Feds indict 11 Construction Union officials

[queensnyer]

i know joe scopo he is not in the lfe. that union is stil on the fringes of the mob. his dad is respected and he has his position. cant give uou details about inner workings of that local lets just say i lived a few blocks from them growing up.

Even if he is 100 percent legit it will always be suspicious due to his mafia ties.

Heres an article that names him as a gambino

https://nypost.com/2008/02/12/concrete-evidence/

Not sure how accurate the article is, but the bop inmate tracker has a joseph scopo whos age matchs

pretty sure its not the same guy... joey has never done time as far as i know.

[queensnyer]

[q
It's Funny , The Mob being eliminated did hurt the union locals and its members . No one is scared of the Unions anymore , The developers and GC'S tell the unions to go fuck themselves , When the Mob was involved there was fear of death , Violence , Shutdowns ,Stoppages etc etc ....
[/quote]

yep. my point. everyone ate when the mob had the unions. now with cameras everywhere and the mob pushed out these gc's think their tough guys. still a lot of oldschool actions i guess you could call it lol but they run straight to cops these days.

[queensnyer]

and let me clear something up. the mob is in no way a minor player in nyc construction. they are still in control in a lot of areas. they have their hooks in developers/ gc companies and shops union and non. they just dont have control of the unions. the union rackets involved access to the funds where the $$ is kept. it is now mostly big banks like john hancock etc. money managers in control of the millions in fund moneys. they still influence when they hook a company and can slow a job etc non union, but on these major projects the conteacts are heavily weighed towards the developers and construction management firms. you dont keep the schedule you dont get paid. you dont have the man power on site you dont get paid. all the tools the mob used to control a site have been ultimately taken away in contracts by big corporate banks and gc's/

[Wiseguy]

first of all half the locals you mention have nothing to do with construction trades. liuna 325 is a small local in nj. they do not come into nyc. the carpenters local is not considered rogue in nyc yet. even though they left the bt council. local 713 is a rogue union. . rogue unions are st up to be corrupt. some by oc. either way they have no pull in nyc and are not recognized as unions by major gc and developers. a bt council union can remove them fom a job with a grievance. the fact
the fact that you really dont know the difference between some of these things shows you dont know enough to debate. dont mean that in a disrespectful way, just that im on the inside of the industry. i know more than the media tells you and whether they are actually reporting facts. the mob is gone from real trades unions in nyc,
they used to run everything from bids to union events. control a whole site from top down. they now might sneak in hear and there mostly through developers and the rogue unions they start, its the mob trying to get back in. they were all but eliminated from the trade unions after 9/11. so they started unions on their own, 638 is a steamfitters union in nyc. the steamfitters union. so someone stared 355 doing steamfitter work at 1/2 price ro try to take over the market the union holds and get back on these jobs. like 295 and 363 and all the other rogue unions popping up.
it works when corrupt guys at 638 like we have here take bribes to steer work to 355 instead of their own local. but fails 95% of the time.
if you think 1 mob case every ten years means the mob is still in the unions, you dont understand the business.
themob is still heavy in construction, non union. they can control a job from top to bottom like they did with union in 80's with no one really looking over their shoulder. if its private money the unions cant make a grievance, just try to sell the services of our shops. i can name you 20 companies foing work right now all mobbed up. all non union.
some even say the fact that mob was pushed out of the unions has hurt us and you can make a case.

I gotta say, you remind me of an old poster on the Real Deal who went by the name of "blindman." He also felt his views on the mob and the labor unions were unquestionable because he had worked in the unions.

I also can't help but notice how you keep moving the goal posts. First it was the mob is out of the unions. Then it was the mob was out of the building trades unions. Then it was the mob was out of the legit (non-rogue) building trades unions. Then it was the mob is out of the legit building trades (non-rogue) unions but we're not counting New Jersey. Then it was a case of having to control everything from the top down, like the old days, or it doesn't count.

I don't have a very high opinion of the media so you claiming to "know more" doesn't mean all that much. But you knowing more than law enforcement or OC experts is another story. An excerpt from the 2014 WSJ article on the mob and unions:

Still, Mr. Jacobs and other experts said that while the Mafia's hold on unions today has weakened, the Mafia's influence isn't totally lost.

Mr. Jacobs said there are still cases in which government-installed monitors are "trying to rehabilitate formerly mobbed-up unions" as well as new labor-racketeering prosecutions being brought against organized-crime members.

After the prosecutions "some unions were definitely cleaned up, other unions weren't completely clean and other unions…were cleaned up but have been infiltrated again," said Richard Frankel, special agent in charge of the Criminal Division for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York office.

Nobody is denying the mob's presence in the labor unions isn't comparable to the old days. I don't think there's a single industry the mob controls like it once did. Even construction. It's been pushed out of several of them and weakened in the rest. But I don't think it's presence in the unions, legit or otherwise, is gone. And while New York is still the biggest union town around, as has been said, even there they don't have the clout they once did.

And the mob changing tactics in order to find other ways to exploit things isn't new. 20 years ago, Selwyn Raab wrote an article entitled
"Investigators Detail a New Mob Strategy on Building Trades" that talked about how, as a result of different labor cases, the mob had moved more from bid-rigging on large projects ($50+ million) to sweetheart deals on smaller ones (below $10 million).

[Bklyn21]

first of all half the locals you mention have nothing to do with construction trades. liuna 325 is a small local in nj. they do not come into nyc. the carpenters local is not considered rogue in nyc yet. even though they left the bt council. local 713 is a rogue union. . rogue unions are st up to be corrupt. some by oc. either way they have no pull in nyc and are not recognized as unions by major gc and developers. a bt council union can remove them fom a job with a grievance. the fact
the fact that you really dont know the difference between some of these things shows you dont know enough to debate. dont mean that in a disrespectful way, just that im on the inside of the industry. i know more than the media tells you and whether they are actually reporting facts. the mob is gone from real trades unions in nyc,
they used to run everything from bids to union events. control a whole site from top down. they now might sneak in hear and there mostly through developers and the rogue unions they start, its the mob trying to get back in. they were all but eliminated from the trade unions after 9/11. so they started unions on their own, 638 is a steamfitters union in nyc. the steamfitters union. so someone stared 355 doing steamfitter work at 1/2 price ro try to take over the market the union holds and get back on these jobs. like 295 and 363 and all the other rogue unions popping up.
it works when corrupt guys at 638 like we have here take bribes to steer work to 355 instead of their own local. but fails 95% of the time.
if you think 1 mob case every ten years means the mob is still in the unions, you dont understand the business.
themob is still heavy in construction, non union. they can control a job from top to bottom like they did with union in 80's with no one really looking over their shoulder. if its private money the unions cant make a grievance, just try to sell the services of our shops. i can name you 20 companies foing work right now all mobbed up. all non union.
some even say the fact that mob was pushed out of the unions has hurt us and you can make a case.

I gotta say, you remind me of an old poster on the Real Deal who went by the name of "blindman." He also felt his views on the mob and the labor unions were unquestionable because he had worked in the unions.

I also can't help but notice how you keep moving the goal posts. First it was the mob is out of the unions. Then it was the mob was out of the building trades unions. Then it was the mob was out of the legit (non-rogue) building trades unions. Then it was the mob is out of the legit building trades (non-rogue) unions but we're not counting New Jersey. Then it was a case of having to control everything from the top down, like the old days, or it doesn't count.

I don't have a very high opinion of the media so you claiming to "know more" doesn't mean all that much. But you knowing more than law enforcement or OC experts is another story. An excerpt from the 2014 WSJ article on the mob and unions:

Still, Mr. Jacobs and other experts said that while the Mafia's hold on unions today has weakened, the Mafia's influence isn't totally lost.

Mr. Jacobs said there are still cases in which government-installed monitors are "trying to rehabilitate formerly mobbed-up unions" as well as new labor-racketeering prosecutions being brought against organized-crime members.

After the prosecutions "some unions were definitely cleaned up, other unions weren't completely clean and other unions…were cleaned up but have been infiltrated again," said Richard Frankel, special agent in charge of the Criminal Division for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York office.

Nobody is denying the mob's presence in the labor unions isn't comparable to the old days. I don't think there's a single industry the mob controls like it once did. Even construction. It's been pushed out of several of them and weakened in the rest. But I don't think it's presence in the unions, legit or otherwise, is gone. And while New York is still the biggest union town around, as has been said, even there they don't have the clout they once did.

And the mob changing tactics in order to find other ways to exploit things isn't new. 20 years ago, Selwyn Raab wrote an article entitled
"Investigators Detail a New Mob Strategy on Building Trades" that talked about how, as a result of different labor cases, the mob had moved more from bid-rigging on large projects ($50+ million) to sweetheart deals on smaller ones (below $10 million).

HERES THE LINK TO THE 1999 NY TIMES ARTICLE NEW MOB STRATEGY ON BUILDING TRADES

https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/08/nyre ... rades.html

[ng]

Thanks for sharing queensnyer, appreciate your insight

[queensnyer]

first of all half the locals you mention have nothing to do with construction trades. liuna 325 is a small local in nj. they do not come into nyc. the carpenters local is not considered rogue in nyc yet. even though they left the bt council. local 713 is a rogue union. . rogue unions are st up to be corrupt. some by oc. either way they have no pull in nyc and are not recognized as unions by major gc and developers. a bt council union can remove them fom a job with a grievance. the fact
the fact that you really dont know the difference between some of these things shows you dont know enough to debate. dont mean that in a disrespectful way, just that im on the inside of the industry. i know more than the media tells you and whether they are actually reporting facts. the mob is gone from real trades unions in nyc,
they used to run everything from bids to union events. control a whole site from top down. they now might sneak in hear and there mostly through developers and the rogue unions they start, its the mob trying to get back in. they were all but eliminated from the trade unions after 9/11. so they started unions on their own, 638 is a steamfitters union in nyc. the steamfitters union. so someone stared 355 doing steamfitter work at 1/2 price ro try to take over the market the union holds and get back on these jobs. like 295 and 363 and all the other rogue unions popping up.
it works when corrupt guys at 638 like we have here take bribes to steer work to 355 instead of their own local. but fails 95% of the time.
if you think 1 mob case every ten years means the mob is still in the unions, you dont understand the business.
themob is still heavy in construction, non union. they can control a job from top to bottom like they did with union in 80's with no one really looking over their shoulder. if its private money the unions cant make a grievance, just try to sell the services of our shops. i can name you 20 companies foing work right now all mobbed up. all non union.
some even say the fact that mob was pushed out of the unions has hurt us and you can make a case.

I gotta say, you remind me of an old poster on the Real Deal who went by the name of "blindman." He also felt his views on the mob and the labor unions were unquestionable because he had worked in the unions.

I also can't help but notice how you keep moving the goal posts. First it was the mob is out of the unions. Then it was the mob was out of the building trades unions. Then it was the mob was out of the legit (non-rogue) building trades unions. Then it was the mob is out of the legit building trades (non-rogue) unions but we're not counting New Jersey. Then it was a case of having to control everything from the top down, like the old days, or it doesn't count.

I don't have a very high opinion of the media so you claiming to "know more" doesn't mean all that much. But you knowing more than law enforcement or OC experts is another story. An excerpt from the 2014 WSJ article on the mob and unions:

Still, Mr. Jacobs and other experts said that while the Mafia's hold on unions today has weakened, the Mafia's influence isn't totally lost.

Mr. Jacobs said there are still cases in which government-installed monitors are "trying to rehabilitate formerly mobbed-up unions" as well as new labor-racketeering prosecutions being brought against organized-crime members.

After the prosecutions "some unions were definitely cleaned up, other unions weren't completely clean and other unions…were cleaned up but have been infiltrated again," said Richard Frankel, special agent in charge of the Criminal Division for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York office.

Nobody is denying the mob's presence in the labor unions isn't comparable to the old days. I don't think there's a single industry the mob controls like it once did. Even construction. It's been pushed out of several of them and weakened in the rest. But I don't think it's presence in the unions, legit or otherwise, is gone. And while New York is still the biggest union town around, as has been said, even there they don't have the clout they once did.

And the mob changing tactics in order to find other ways to exploit things isn't new. 20 years ago, Selwyn Raab wrote an article entitled
"Investigators Detail a New Mob Strategy on Building Trades" that talked about how, as a result of different labor cases, the mob had moved more from bid-rigging on large projects ($50+ million) to sweetheart deals on smaller ones (below $10 million).

your hilarious i dont work in the unions ..im a labor leader an elected official in a bulding trades union/ the fact that you dont know the difference between a building trades local and a rogue is just fact 1 that points to your ignorance of the subject. what position do you hold? what meetings have you been apart of? what politicians and labor leaders. developers general contractors do you meet with on a daily basis?

[queensnyer]

@queensnyer thanks for the insight.

your welcome

[queensnyer]

Thanks for sharing queensnyer, appreciate your insight

your welcome

[Tonyd621]

@queensnyer thanks for the insight.

your welcome

I'm a union myself, based in CT, though. I agree with what your saying, spot on. I would just add the prevailing wage law has something to do with it too imo.

[Wiseguy]

your hilarious i dont work in the unions ..im a labor leader an elected official in a bulding trades union/ the fact that you dont know the difference between a building trades local and a rogue is just fact 1 that points to your ignorance of the subject. what position do you hold? what meetings have you been apart of? what politicians and labor leaders. developers general contractors do you meet with on a daily basis?

I know the difference between a building trades local and a rogue. My point was you kept changing what you were talking about. I've never been a part of any union. That's why I defer to the sources I usually do on this subject - indictments, insights from OC experts, etc.

You seem to think because you're a labor leader, if we are to take you at your word, that what you say shouldn't be questioned or disagreed with; even if there's conflicting evidence. Sorry, but that's not going to fly here.

[Garbageman]

and let me clear something up. the mob is in no way a minor player in nyc construction. they are still in control in a lot of areas. they have their hooks in developers/ gc companies and shops union and non. they just dont have control of the unions. the union rackets involved access to the funds where the $$ is kept. it is now mostly big banks like john hancock etc. money managers in control of the millions in fund moneys. they still influence when they hook a company and can slow a job etc non union, but on these major projects the conteacts are heavily weighed towards the developers and construction management firms. you dont keep the schedule you dont get paid. you dont have the man power on site you dont get paid. all the tools the mob used to control a site have been ultimately taken away in contracts by big corporate banks and gc's/

Queensnyer
First may I say, im sorry to hear your friends were indicted. It's a terrible feeling to learn that the Southern Distrust of New York Crime Family Pretending to be The Good Guys has your name on a thick document such as a federal indictment. Believe me, I know. I'm sure it all started with a misunderstanding and someone who didn't get their kickback, I mean cut.....I mean "fees" sorry! Fees! Anyway....

I've been around the board a few years. Known wise guy since before I came to this board, I can tell you one thing for sure about him. If you're going to argue the mob is gone from any sort of their usual rackets, he can and will find a recent indictment where the mob was involved with the exact racket you're talking about. It's always been fun for me to read threads like this... where someone brings up the type of discussion going on here and the links of proof start flying lol. Don't take it the wrong way. The people on this board are mob enthusiasts of the highest order. They are not mob fan boys or junior FBI wannabes. They are just straight up mob hobbyists. I know. I found it bizarre myself when I first came here but I will tell you something....I came here for a reason. I found out more about my own case from here than I did from my own attorneys or from the street. These people know their shit....it's mostly from a network of people who follow organized crime.

I think you said it best yourself, however, when you stated above that for the most part, the mob has been replaced by banks and GCs who fuck union guys out of their money if they don't follow the contract to the letter. I bet they even help it along a little by making it impossible for the contractor to follow the contract to the letter.
I wouldn't be surprised if some familiar faces were behind the scenes involved with some of the money managers or GCs you speak of...but what do I know?

All the mob did was change their banner. Instead of Gambino its Herkimerk Funding and Credit or Metropolitan Building Corp.. (just making these names up) or some other seemingly legit company. The question i have for you is....which did you prefer? The new scumbags? Or the old ones? I guess the answer depends on who is asked that question. For instance... I know which ones the resident snowflakes and their bought and paid for politicians of NYC prefer, and I know which ones I preferred. And the two don't match.
I think in most cases, if I had to choose, I'd pick the lesser of the 2 evils and go with the mob....but the mob doesn't win by much. They're scumbag predators just like the politicians, banks, finance companies and lawyers.
Then again, I do enjoy laughing as I read the local papers these days and see all these attorneys, politicians and their money management companies or real estate friends getting indicted and flipping on one another. Brings a smile to my face every time...whereas seeing some familiar names making the headlines in the past...maybe not so much. Let's face it, shakedown artists suck, no matter what their last names or affiliations are.

I'll be moving out of the NYC area and into the woods in the coming months, surrounded by coyotes, bear, deer, grits.... and bearded men with shotguns. I look just like them until I open up my mouth and that tell-tale accent comes flying out. I won't miss it one bit. Especially when my property taxes are due!

[CabriniGreen]

and let me clear something up. the mob is in no way a minor player in nyc construction. they are still in control in a lot of areas. they have their hooks in developers/ gc companies and shops union and non. they just dont have control of the unions. the union rackets involved access to the funds where the $$ is kept. it is now mostly big banks like john hancock etc. money managers in control of the millions in fund moneys. they still influence when they hook a company and can slow a job etc non union, but on these major projects the conteacts are heavily weighed towards the developers and construction management firms. you dont keep the schedule you dont get paid. you dont have the man power on site you dont get paid. all the tools the mob used to control a site have been ultimately taken away in contracts by big corporate banks and gc's/

I gotta ask, what did you think of the Campos indictment? To me, their operation didnt seem smart.
Like, can they EVER get another construction contract like that? If not, then they fucked a multimillion legit racket for a house?

I just cant understand the angle with that whole thing....

[Wiseguy]

I'll be moving out of the NYC area and into the woods in the coming months, surrounded by coyotes, bear, deer, grits.... and bearded men with shotguns. I look just like them until I open up my mouth and that tell-tale accent comes flying out. I won't miss it one bit. Especially when my property taxes are due!

You and half of everyone on both coasts it seems. Can't say I blame you.

I gotta ask, what did you think of the Campos indictment? To me, their operation didnt seem smart.
Like, can they EVER get another construction contract like that? If not, then they fucked a multimillion legit racket for a house?

I just cant understand the angle with that whole thing....

Unless they want to run a completely legit operation ("Why be a gangster?" - Chris Moltisanti), bribes and kickbacks to award contracts and inflate work orders are standard bread and butter construction scams. If you look at the entire press release or indictment, it's suggests they were running all sorts of scams as a matter of business for a while. Free renovations on Simonlacaj’s house just happened to be one of the specified charges in this case. Worst case scenario, they start a new company where Campos, Martino, etc. use front owners.

[queensnyer]

and let me clear something up. the mob is in no way a minor player in nyc construction. they are still in control in a lot of areas. they have their hooks in developers/ gc companies and shops union and non. they just dont have control of the unions. the union rackets involved access to the funds where the $$ is kept. it is now mostly big banks like john hancock etc. money managers in control of the millions in fund moneys. they still influence when they hook a company and can slow a job etc non union, but on these major projects the conteacts are heavily weighed towards the developers and construction management firms. you dont keep the schedule you dont get paid. you dont have the man power on site you dont get paid. all the tools the mob used to control a site have been ultimately taken away in contracts by big corporate banks and gc's/

I gotta ask, what did you think of the Campos indictment? To me, their operation didnt seem smart.
Like, can they EVER get another construction contract like that? If not, then they fucked a multimillion legit racket for a house?

I just cant understand the angle with that whole thing....

sorry ive been extremely busy... yes the campos indictment im not 100% on the details.. but i do know it was a amaller scale non union operation. the guys in the 80s wouldnt have bothered.