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James W McGough 773-878-1002 (tel)
July 23, 2003 |
City of Chicago
Inspector General Alexander Vroustouris
111 W Washington Street
Chicago, Il 60602
Re: Internal Union Discipline for Laborers and Teamsters
Dear Inspector General:
Confirming our recent telephone conversation, the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) amended its international constitution on Jan.18, 1995 to adopt a Code of Ethics and an Ethics and Disciplinary Procedure (EDP) to independently investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate instances of corruption by its members to ward off a threatened RICO complaint by the U.S. Department of Justice for being under the influence and control of organized crime –La Cosa Nostra (LCN). The contingent Consent Decree agreed to was never filed and DOJ’s threat to file it was forborne in January 2000 when the Union agreed to an independent Election Officer in 2006.
The Ethics and Disciplinary Procedure created the offices of the independent General Executive Board Attorney to prosecute (GEB Attorney Robert Luskin-202-457-6190), the LIUNA Inspector General (Douglas Gow-202-942-2360) to investigate, the LIUNA Independent Hearing Officer (IHO Peter Vaira -215-751-2700) to adjudicate with the LIUNA Appellate Officer (AP Neil Eggleston-202-783-0200) to assure due process. Assistant United States Attorney, AUSA David Buvinger (312-353-1110) monitored and continues to monitor the reform process.
Inspector General Douglas Gow, former assistant FBI Director, hired as Inspector General agents former FBI agents that are knowledgeable about organized crime. John (Jack) J. O’Rourke (847-344-9548 cell) and Robert (Bob) Scigalski (847-344-9550) of Quest Consultants (847-397-9405) are LIUNA IG agents intimately familiar with corruption in the Laborers Union in Chicagoland. When the GEB Attorney rejected the suggested appointment of Roland Burris as supervisor of local 1001 under a voluntary supervision, both O’Rourke and Scigalski began investigating Laborers Local 1001 (Streets and Sanitation) to provide grounds for a forthcoming complaint for trusteeship against the local. GEB Attorney Matt Paul (202-457-6553) is preparing the complaint. As a current member and outspoken reformer of the Laborers Union, I supply them with leads and the names of union members willing to testify about corruption.
The Consent Decree voluntarily entered into by DOJ, LIUNA, and the Chicago Laborers District Council that resulted in the appointment of Steve Miller as Court Monitor (312-207-3857 and Seymour Simon as Hearing Officer (312-368-7070) has for all practical purposes expired, with Miller allowed to complete his prosecution of Joseph Lombardo, Jr. in hearings now rescheduled for September, 2003.
Project RISE is the name of the Teamster internal reform process headed by Edwin Stier, (Stier, Anderson & Malone), a former federal prosecutor specializing in organized crime and corruption investigations and was head of New Jersey’s Division of Criminal Justice. He also served as court appointed trustee of Teamster local 560 from 1987-1999. Project RISE also employs ex FBI agents as Project RISE Field Representatives to investigate corruption in the Teamster Union. Ernest Luera (630-961-3544) and Steven Simon (773-404-2201) are Project RISE representatives investigating Teamster Local 726 (Streets and Sanitation) as well as other Chicagoland Teamster entities.
Stier, Anderson & Malone published in 2002 The Teamsters: Perception and Reality. An Investigative Study of Organized Crime Influence in the Union., highly recommended reading for anyone interested in the subject.
I bring the foregoing information to your attention because I am very much interested in eliminating corruption from labor unions, especially if their members cheat the taxpayers of the city I love. The city employees indicted last Wednesday, if union members, can be brought up on disciplinary charges and if found guilty based on a preponderance of the evidence barred as union members. A condition of their employment, I believe, is that they remain as union members in good standing. The City of Chicago does not have to fire them if they can no longer remain eligible for employment.
I strongly urge that you contact the investigators for the Laborers and the Teamsters to facilitate the elimination of corrupt union members from city employment. If there is anything I can do to assist you in your endeavors, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Very truly yours.
_______________________
James W McGough