An 80-page report, released Sep. 22 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for N.J details discipline taken against 24 bosses of the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Int’l Union have been disciplined under an internal reform process supervised by the U.S. Justice Dep’t. The “Fourth Report of the Monitor of HERE” describes the corrupt practices at the highest levels of the union including: Edward T. Hanley, who stepped down as general president in July after serving in that capacity for 25 years (see: UCU 1.4 7/27/98); and his son, Thomas Hanley, HERE’s director of organization until Aug. 31 (see: UCU 1.8 9/21/98). Others disciplined include locals bosses in Chicago, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Cleveland many of whom were linked to organized crime. The report is full of financial mismanagement, fraud, cronyism, nepotism, inadequate internal controls and undemocratic practices. It illustrates union officers using union funds for their own personal expenses; officers and their wives using its jet for personal purposes; consulting relationships with individuals who did little or no work; and, misuse of union owned vehicles. In one case the monitor notes that over a 17-year period the union provided a former Hollywood actor with a Cadillac Seville, health insurance coverage, and as much as $25,000 per year to provide the union with a “celebrity presence.” The report also describes concerns over the union’s interactions with former House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski, who acted as a consultant to the union. Muellenberg said this fourth report is not the “final” report. The final report will be produced when pending charges against five individuals are resolved, he said, and it also will include financial data about the monitorship. [BNA 9/24/98]
