the editorial board does not even rise to the level of the nfl players's association that say show us the books
kevin mccfarret, republicsn dufgolk county legislstor, kevin mccaffrey is slso trustee of the 707 pension plan which has been tsken over by the pbgc
many 707 members have asked for all pertinent documents of the 707 pension plan revords and the yrc 707 agreement when yrc threatened bankruprcy unless
the editorial board needs to come to a local 707 union meeting and listen to what is said and not said
Philadelphia’s Union Indictments
Suffolk, Nassau OTB probe ethics conflict
by David Winzelberg
Published: November 24th, 2013
At least one employee of Nassau County Off-Track Betting is questioning whether the head of his employee union, a member-elect of the Suffolk County Legislature, should have a say in Suffolk OTB business.
Teamsters Local 707 President Kevin McCaffery, whose union represents about 200 Nassau OTB workers, was elected earlier this month to serve as a Suffolk legislator representing the 14th District. In a letter last week, Nassau OTB cashier Jackson Leeds alerted the Suffolk County Ethics Board to McCaffery’s possible conflict of interest.
“As a Suffolk County legislator, his duties are to the people of Suffolk County,” Leeds wrote. “He cannot simultaneously represent the interests of employees of Nassau OTB, a Nassau County public benefit corporation.”
McCaffery told LIBN he doesn’t think the two counties’ OTBs are in competition with each other and he doesn’t see his role as union leader for Nassau OTB workers as a conflict with issues surrounding Suffolk OTB.
“If anything, I have the background of dealing with Nassau OTB, which gives me more insight on the subject than any other legislator out there,” McCaffery said.
When asked if the legislator-elect’s union job appeared to be a conflict of interest, Nassau OTB chief Joseph Cairo said, “If you really want to stretch it. But I don’t see anything that’s apparent to me.”
Cairo added that he’ll instruct the Nassau agency’s counsel to review the situation.
Leeds, a 10-year veteran of Nassau OTB, complained that both union officials and county OTB management have been too focused on the 1,000 video lottery terminals planned for each county’s OTB and they’re not paying enough attention to current operations.
“They never worked behind a window,” Leeds told LIBN. “They’re out of touch with the bettors of Nassau County.”
Internet wagering and dwindling handles – the overall money being wagered – have prompted a consolidation in Nassau OTB’s operations in recent years; there were 15 betting offices in Nassau in 2003, and now there are eight. Suffolk OTB, which has seven branch offices, filed for bankruptcy last year.
These days, according to some analysts, OTB offices exist largely for political patronage – another reason, according to Leeds, that the Nassau union chief shouldn’t mix one business with the other.
“Union leaders should not be politicians,” he said. “OTBs are run by politicians. Being political and doing public good aren’t always incompatible, but they often are.”
This isn’t the first time a Long Island legislator’s OTB ties have become an issue.
In May 2000, Gregory Peterson, then-president of the Nassau OTB, sued to prevent Nassau County Leg. Roger Corbin from voting on appointments to the Nassau OTB’s board of directors. Because Corbin was employed as a branch manager for New York City OTB and a member of Teamsters Local 858, which then represented all employees of Nassau OTB, Peterson alleged Corbin’s legislative role posed a conflict of interest.
A New York Supreme Court judge issued an injunction preventing Corbin from voting on OTB appointments, but Corbin appealed and the lower court’s decision was reversed. The Nassau County Board of Ethics also chimed in, determining by a 3-2 vote that voting on OTB appointments didn’t create a conflict because Corbin didn’t influence policy or engage in labor negotiations.
With McCaffery, some observers say it’s best to proceed with caution.
Anthony Figliola, vice president of Uniondale-based government relations firm Empire Government Strategies, said the legislator-elect may want to recuse himself from any votes concerning Suffolk OTB until the Suffolk County Ethics Board offers an opinion.
“OTB is a political football,” Figliola said. “It’s better to stay out of it, especially if you want to get things done in the Legislature.”
Even by Big Labor standards, the charges are startling.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) seek to issue treasury bonds tied to federal budget to fund Teamster pension shortfall. (Credit: Newsday / John Asbury)
Johnny "Doc" Dougherty in the South Philadelphia, Aug. 5, 2016. PHOTO: KRISTEN DE GROOT/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Machine politics took a beating in Pennsylvania Wednesday as federal prosecutors filed a 116-count indictment against a Philadelphia city councilman and his pals at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98. The story is that Pennsylvania Democrats canoodled with union leaders despite myriad signs of corruption.
In 2011, Local 98’s former political director Bobby Henon ran for Philadelphia City Council with the support of his union. He won, and Local 98 business manager John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty provided Mr. Henon with “a stream of personal benefits” including Eagles football tickets and more than $143,000 in union pay, the indictment says. In return, Mr. Henon allegedly did the labor boss’s political bidding.
Among other claims, the 159-page indictment says Mr. Henon dispatched city investigators to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who issued stop-work orders after Mr. Dougherty complained administrators weren’t using union labor to install MRI machines; helped coerce Comcast into hiring a union contractor who was paying off Mr. Dougherty; and used his political office to help Mr. Dougherty get revenge on personal foes.
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In 2015, union leaders allegedly wanted someone identified only as “Political Official No. 1” to endorse union-approved candidates running for Philadelphia mayor and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. As they courted this official, Mr. Dougherty and union president Brian Burrows allegedly signed off on two $3,200 checks from Local 98 to pay for the official’s children to travel abroad for summer internships.
The indictment also claims Mr. Dougherty and other union officials and employees embezzled more than $600,000 from Local 98 and its apprentice training fund. Prosecutors claim thousands of union dollars paid for home repairs and renovations for Local 98 officials and their family members. Top union officials also allegedly used purloined funds to pay for haberdashery, take-out crab cakes from the Palm restaurant, firewood, patio chairs, makeup and beauty services at the Guerlain Boutique in Manhattan.
State and federal public records show that between 2010 and 2015 five of Mr. Dougherty’s family members received more than $1.25 million from the union, its political action committee, and a union-affiliated charter school. Between 2001 and 2012, 14 Pennsylvania candidates or committees that had received political support from Local 98 together spent some $405,000 at Doc’s Union Pub— a bar owned by Mr. Dougherty, Mr. Burrows, and Local 98 Apprentice Training Fund training director Michael Neill. All three were indicted Wednesday. Mr. Dougherty and Mr. Henon deny wrongdoing, and others couldn’t be reached for comment.
The indictment is a window on modern big-city politics that is dominated by Democrats and unions. One-party politics produces a lack of accountability, and to rise in the ranks you have to pay the man and honor the machine.
Since 2000, Local 98 has spent more than $30 million on elections in Pennsylvania, almost exclusively on Democrats, making it one of the biggest political spenders in the state. The losers are the union rank-and-file who prosecutors say were fleeced by their leaders for political and personal gain.
