Posted by
howlinwolf on Wednesday, March 11, 2009 12:53:36 AM
Union Leader Fraud & Corruption
http://www.unionfacts.com/articles/crimeFraud.cfm
Union Leader Fraud & Corruption
OLMS Enforcement Statistics Financial Integrity
FY 2001 FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2005
Indictments 98 166 132 109 114
Convictions 102 90 152 111 97
Embezzlement, False Reports, Violence, And More …
Most people don't know just how many crimes are committed every year
through which union officials hurt their own members.
The number of reputed and verified crimes is staggering. Nothing
illustrates this more clearly than the hundreds of indictments of union
officials for violations of the Labor Management and Reporting Disclosure
Act. According to the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS),
those crimes include “embezzlement, filing false reports, keeping false
records, destruction of records, extortionate picketing and deprivation of
rights by violence.” The OLMS notes:
In fiscal year 2005, OLMS completed 325 criminal cases. Indictments
increased to 114, a 16 percent increase from FY 2001. The number of
convictions dropped to 97. In addition, in FY 2005 court-ordered restitution
amounted to $23,244,979.
That's $23 million in restitution ordered for victimizing union members and
others.
Labor Racketeering Investigations
FY 2001 FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2005
Cases Opened 105 125 124 135 103
Cases Closed 109 130 144 115 107
Cases referred
for prosecution 57 74 66 87 88
Indictments 161 218 181 260 322
Convictions 92 154 120 143 196
Fines, restitutions,
forfeitures, & civil
monetary actions
$ 42.5 million
$ 105.9 million
$ 27.9 million
$ 36.5 million
$ 187.9 million
Source: Department of Labor Office of Inspector General
Labor
Racketeering
The Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General oversees, among
other things, cases of labor racketeering -- and it stays busy. Union
officials have continued to earn their reputation for greed, corruption, and
mismanagement of union dues.
In 2005, criminal charges and fines resulting from racketeering
investigations hit five-year highs. During that time, more than 1,100
indictments have been issued, and more than $400 million in fines and
restitution has been awarded. Many of these cases involve union officials
failing to protect their members from unethical pension scams, but the OIG
also reports that it saw a three-fold increase in the number of convictions
in internal union racketeering cases between 1998 and 2004.
According to a 2004 Zogby International poll, 71% of union members said
the government ought to do more to protect union members from corrupt
union officials, and that unions should be required to give detailed reporting
of union finances to discourage abuse.
According to the FBI, four of the last eight Teamsters presidents have
been criminally indicted.
Nearly 50% of the U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General's labor
racketeering investigations involve pensions and employee welfare benefit
plans.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General,
"Schemes involving bribery, extortion, deprivation of union rights by
violence, and embezzlement used by early racketeers are still employed to
abuse the power of unions."