLY NINE YEARS, YET ITS ATTORNEY GENERAL HAS WON $8.3 MILLION IN 39 CIVIL RICO CASES AGAINST RACKETEERING ENTERPRISES AS DIVERSE AS PORNOGRAPHY, PROSTITUTION, THEFT, FRAUD AND DRUG SMUGGLING. IN SIX YEARS ARIZONA HAS BROUGHT 75 RICO PROSECUTIONS AND CHALKED UP JUDGMENTS EXCEEDING $16 MILLION.

RARE VICTORY

CLEARLY, THERE IS A GREAT DEAL MORE TO DO ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL. INDEED, ONE OF THE FEW OUTSTANDING FEDERAL CIVIL ATTACKS ON LABOR RACKETEERING SHOWS WHAT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED BY AN ALL-OUT OFFENSIVE.

IN NEW JERSEY, MAFIA CAPO TONY PROVENZANO AND HIS FAMILY RULED A TEAMSTER EMPIRE, EMBRACING 35 LOCALS AND 90,000 MEMBERS, BY SHEER TERROR. IN HIS OWN LOCAL 560, TWO MEMBERS WHO DARED OPPOSE TONY PRO WERE MURDERED -- ONE GUNNED DOWN AS HE LEFT HOME THE MORNING AFTER SPEAKING OUT AT A UNION MEETING.

THE PROVENZANO GROUP BILKED TEAMSTER WELFARE FUNDS AND OVERSAW MAFIA LOAN-SHARK ACTIVITIES. THEY ALSO INFILTRATED LEGITIMATE TRUCKING COMPANIES TO PERPETRATE A SERIES OF FRAUDS AND INSIDE THEFTS, BLEED THE FIRMS WHITE AND FORCE THEM INTO BANKRUPTCY. TO AVOID LABOR TROUBLES, EMPLOYERS WERE COMPELLED TO MAKE WHOLESALE PAYOFFS AND HIRE GHOST EMPLOYEES.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROSECUTORS SENT TONY PRO TO PRISON FOR EXTORTION. YET HE CONTINUED TO RUN THE UNION FROM HIS PRISON CELL, HIS BROTHERS ASSUMING HIS OFFICIAL POSTS IN LOCAL 560. WHEN PROVENZANO WAS FINALLY PUT AWAY FOR LIFE FOR MURDERING A TEAMSTER WORKER, HIS SUCCESSOR WAS NONE OTHER THAN HIS 23-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER.

THEN ON MARCH 9, 1982, NEWARK STRIKE FORCE CHIEF ROBERT C. STEWART FILED THE FIRST-EVER CIVIL RICO SUIT AGAINST A UNION. AFTER A FOUR-MONTH TRIAL, HE WON A RESOUNDING VICTORY. FEDERAL JUDGE HAROLD ACKERMAN DECLARED THAT THE EVIDENCE REVEALED "HOW EVIL MEN ENGAGED IN A MULTIFACETED ORGY OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY," AND HE ORDERED THE REMOVAL OF THE ENTIRE LOCAL 560 EXECUTIVE BOARD AND THE APPOINTMENT OF HIS OWN TRUSTEES TO RUN THE UNION. AN APPEAL OF HIS ORDER IS PENDING.

RICH POTENTIAL

STEWART'S NEW JERSEY TRIUMPH HAD STRONG REVERBERATIONS IN WASHINGTON. ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL STEPHEN S. TROTT TOLD CONGRESS, "THE LOCAL 560 CASE HAS OPENED OUR EYES TO THE POTENTIAL OF CIVIL RICO. FUTURE CASES ALONG THE LINES OF LOCAL 560 WILL BE INSTITUTED."

MONTHS PASSED, AND NOTHING HAPPENED. LAST MARCH, THE PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION ON ORGANIZED CRIME SCORED JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INACTION AND CALLED FOR A NATIONWIDE STRATEGY "TO BANKRUPT INDIVIDUAL MOBSTERS AND TO DISCOURAGE UNION OFFICERS, EMPLOYERS AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS FROM ACCOMMODATING ORGANIZED CRIME." BUT AN EFFECTIVE FEDERAL ASSAULT WILL HAVE TO OVERCOME THESE LONGSTANDING OBSTACLES:

1. LACK OF POLITICAL WILL. BUSTING UNION RACKETS HAS NEVER BEEN POPULAR WORK IN WASHINGTON. EXPLAINS ONE FORMER LABOR DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATOR: "THE RANK-AND-FILE UNION MEMBERS ARE POWERLESS, WHILE THEIR LEADERS CAN MAKE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS, PROVIDE TELEPHONE BANKS AND MOVE VOTER BLOCS -- THE MUSCLES THAT WIN ELECTIONS."

THUS, ILA VICE PRESIDENT SCOTTO MARCHED BROOKLYN DOCKWORKERS TO CHEER CANDIDATE JIMMY CARTER, AND PRESIDENT CARTER INVITED HIM TO LUNCH -- EVEN AFTER FBI AGENTS HAD RECORDED INCONTROVERTIBLE PROOF OF HIS MAFIA MEMBERSHIP AND UNION PIRACY.

PRESIDENT REAGAN HAS ENTERTAINED TEAMSTER LEADERS WILLIAMS AND PRESSER AT THE WHITE HOUSE. IN 1980 TOP LIU OFFICERS TROOPED TO THE WHITE HOUSE TO HAVE THEIR PICTURE TAKEN WITH VICE PRESIDENT WALTER MONDALE AND PRESENT HIM WITH A CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION. IN THE LAST TWO CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS, THE BAD FOUR COLLECTED $4.7 MILLION TO AID FAVORED CANDIDATES.

DECLARES THE PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION: "WHEN CORRUPT UNION LEADERS ARE SEEN JOINING HANDS WITH POLITICIANS IT CONVEYS A MESSAGE THAT POLITICAL LEADERS ARE BEHOLDEN TO THE UNION. SUCH CONTACTS CAN ERODE PUBLIC CONFIDENCE AND DAMPEN THE DESIRE TO END RACKETEERING. ORGANIZED CRIME IS AWARE OF THIS AND PURPOSEFULLY SEEKS TO CULTIVATE AND BENEFIT FROM POLITICAL INFLUENCE."

2. ANEMIC ENFORCEMENT. CONGRESS HAS NEVER PROVIDED ENOUGH PERSONNEL AND FUNDS TO ENFORCE THE LAWS IT HAS PASSED TO SAFEGUARD UNION MEMBERS' RIGHTS. "I HAVE FEWER THAN TWO HUNDRED PEOPLE TO OVERSEE FIFTEEN THOUSAND FEDERALLY PROTECTED UNION PENSION AND WELFARE FUNDS CONTAINING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TRUST FOR MILLIONS OF WORKERS," COMPLAINED DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF LABOR JOHN J. WALSH BEFORE HE QUIT IN 1984. (THE UNION FUNDS ARE IN ADDITION TO THE 700,000 OTHER PRIVATE PENSION PLANS THAT THE DEPARTMENT OVERSEES.) THE DOL HAS ONLY 89 INVESTIGATORS TO HELP THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT COMBAT LABOR RACKETEERING. A VETERAN PROSECUTOR TOLD ME, "I COULD USE MORE THAN THAT IN MANHATTAN ALONE."

THE RACKET-BUSTERS' PRINCIPAL ANTAGONIST IS ROBERT J. CONNERTON, A LOBBYIST AND LIU'S LONGTIME GENERAL COUNSEL. LAWYERS IN CONNERTON'S FIRM WROTE A LAW-JOURNAL ARTICLE DENOUNCING DOL CORRUPTION FIGHTERS AS A "NATIONAL POLICE FORCE WITH LITTLE ACCOUNTABILITY" -- WITHOUT NOTING THAT ONE OF THEIR FIRM'S MAJOR CLIENTS IS THE RACKET-RIDDEN LIU. CONNERTON SPEARHEADED AN AFL-CIOLOBBYING DRIVE THAT SANK A REAGAN ADMINISTRATION EFFORT TO PERSUADE CONGRESS TO PROVIDE 150 MORE DOL INVESTIGATORS.

3. BUREAUCRATIC BUMBLING AND BICKERING. FOR DECADES, LETHARGY AND RIVALRY HAVE DOGGED FEDERAL ANTI-RACKETEERING EFFORTS. WHEN THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INDICTED FLORIDA LIU OFFICIAL BERNARD G. RUBIN FOR EMBEZZLING $400,000, FOR INSTANCE, PROSECUTORS MOVED TO PLACE UNION FUNDS UNDER TRUSTEESHIP. AFTER DOL DECLINED TO ASSIST, PLEADING "LACK OF MANPOWER," THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ABANDONED THE EFFORT. RUBIN WAS CONVICTED (HE IS APPEALING), BUT SENATE INVESTIGATORS FOUND HE EMBEZZLED AN ADDITIONAL $2 MILLION BEFORE HE WENT TO JAIL.

DOL'S 89 CRIME INVESTIGATORS DO NOT HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO CARRY GUNS, EXECUTE SEARCH WARRANTS OR MAKE ARRESTS. WHEN A DOL AGENT WANTS TO BUST A RACKETEER, HE HAS TO HUNT UP AN FBI AGENT TO ACCOMPANY HIM. SEN. SAM NUNN (D., GA.) HAS INTRODUCED REMEDIAL LEGISLATION, BUT A TURF-JEALOUS JUSTICE DEPARTMENT HAS STALLED IT FOR ALMOST THREE YEARS.

4. INADEQUATE PLANNING, ANALYSIS AND PURSUIT. THE FBI, ITS AGENT STRENGTH CUT BY NEARLY TEN PERCENT BETWEEN 1976 AND 1980, HAS LACKED THE MANPOWER TO MINE ITS VAST LODE OF SURVEILLANCE TAPES OF TOP MOBSTERS. THE G-MEN IN CHICAGO, FOR EXAMPLE, RECORDED THOUSANDS OF HOURS OF CRIMINAL CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN TEAMSTER PRESIDENT ROY WILLIAMS AND HIS COHORTS, BUT HARVESTED ONLY A SINGLE CASE.

"I KNOW WHAT THOSE TAPES CONTAINED, AND IT'S A SHAME ONLY A SINGLE PROSECUTION CAME OUT OF IT," ONE FBI AGENT TOLD ME.

PROPER PLANNING AND ANALYSIS COULD PYRAMID SUCH INTELLIGENCE BONANZAS INTO SEIZURES OF RACKETEERS' PROPERTY, EXPELLING THEM FROM OFFICE AND PLACING THEIR UNIONS UNDER COURT SUPERVISION. SCORES OF FBI VETERANS ARE RETIRED AT AGE 55, WHEN THEY'RE CONSIDERED TOO OLD TO "WORK THE STREETS." WHY NOT USE THEM AS INTELLIGENCE ANALYSTS TO PORE THROUGH THE FILES AND PLAN STRATEGIC LONG-RANGE STRIKES?

5. NEGLECT OF CORPORATE RACKETEERS. WHILE BUSINESSMEN ARE OFTEN UNWILLING VICTIMS, THEY MAY ALSO BE EAGER CUSTOMERS FOR THE MOB'S CHIEF PRODUCT: MUSCLE TO TERRORIZE WORKERS AND KEEP THEM QUIET WHILE CORRUPT UNION AND CORPORATE EXECUTIVES STRIKE SWEETHEART DEALS.

THE COMMISSION ON ORGANIZED CRIME HEARD FROM ONE SELF-STYLED MOB "LEG BREAKER" WHO DESCRIBED HOW CORRUPT TEAMSTER LEADERS CONSPIRED WITH FORTUNE 500 COMPANY EXECUTIVES TO CUT WAGES AND WELFARE BENEFITS, AND JETTISON SAFETY RULES. THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROSECUTED ONLY SEVEN DEFENDANTS -- NOT ONE OF THEM A FORTUNE 500 EXECUTIVE.

EVERY AMERICAN, WHETHER UNION MEMBER OR CONSUMER, HAS A DIRECT STAKE IN ENDING THE MOBSTER EMPIRE OF LABOR RACKETEERING. WHEN YOUR CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS ASK FOR YOUR VOTE THIS AUTUMN, ASK THEM THESE QUESTIONS: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ROOT OUT RACKETEERS AND GET THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT MOVING TO BREAK THE MAFIA STRANGLEHOLD ON KEY UNIONS? ARE YOU ACCEPTING CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS OR ENDORSEMENTS FROM THE "BAD FOUR" UNIONS?

MEANWHILE, WRITE CHAIRMAN DON NICKLES (R., OKLA.), SENATE LABOR SUBCOMMITTEE, 428 SENATE DIRKSEN OFFICE BLDG., WASHINGTON, D.C. 20510; CHAIRMAN WILLIAM L. CLAY (D., MO.), HOUSE LABOR-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE, 2451 HOUSE RAYBURN OFFICE BLDG., WASHINGTON, D.C. 20515; OR ATTORNEY GENERAL EDWIN MEESE III, U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20530. TELL THEM IT'S TIME TO PUT LABOR RACKETEERS OUT OF BUSINESS, NOW.