W. Douglas Gow LIUNA Inspector General
P.O. Box 27416
Washington D.C. 20038-7416

Dear Mr. Gow,

I am writing to ask you to begin an investigation of all the members of the LIUNA General Executive Board who voted on December 5,1999 to make Arthur Coia President Emeritus and pay him a salary of $250,000 a year. Our union Constitution has no provision for President Emeritus. Several sections of the Laborers International Union of North America Constitution may have been violated. I will leave the legal work to you.

It is my duty as a dues paying member of LIUNA to inform you Arthur Coia has been charged in the United States District Court of Massachusetts with "Violation 18 U.S.C. S 1341- to Defraud the State of Rhode Island and the town of Barrington of Taxes Owed on Automobiles.

You don't give a man who was involved in scheme to defraud the United States Government status of President Emeritus and a salary of $250,000 a year.

This crime was committed with a union vendor. It is true under ERISA Coia is entitled to his pension but not one dime more from the working Laborers of LIUNA. We will take whatever steps necessary to stop this illegal and immoral scheme to funnel more money to Arthur Coia.

Please respond in writing.

Alex Corns, Business Manager
Hodcarriers Local 36
Daly City, California

Mr. Alex Corns
Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer
Laborers' International Union of North America
Hod Carriers Local 36
6229A Mission Street
Daly City, CA 94014

Dear Mr. Corns:

This will acknowledge receipt of your facsimile dated January 28, 2000, requesting this office to initiate an investigation of all LIUNA General Executive Board (GEB) members who voted to approve the former General President's compensation package and Emeritus position. Your letter substantially misstates the action of the GEB, which voted only to pay Mr. Coia the difference between his pension and his current salary, and not, as you suggest, a salary of $250,000 per year. It is our understanding that the payment will amount to less than one third of the total salary.

I have discussed your letter with the General Executive Board Attorney, Robert D. Luskin, and based upon the facts surrounding the GEB members' actions in this instance, it is our opinion that they acted within the scope of their authority and the LIUNA Constitution in voting these concessions. The Board acted with the full knowledge and consent of the Government and did not go beyond the parameters of the plea agreement the Government negotiated with the former General President.

While there is no specific Constitutional provision which provides for the emeritus position, the Board draws its authority for such action from Article VIII, Section 2(h), of the International Union Constitution and has awarded a similar status and compensation in the past, most recently to the late Secretary-Treasurer, R. P. Vinall. It should be noted this position is honorary in nature and does not confer any powers to the recipient.

Sincerely yours,

W. Douglas Gow
Inspector General

cc: Robert D. Luskin, Esq.
General Executive Board Attorney

TERENCE M. O'SULLIVAN
General President

CARL E. BOOKER
General Secretary -Treasurer

Vice Presidents:

MASON M. WARREN
VERE 0. HAYNES
CHUCK BARNES
GEORGER R.GUDGER
MIKE QUEVEDO, JR
ARMAND E. SABITONI
Assistant to the General President

TERRENCE M. HEALY
RAYMOND M. POCINO
EDWARD M. SMITH
JAMES C. HALE
JOSEPH S. MANCINELLI
STEVE HAMMOND
JOSEPH J. LICASTRO
WILLIAM H. QUINN

MICHAEL S. BEARSE
General Counsel

Mr. Alex Corns
Hod Carriers Local 36
6229A Mission Street
Daly City, CA 94014

Re: Arthur A. Coia - Emeritus Status

Dear Sir and Brother:

Your communication of February 4 to General Secretary-Treasurer Booker regarding the emeritus status of Arthur A. Coia has been forwarded to me for reply. . I am reviewing the matter and will respond shortly.

Very truly yours,

MICHAEL S. BEARSE
General Counsel

MSB/am

cc:

Terence M. O'Sullivan,
General President

Carl Booker,
General Secretary-Treasurer

Robert Luskin, Esquire

W. Douglas Gow, Esquire

HEADQUARTERS:

905 16th Street, NW
Washington, D.C.
20006-1765

Phone: (202) 737-8320
Fax: (202) 737-2754

W. Douglas Gow, LIUNA Inspector General
R0. Box 27416
Washington, D.C. 20038-7416

First of all, thank you for responding to my letter dated January 28, 2000. I wrote to you on December 23, 1999 and asked if the General Executive Board obtained your approval for the expenditures to be paid to Arthur Coia prior to the December 5, 1999 meeting. You never responded. After reading your letter dated February 11, 2000, I assume they had your permission.

In your February 11, letter, you said I substantially misstated the action of the General Executive Board. I do not feel I misstated any facts concerning the amount money to be paid to Arthur Coia. So bear with me while I try to get all the facts and figures correct.

No previous notice of this plea bargain arrangement with Arthur Coia, or the amount of union members' money to be paid to him for the rest of his life, were made available to the local unions or the rank and file members of LIUNA. Most of us read about it in the newspapers. The figure in most papers ranged from $250,000 to $320,000. This is an outrageous amount of money to pay to an officer stepping down under a felony plea bargaining agreement with the Government.

I called LIUNA and was told by David Roscoe, "Mr. Coia will be paid $250,000 a year as President Emeritus." That is where I got the $250,000 figure. He said some of that amount would be pension and some would be salary. He did not know the exact figures.

For the record, I would not be misstating the facts if I said, (1) The General Executive Board of LIUNA voted to supplement Arthur Coia's current pension of $166,000 a year with a salary of $84,000 a year, for a total of $250,000 a year; (2) This action was done with the full knowledge and consent of the Government and did not go beyond the parameters of the plea agreement the Government negotiated with former General President Arthur Coia; (3) This action was also pre-approved by the LIUNA Inspector General, W. Douglas Gow; (4) According to LIUNA Inspector General, W. Douglas Gow, this action is allowed under Article VIII, Section 2 (h) of the LIUNA constitution, which reads, "It [the GEB] may for good cause, illness or disability, make such financial provision for an officer or employee of the International Union as it deems is warranted by the length and character of service rendered to the International Union by the Individual."

What part of this section does Arthur Coia come under? A "mob puppet" (according to the FBI) who conspired with a union vender to "defraud the State of Rhode Island and the Town of Barrington of taxes owed on automobiles" (according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts). The fraud was committed with a union vender, Viking Leasing, and involved three Ferrari sports cars with a value totaling more than $1,715,000. The tax owed was $92,015.

Your letter says the General Executive Board has granted similar status and compensation in the past and this is an honorary position. Could you please send me a list of all LIUNA emeritus positions filled by felons, the dollar amount of the compensation they receive from the working members of LIUNA, as well as the charges they plea bargained out on, and publish such list in the Laborers Magazine. That way we will have all the facts out in the open without any misstatements.

Sincerely yours,

Alex Corns
Business Manager..