On September 24, Thomas Flaherty, a former member of International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 82 (taken over in 2011 by Teamsters Local 25), was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to two years of probation for fraudulently collecting unemployment benefits from the Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development. He also was ordered to pay $21,011 in restitution and a $1,000 fine. He had pleaded guilty in June. Flaherty previously had been accused, along with three other Local 82 members, of running an intimidation racket against participants at Boston trade shows. He was acquitted in that case, but couldn’t walk in this one. The plea and sentencing follow a joint investigation by the U.S. Labor Department and the Boston Police Department.
