from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ILWU/
see: Racketeering case against ILA
It is regrettable that the Seafarers International Union and its President Michael Sacco is not named in this indictment. They should be. The Seafarers International Union has a long history of close association with the ILA. It is rumored that a picture of Carlos Gambino hangs in the office of Michael Sacco in Camp Springs, MD. We do have testimony also that there have been many meetings in NY with both the SIU and Made Members of the Mafia who also happened to be ILA officers.
During the 1950’s the ILA helped the SIU break the back of the Canadian Seamen’s Union. Without the ILA s help to boycott canadian vessels in US Ports the SIU would not have been able to gain a foothold in Canada. This cooperation resulted in the loss of over 5000 Canadian Seamen’s Jobs, And, it ended with a Canadian Ship being blown up at the dock in Chicago. But, the Canadian SIU is still the most powerful Mariime Union in Canada and this was made possible by the combined Governments of the United States and Canada.
The Seafarers International Union, through an Executive Vice President of the Union who conducted the Bombing, was responsible for blowing up the Upper Lakes Management Ship. This was done because that company would not knuckle under to the demands of the SIU and the company remains to this day-Non-Union. The SIU Vice-President was convicted of the Bombing and went to Prison. The SIU has always been a Pariah on the Great Lakes and a good portion of the US fleet is not connected to the SIU because the sailors there want nothing to do with SIU tactics which to this day include threats of violence and other acts of intimidation.
The Seamen’s Justice Center also has testimony, from a man who grew up with Michael Sacco, that payoffs were made to member of the New York Gambino Family on a regular basis by the SIU. This same individual tells us that at least one member of the SIU legal department has ties to the Mob. We believe also that Michael Sacco is a made member of the Mafia and that he and his now deceased brother made a meteroric rise to the top with the help of the Mafia.
Mike Sacco was for years part of Paul Halls so called “Knee Capping Crew” but his supposed job on board was as a member of the Galley Crew. Mike doesn’t have the intelligence to have become President of the Union without outside help and for years he was banished to St. Louis, IL (where he still maintains a home) by the Late President of the SIU, Frank Drozak.
In 1992 the SIU was caught with its fingers in the Pension Plan till (how often have we heard of this happening!!). According to Federal Law Enforcement and Labor Department OIG personell the SIU was given a pass on this corruption by the Clinton Administration and escaped with a slap on the wrist when the feds were ordered not to prosecute. Ostensibly, all they had to do was pay back the money. During this same time Michael Sacco was given a one time payment of $600, 000 dollars (according to the LM-2 form for that year) It was rumored that this money was to help pay back the $2, 000, 000 million dollars owed in what was called the “Ghost Room Scheme”. No accounting was ever made to the Government or the Union Concerning this payment. He decided he wanted the money and told the executive board (handpicked) who voted him authorization.
This is just a small portion of the corruption that the SIU Leadership, under the Direction of Michael Sacco has perpetrated. It has been reported to the Feds on many occasions but to date they have not been indicted on anything. We believe that the Government continues to give them a pass because it is in their best interest to have a subservient work force, instead of an unruly bunch of Rank and Filers. We also know, for a fact, that the SIU and the CIA have been (and may be still) bedmates. How much this affects our ability to get this union cleaned up is anyones guess, and we may never know.
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