Union officials convicted
Carpenters regional chief, ex-president found guilty of corruption in federal case.
Eric Lacy / The Detroit News
| DETROIT -- A federal
jury on Monday convicted the head of the Michigan Regional Council
of Carpenters and the former president of the union on federal
corruption charges in U.S. District Court. Walter Ralph Mabry, the group's current executive secretary-treasurer, was accused of conspiring to receive more than $120,000 in "extraordinary discounts" for work on his Grosse Pointe Park home from several companies. Anthony Michael, of Macomb Township, was president and executive director of the carpenters union at the time the work was done on Mabry's house and allegedly met with contractors to arrange discounted work. They were both convicted Monday of conspiracy to solicit and receive prohibited payments and solicitation and receipt of a prohibited payment under the Taft-Hartley law that governs labor unions. |
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Mabry and Michael each face up to five
years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
Mabry's attorney, James K. Robinson, says his client and Michael will appeal the verdict because "the proofs in the case were not a sufficient basis to find guilt." Robinson hopes Chief U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman will consider his motion to have the verdict thrown out. "If Judge Friedman denies our motion for acquittal, we're confident the U.S. Court of Appeals will reverse their convictions," Robinson said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Walter Kozar commended the jury's verdict Monday and said it supported the allegations against the labor leaders. "I believe it was consistent with the evidence in the case," Kozar said. Michael's attorney Steve Rabaut, declined to comment on the verdict. The discounted work on Mabry's home took place between January 1998 and December 1999, according to a federal indictment. It allegedly involved several companies, including Nelson-Mill, Crudo Brother Inc., Harris Homes Carpentry, K&R Construction Inc., Danna Carpentry Contractors and Brown Flooring. In early 1998, Michael allegedly paid the principal officer of Harris Homes Carpentry $10,000 cash for work on framing Mabry's home. In exchange, he received an invoice dated April 15, 1998 that was marked "paid in full." In December 1999 Mabry allegedly gave a top employee of Nelson-Mill a check for $26,000 for work done at his home -- after Michael met with the official to reduce the cost of the carpentry work performed at the house. You can reach Eric Lacy at (313) 222-5374 or elacy@detnews.com.
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