National AFSCME president Gerald W. McEntee placed all of DC 37 (56 locals) under an administratorship Nov. 30 due to growing allegations of corruption. Top McEntee lieutenant, Lee Saunders, was made DC 37 administrator. DC 37 Exec. Director Stanley W. Hill, widely alleged to be part of the corruption, took a voluntary, unpaid leave of absence. Numerous other bosses have step-aside or resigned with some getting cushy compensation packages. All 56 locals will be audited. AFSCME intends to share any findings of corruption with Manhattan Dist. Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau who has had an on-going criminal investigation into DC 37 for several months. [N.Y. Times 11/30 & 12/8/98; BNA 12/1/98]
McEntee has Ethics Questions of His Own
Via a letter-to-the-editor in the Dec. 4 Wall Street Journal and a Dec. 1 Newsday article, NLPC Chairman Ken Boehm blasted McEntee his hypocrisy in the DC 37 matter. Just last year McEntee was linked to the money-laundering scam that brought down ex-Teamsters boss Ron Carey. On Nov. 17, 1997, Carey was disqualified from running for reelection based the findings of court-appointed monitor that over $538,000 was illegally funneled into Carey’s 1996 campaign. Those same court documents implicated McEntee. The scheme began with Carey-campaign aides obtaining a $50,000 pledge from AFSCME organizing director Paul Booth. Union election rules prohibit officials of unions other than the Teamsters from contributing or soliciting funds for Teamsters candidates. Booth came through with $27,100. The court documents state that $20,000 of it was raised, in cash, from McEntee. Reportedly, McEntee solicited the cash from a union vendor. The documents term the scheme a “clear contravention of the Election Rules.”
McEntee hires Cherkasky’s P.I. Firm
As part of the DC 37 probe, McEntee hired the private investigation firm, Kroll-O’Gara Co. (NASDAQ: KROG), to examine the corruption involved with vote-tampering in the ratification of DC 37’s contract with N.Y.C. An interesting, and unreported, aside to this story is that Kroll is the firm of Michael G. Cherkasky, the current Teamsters Election Officer. This is a troubling nexus given McEntee’s ties to the Teamsters money-laundering scandal.
Dissidents File RICO Suit over Vote-Fraud Allegations
Two presidents of dissident locals within DC 37 filed a federal RICO suit Nov. 30 against DC 37 bosses, N.Y. Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani (R) and others for failing over allegations of fraud in a 1995-96 contract ratification vote for city workers. The suit also alleges kickback schemes and election fraud within DC 37. The suit seeks appointment of a court-appointed independent monitor over DC 37 implying that the dissidents have little faith in McEntee’s administratorship. They seek treble damages to compensate members for the “gross violation of their rights.” [N.Y. Times 11/30/98 & BNA 12/1/98]
FBI Investigating Mob Ties in DC 37
The FBI is reportedly has begun investigating allegations of death threats and decades of organized-crime influence in DC 37. FBI agents reportedly interviewed DC 37 dissident Mark Rosenthal Dec. 4 about William “Wild Bill” Cutolo, a former Colombo family capo. Cutolo was acquitted in 1994 of killing of an ally of an enemy family faction and of conspiring to kill other rivals. Allegedly, Cutolo was often seen roaming the halls of DC 37 collecting for “charities” in which the funds raised often didn’t reach researchers or people suffering from diseases. [N.Y. Post 12/6/98]