by Wiseguy » Wed Dec 29, 2021 3:39 pm
TSNYC wrote: ↑Wed Dec 29, 2021 12:45 pm
The construction industry lends itself to corruption and fraud. There are firms tied to organized crime. There are many others that are not. The largest GCs are gigantic corporations that employ “white collar” college educated PMs, execs, etc, and some of those execs engage in bribery, kickbacks. There was a huge case years back involving high level execs at Turner (one of the worlds bigger construction firms) and executives from Bloomberg’s internal facilities department. They managed to fleece Bloomberg out of millions. There was no allegation of mob involvement.
I don’t think it’s “controlled” by mob like it used to be. Back in the 70s/80s, Vinny DiNapoli and Fat Tony controlled the drywall industry. Castellano and his cronies controlled local 282. Different ballgame today. But there are still remnants.
The powers that be in the construction trades were successful at fending off similar industry regulations installed by the Giuliani administration in the waste hauling and wholesale food markets back in the 1990s. On top of that, to add to what you said, the very nature of the construction industry (how big and complex it is - excavation, trucking, demolition, concrete, carpentry, painting, electrical, etc., worth something approaching $50 billion a year; all the players involved at different levels - developers, contractors, subs, unions, etc.; as well as outdated laws like Wicks) enable corruption and fraud and is why the mob has more of a remaining presence in that industry than any other. Not to mention the fact that New York is an old city with limited geographic space. New construction is never-ending and, relatively speaking, not many places where you can build something new without something old coming down first. And you're right, we see a lot of cases of shady construction companies engaged in this or that that don't have any mob connection.
Selwyn Raab wrote a good article back in the early 2000's after the big Crea/Lucchese construction bust that talked about how, as a result of prosecutions, the mob had switched from bid-rigging on major projects ($50 million and up) to more sweetheart deals on smaller projects ($10 million or less). The mob has continued to have varying levels of influence in the industry but not the unchallenged dictatorial control that it once did. There are plenty of companies tied to organized crime. However, except for perhaps a few with longstanding ties, I'm just not sure there are many huge GC-level ones still being shaken down. For the last 20+ years or so, it seems the mob has operated more at the sub-contractor level where there is less of a profile. There's been many news reports over that time period of mobbed up companies getting public contracts.
The union connection has also changed. In the 1980s, there were 250,000 union workers in the construction trades. Today it's about 100,000. Back in 2000, 70% of all construction in New York City was done by union workers. By 2009, 50% of private construction was non-union. By 2020, it was up to 80%. Sometimes it's open shop, i.e. a mix of union and non-union. Commercial and public projects still go union obviously but costs are raised by 25% for that.
Unions in the building trades more susceptible to raiding by other unions than any other and one clear trend is the mob involvement in "rogue" unions like the Amalgamated Carpenters & Joiners Union; IUJAT Locals 124, 175, 621, 713; etc. And, while I'm not saying they are "mob controlled," the more "legitimate" unions to still keep an eye on would include ones like Carpenters Locals 157 and 926, LIUNA Locals 6A, 20, and 731; IBT Locals 282 and 456; and Steamfitters Local 638.
[quote=TSNYC post_id=216181 time=1640807128 user_id=7052]
The construction industry lends itself to corruption and fraud. There are firms tied to organized crime. There are many others that are not. The largest GCs are gigantic corporations that employ “white collar” college educated PMs, execs, etc, and some of those execs engage in bribery, kickbacks. There was a huge case years back involving high level execs at Turner (one of the worlds bigger construction firms) and executives from Bloomberg’s internal facilities department. They managed to fleece Bloomberg out of millions. There was no allegation of mob involvement.
I don’t think it’s “controlled” by mob like it used to be. Back in the 70s/80s, Vinny DiNapoli and Fat Tony controlled the drywall industry. Castellano and his cronies controlled local 282. Different ballgame today. But there are still remnants.
[/quote]
The powers that be in the construction trades were successful at fending off similar industry regulations installed by the Giuliani administration in the waste hauling and wholesale food markets back in the 1990s. On top of that, to add to what you said, the very nature of the construction industry (how big and complex it is - excavation, trucking, demolition, concrete, carpentry, painting, electrical, etc., worth something approaching $50 billion a year; all the players involved at different levels - developers, contractors, subs, unions, etc.; as well as outdated laws like Wicks) enable corruption and fraud and is why the mob has more of a remaining presence in that industry than any other. Not to mention the fact that New York is an old city with limited geographic space. New construction is never-ending and, relatively speaking, not many places where you can build something new without something old coming down first. And you're right, we see a lot of cases of shady construction companies engaged in this or that that don't have any mob connection.
Selwyn Raab wrote a good article back in the early 2000's after the big Crea/Lucchese construction bust that talked about how, as a result of prosecutions, the mob had switched from bid-rigging on major projects ($50 million and up) to more sweetheart deals on smaller projects ($10 million or less). The mob has continued to have varying levels of influence in the industry but not the unchallenged dictatorial control that it once did. There are plenty of companies tied to organized crime. However, except for perhaps a few with longstanding ties, I'm just not sure there are many huge GC-level ones still being shaken down. For the last 20+ years or so, it seems the mob has operated more at the sub-contractor level where there is less of a profile. There's been many news reports over that time period of mobbed up companies getting public contracts.
The union connection has also changed. In the 1980s, there were 250,000 union workers in the construction trades. Today it's about 100,000. Back in 2000, 70% of all construction in New York City was done by union workers. By 2009, 50% of private construction was non-union. By 2020, it was up to 80%. Sometimes it's open shop, i.e. a mix of union and non-union. Commercial and public projects still go union obviously but costs are raised by 25% for that.
Unions in the building trades more susceptible to raiding by other unions than any other and one clear trend is the mob involvement in "rogue" unions like the Amalgamated Carpenters & Joiners Union; IUJAT Locals 124, 175, 621, 713; etc. And, while I'm not saying they are "mob controlled," the more "legitimate" unions to still keep an eye on would include ones like Carpenters Locals 157 and 926, LIUNA Locals 6A, 20, and 731; IBT Locals 282 and 456; and Steamfitters Local 638.