https://gothamist.com/news/waterfront-c ... -in-months
An embattled mob watchdog overseeing New York Harbor’s seaports held its first meeting in seven months Wednesday — and promptly barred a rogues gallery of alleged La Cosa Nostra associates from working at the docks.
The Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor has since 1953 cracked down on mob activity and unfair hiring practices at the sprawling ports. It was mostly dormant from May to November amid an effort to close it altogether by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who argues the Garden State can police its side of the port on its own.
The commission has one representative from New York and one from New Jersey who hold regular public meetings regarding unscrupulous characters seeking seaport jobs, which are historically competitive due to high pay.
But New Jersey hasn’t had a representative at the agency since May, halting those meetings.
The lengthy break left the commission with a backlog of cases, which it addressed during Wednesday’s hearing. At least nine alleged mob associates who had applied for jobs at the seaports were dismissed and barred from applying again without the commission’s approval.
Waterfront Commission Executive Director Walter Arsenault said the rejects had ties to the Lucchese, Colombo, Gambino and Genovese crime families. The group included an applicant who Arsenault said is affiliated with Stephen DePiro, a convicted Genovese soldier who in 2015 was sentenced to three years and five months in prison after pleading guilty to an extortion scheme that collected kickbacks – or “tribute payments” – from dock workers.
The commission also ordered the withdrawal of an applicant who did not disclose his association with a man Arsenault said is a “member of the Sicilian faction of the Gambino family.” Another applicant was rejected because he failed to disclose his father was associated with the Lucchese family and his grandfather and uncle were part of the North Jersey DeCavalcante crime family.
The group’s seven-month hiatus came as the fate of the agency hangs in the balance. The New Jersey Legislature passed a law in 2017 requiring the state to pull out of the commission and shift enforcement to the state’s police force.
A years-long legal battle followed — and earlier this year New York sued New Jersey to stop the dissolution of the commission. The nine justices of the Supreme Court are scheduled to meet behind closed doors about the case on Friday.
Murphy’s previous representative on the commission stepped down without a replacement in May. It took until August for Murphy to nominate Jennifer Davenport, former New Jersey first assistant attorney general, to the role — and another three months before she was confirmed by the state’s Legislature.
“Governor Murphy continues to believe that New Jersey should have the right to withdraw from a nearly 70-year-old commission that does not meet today’s needs or serve New Jersey’s interests,” said Bailey Lawrence, a spokesperson for the governor. “He looks forward to the case being argued during the Supreme Court’s upcoming term and remains optimistic that New Jersey will prevail.”
Representatives for Gov. Kathy Hochul declined to comment.
Waterfront Commission blocks mob associates from working at the ports
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Re: Waterfront Commission blocks mob associates from working at the ports
fuck this this is hurting the people that just need a jobJohnnyS wrote: ↑Wed Dec 07, 2022 5:38 pm https://gothamist.com/news/waterfront-c ... -in-months
An embattled mob watchdog overseeing New York Harbor’s seaports held its first meeting in seven months Wednesday — and promptly barred a rogues gallery of alleged La Cosa Nostra associates from working at the docks.
The Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor has since 1953 cracked down on mob activity and unfair hiring practices at the sprawling ports. It was mostly dormant from May to November amid an effort to close it altogether by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who argues the Garden State can police its side of the port on its own.
The commission has one representative from New York and one from New Jersey who hold regular public meetings regarding unscrupulous characters seeking seaport jobs, which are historically competitive due to high pay.
But New Jersey hasn’t had a representative at the agency since May, halting those meetings.
The lengthy break left the commission with a backlog of cases, which it addressed during Wednesday’s hearing. At least nine alleged mob associates who had applied for jobs at the seaports were dismissed and barred from applying again without the commission’s approval.
Waterfront Commission Executive Director Walter Arsenault said the rejects had ties to the Lucchese, Colombo, Gambino and Genovese crime families. The group included an applicant who Arsenault said is affiliated with Stephen DePiro, a convicted Genovese soldier who in 2015 was sentenced to three years and five months in prison after pleading guilty to an extortion scheme that collected kickbacks – or “tribute payments” – from dock workers.
The commission also ordered the withdrawal of an applicant who did not disclose his association with a man Arsenault said is a “member of the Sicilian faction of the Gambino family.” Another applicant was rejected because he failed to disclose his father was associated with the Lucchese family and his grandfather and uncle were part of the North Jersey DeCavalcante crime family.
The group’s seven-month hiatus came as the fate of the agency hangs in the balance. The New Jersey Legislature passed a law in 2017 requiring the state to pull out of the commission and shift enforcement to the state’s police force.
A years-long legal battle followed — and earlier this year New York sued New Jersey to stop the dissolution of the commission. The nine justices of the Supreme Court are scheduled to meet behind closed doors about the case on Friday.
Murphy’s previous representative on the commission stepped down without a replacement in May. It took until August for Murphy to nominate Jennifer Davenport, former New Jersey first assistant attorney general, to the role — and another three months before she was confirmed by the state’s Legislature.
“Governor Murphy continues to believe that New Jersey should have the right to withdraw from a nearly 70-year-old commission that does not meet today’s needs or serve New Jersey’s interests,” said Bailey Lawrence, a spokesperson for the governor. “He looks forward to the case being argued during the Supreme Court’s upcoming term and remains optimistic that New Jersey will prevail.”
Representatives for Gov. Kathy Hochul declined to comment.
Re: Waterfront Commission blocks mob associates from working at the ports
Keeping the mob off the waterfront: U.S. Supreme Court should stop New Jersey from killing docks watchdog
Having not met for seven months due to New Jersey’s contempt of a U.S. Supreme Court order, the bistate Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor had a lot of business to take care of last week, as the agency barred a slew of longshoremen from working on the docks for associating with known organized crime figures. Yet still Jersey is contending before the highest court in the land that the agency is no longer needed to fight the mob.
The newest mob-tied guy to be bounced by New York Commissioner Paul Weinstein and New Jersey Commissioner Jennifer Davenport (whose appointment was stalled for months by Trenton) dates from November, a fellow who hung out with an associate of the Colombo crime family.
Then there was an October case of a longshoreman tied to a member of the Genovese crime family. Left over from September were cases of three men linked to associates of the Sicilian faction of the Gambino crime family, the Genovese crime family and one tagged with both the Lucchese and the Genovese crime families.
Finally, there were two bounced longshoremen whose cases go back six months, to June. One fellow was too close to the Lucchese crime family while the other had ties to the Lucchese and DeCavalcante crime families. These folks should have been tossed half a year ago, but the agency couldn’t move against them until now because New Jersey left Davenport’s seat empty since May.
New York is suing its supposed cross-Hudson partner before the Supreme Court because New Jersey is trying to unilaterally shut down the commission. The case is fully briefed and on Friday the justices held a closed-door conference on the state versus state suit, with perhaps an order being issued today.
We would hope that the learned justices recognize that the joint agreement from 1953 can’t be dissolved by one state deciding that the mob is no longer a problem. Doing so would let the gangsters win and take over the docks, like they had in the bad old days.
Re: Waterfront Commission blocks mob associates from working at the ports
New Jersey never said the mob is not an issue. It is saying that they can do a better job of policing.
The Commission plays an interesting role in labor relations. Let's say there is a strike, and the company is looking for some replacements. Well, the Commission moves at such a glacial pace that it may take them a year to do a simple background investigation. So replacements are out. But there are useful loopholes in their jurisdiction. They can't regulate certain barges, etc.
The last time I was there, about 18 years ago, it was like a museum. A time capsule from the 50's.I wouldn't have been surprised if they all shared an abacus to count.
The Commission plays an interesting role in labor relations. Let's say there is a strike, and the company is looking for some replacements. Well, the Commission moves at such a glacial pace that it may take them a year to do a simple background investigation. So replacements are out. But there are useful loopholes in their jurisdiction. They can't regulate certain barges, etc.
The last time I was there, about 18 years ago, it was like a museum. A time capsule from the 50's.I wouldn't have been surprised if they all shared an abacus to count.
Re: Waterfront Commission blocks mob associates from working at the ports
Supreme Court Says New Jersey Can Break 70-Year Anti-Crime Pact With New York
The decision brings down the curtain on an agency created to fight crime on the docks as depicted in the film “On the Waterfront.”
By Patrick McGeehan, New York Times
April 18, 2023
After 70 years, the partnership between New York and New Jersey to keep organized crime out of one the nation’s biggest cargo ports is over.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that New Jersey can unilaterally withdraw from the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, which was formed by a bistate compact in 1953. The decision ends an uneasy alliance that was a rare source of discord between the two states.
New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, asked the nation’s top court to intervene last year to prevent New Jersey from dissolving the shipping industry-funded commission, whose origin dates back to an era when mobsters controlled the docks around the harbor. Ms. James said at the time that New Jersey’s effort to break the compact was “unlawful, ill-advised and infringes on our efforts to crack down on crime.”
But the justices unanimously disagreed.
In a decision written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the court said that, although the compact did not address the question of a state’s right to withdraw, the states did not intend for the commission to operate forever. “Given that the States did not intend for the agreement to be perpetual, it would not make much sense to conclude that each State implicitly conferred on the other a perpetual veto of withdrawal,” Justice Kavanaugh wrote.
Ms. James and Kathy Hochul, the Democratic governor of New York, said in a statement that they were disappointed by the decision.
“For decades, the Waterfront Commission has been a vital law enforcement agency, protecting essential industries at the port and cracking down on organized crime,” their statement said. “We will continue to do everything in our power to combat corruption and crime, protect the health of our economy, and ensure the safety of New Yorkers.”
New Jersey officials have argued that the mob domination of the docks depicted in the 1954 movie “On the Waterfront” is a thing of the past. Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said last year that the commission did not fairly represent the interests of New Jersey, where most of the cargo bound for the New York metropolitan region is now handled.
On Tuesday, Mr. Murphy said he was “thrilled” by the court’s ruling.
“For many years, frustration over the Commission’s operations has been building,” he said in a statement. “I am proud that after a five-year battle in the federal courts, where my administration used every legal tool at our disposal, New Jersey’s sovereign right to govern our ports has been vindicated.”
After a few rounds of litigation over New Jersey’s attempt to dissolve it, Mr. Murphy notified the commission last year that he intended to withdraw the state’s sole commissioner and assign the state police to assume the agency’s duties on New Jersey’s side of the harbor. But last summer, after New Jersey’s commissioner resigned, Mr. Murphy appointed Jennifer Davenport, a utility company executive, to fill the position.
The commission performed background checks on prospective port workers and had the power to decide how many could be hired and when. It also used its power in more recent years to demand that waterfront unions add diversity to membership ranks that have traditionally been dominated by white men.
Fighting corruption remained a key focus. Several years ago, the commission investigated and helped prosecute union officials, shop stewards and foremen over a conspiracy to extort their own union members on behalf of the Genovese organized crime family.
In 2019, a joint investigation by the commission and New Jersey’s attorney general led to the sentencing of six men for their roles in criminal schemes that involved loan-sharking, illegal gambling and money laundering on behalf of the Genovese family.
But the commission’s critics argued that it was obsolete. Among them were the International Longshoremen’s Association, which represents most workers at the ports, and the New York Shipping Association, whose members operate the terminals where huge cargo ships are unloaded.
The bulk of the cargo that arrives in the harbor goes to ports in Newark and Elizabeth, N.J. The terminal operators there pay fees that cover most of the commission’s budget. The shipping association said last year that it would stop making those payments, but it did not carry out that threat.
Mr. Murphy said the New Jersey State Police were “more than capable of taking on the Commission’s law enforcement and regulatory responsibilities.”
He said he looked forward to working with New York officials “to ensure a swift and orderly dissolution of the Commission in a way that ensures security and uninterrupted business at New Jersey’s ports.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/18/nyre ... yc-nj.html
The decision brings down the curtain on an agency created to fight crime on the docks as depicted in the film “On the Waterfront.”
By Patrick McGeehan, New York Times
April 18, 2023
After 70 years, the partnership between New York and New Jersey to keep organized crime out of one the nation’s biggest cargo ports is over.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that New Jersey can unilaterally withdraw from the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, which was formed by a bistate compact in 1953. The decision ends an uneasy alliance that was a rare source of discord between the two states.
New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, asked the nation’s top court to intervene last year to prevent New Jersey from dissolving the shipping industry-funded commission, whose origin dates back to an era when mobsters controlled the docks around the harbor. Ms. James said at the time that New Jersey’s effort to break the compact was “unlawful, ill-advised and infringes on our efforts to crack down on crime.”
But the justices unanimously disagreed.
In a decision written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the court said that, although the compact did not address the question of a state’s right to withdraw, the states did not intend for the commission to operate forever. “Given that the States did not intend for the agreement to be perpetual, it would not make much sense to conclude that each State implicitly conferred on the other a perpetual veto of withdrawal,” Justice Kavanaugh wrote.
Ms. James and Kathy Hochul, the Democratic governor of New York, said in a statement that they were disappointed by the decision.
“For decades, the Waterfront Commission has been a vital law enforcement agency, protecting essential industries at the port and cracking down on organized crime,” their statement said. “We will continue to do everything in our power to combat corruption and crime, protect the health of our economy, and ensure the safety of New Yorkers.”
New Jersey officials have argued that the mob domination of the docks depicted in the 1954 movie “On the Waterfront” is a thing of the past. Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said last year that the commission did not fairly represent the interests of New Jersey, where most of the cargo bound for the New York metropolitan region is now handled.
On Tuesday, Mr. Murphy said he was “thrilled” by the court’s ruling.
“For many years, frustration over the Commission’s operations has been building,” he said in a statement. “I am proud that after a five-year battle in the federal courts, where my administration used every legal tool at our disposal, New Jersey’s sovereign right to govern our ports has been vindicated.”
After a few rounds of litigation over New Jersey’s attempt to dissolve it, Mr. Murphy notified the commission last year that he intended to withdraw the state’s sole commissioner and assign the state police to assume the agency’s duties on New Jersey’s side of the harbor. But last summer, after New Jersey’s commissioner resigned, Mr. Murphy appointed Jennifer Davenport, a utility company executive, to fill the position.
The commission performed background checks on prospective port workers and had the power to decide how many could be hired and when. It also used its power in more recent years to demand that waterfront unions add diversity to membership ranks that have traditionally been dominated by white men.
Fighting corruption remained a key focus. Several years ago, the commission investigated and helped prosecute union officials, shop stewards and foremen over a conspiracy to extort their own union members on behalf of the Genovese organized crime family.
In 2019, a joint investigation by the commission and New Jersey’s attorney general led to the sentencing of six men for their roles in criminal schemes that involved loan-sharking, illegal gambling and money laundering on behalf of the Genovese family.
But the commission’s critics argued that it was obsolete. Among them were the International Longshoremen’s Association, which represents most workers at the ports, and the New York Shipping Association, whose members operate the terminals where huge cargo ships are unloaded.
The bulk of the cargo that arrives in the harbor goes to ports in Newark and Elizabeth, N.J. The terminal operators there pay fees that cover most of the commission’s budget. The shipping association said last year that it would stop making those payments, but it did not carry out that threat.
Mr. Murphy said the New Jersey State Police were “more than capable of taking on the Commission’s law enforcement and regulatory responsibilities.”
He said he looked forward to working with New York officials “to ensure a swift and orderly dissolution of the Commission in a way that ensures security and uninterrupted business at New Jersey’s ports.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/18/nyre ... yc-nj.html
All roads lead to New York.