Six officials with Local 8 of the Roofers, Waterproofers & Allied Wrkrs. union were indicted on July 27 in a racketeering scheme run by the Genovese crime family. According to Manhattan D.A. Robert Morgenthau, the union officials extorted cash payments from contractors. The payments became bribes when the contractors were allowed to use non-union labor — often at less than half the wages of unionized wrkrs. — and were also allowed to use power tools not permitted under union work rules. “There was no violence,” Morgenthau said. “There were threats, mostly to their livelihoods.”
In July 2000, 2 Local bus. agents and several contractors were indicted for similar offenses. After their removal from the union, acc. to the indictment, a rigged election elevated Anthony “Tony Muscles” Guardino to the ofc. of bus. mgr. of Local 8. It was Guardino who allegedly transmitted the payments to reputed Genovese captain John “Johnny Sausage” Barbato. They both then replaced the indicted bus. agents with new ones who would cooperate in the bribery & extortion scheme. “This is the second time we have had to clean up this union’s mess,” Morgenthau said, “and with the indictment of the union itself [for racketeering], we intend to insure that this will be the last.”
Also indicted were: reputed Genovese associate Michael Verdi, who arranged the meetings between Barbato and Guardino: Local 8 treasurer Joseph Garito: and bus. agents John Esposito, Sabatino Russo and Michael Errante. [New York Post, 7/27/04: New York Sun, 7/28/04]