MARY JO WHITE
United States Attorney for the
Southern District of New York

By: ALLAN N. TAFFET (AT-5181)
Assistant United States Attorney
100 Church Street, 19th Floor
New York, New York 10007
Tel. No.: (212) 385-6349

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and ROBERT B. REICH,,

Secretary of the United States Department of Labor,

-against-

MASON TENDERS DISTRICT COUNCIL
OF GREATER NEW YORK, et al.,

Defendants.

SALVATORE GRAVANO hereby declares, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, under penalty of perjury, as follows:

1. In 1976, I became a "made" member of the Gambino Organized Crime Family, one of the five La Cosa Nostra families in New York. La Cosa Nostra ("LCN") means "our thing," and is the way in which the organized crime families of the Mafia refer to themselves and their members. In January 1986, I became a "captain,. supervising a "crew" of "members" or "soldiers" in the Gambino Organized Crime Family (the "Gambino Family"). At the time of my arrest in December 1990, I was Underboss of the Gambino Family, reporting to the Boss of the Gambino Family, John Gotti. This declaration is based on information that I learned prior to November 8, 1991, when I began cooperating with the

Government.

2. As a "made" member and Underboss of the Gambino Family, I have personal knowledge of the influence of the Gambino Family over the affairs of the Mason Tenders District Council ("District Council") and in particular constituent local union 23 ("Local 23"). My personal knowledge is based on conversations I had with Mason Tenders' union officials and through my associations and conversations with members of the Gambino Family as well as with members of other organized crime families.

3. I am aware that the Gambino Family's influence over Local 23 dates back at least to 1982, when Louis Giardina ("Giardina"), a "made" member of the Gambino Family, served as President of Local 23. Giardina also served on the Executive Board of the Mason Tenders District Council. Giardina continued to represent the Gambino Family interests at Local 23 and the District Council until he was convicted of RICO conspiracy in l987.

4. In the early 1980's, Giardina on behalf of the Gambino Family entered into a "sweetheart" contract with a demolition company, which was owned by Eddie and Manny Garafola. Eddie Garafola was a Gambino Family associate. In return for making kickbacks to the Gambino Family, the demolition company was allowed to employ non-union labor, rather than using Local 23 employees. In return, the company made a $120,000 kickback,

which was made in three separate $40,000 payments. Giardina was to receive $40,000; Paul Castellano, the boss of the Gambino Family, was to receive $40,000; and I was to receive the remaining $40,000. After Giardina collected the first payment, I told him to give it to Castellano. I told Giardina to keep the second payment and to give the last payment to Castellano, and I would get the payment from him. Giardina gave the last payment to Castellano; however, Castellano never gave the payment to me.

5. Prior to the time Louis Giardina began his sentence in approximately 1988, I met with Louis Giardina to discuss the Gambino Family's continuing influence over Local 23 and the District Council. At that meeting, Giardina and I agreed that, in order to maintain the Gambino Family's influence over Local 23 and the District Council, Joseph Delmonico "Joe Brewster" another "made" member of the Gambino Family, would be elevated from shop steward to Business Organizer at Local 23 and would serve as a delegate to the District Council. However, Joe Delmonico, was lazy and did not bring in any money for the Gambino Family. As a result, the Gambino Family appointed Johnny Gammarano, a made member of the Gambino Family, to work with Joe Delmonico. The Gammarano exerted the Gambino Family's influence over Local 23 through Delmonico.

6. The Gambino Family exerted its influence over Local 23 predominantly by designating the shop stewards. The shop stewards exert power over union members in several ways. First, the shop stewards decide which union members will be

called to fill openings at the job site. Second, shop stewards can control "no-show" jobs because they check the members in and out of the job site each day. The shop steward can check in a member who will not actually work, creating a "no-show" job. Third, a shop steward can perform a variety of favors for union members at the job site, such as allowing them to leave early or arrive late. In return for such favors the shop stewards can demand that union members vote for the Gambino Family's choices as officers of the local and delegates to the District Council.

7. During the meeting I had with Giardina before he went to jail, Giardina and I decided that the following persons, who were Gambino Family associates, would be placed in shop stewards positions in Local 23: the son of Gambino Organized Crime Family "Captain" Jack Giordano; Vinnie Gotti, the younger brother of John Gotti, the Boss of the Gambino Organized Crime Family; Peter Gotti, the son of Gambino Organized Crime Family "Captain" Peter Gotti; and Jerry Garafola, my nephew. I know that these individuals were in fact placed in shop steward positions at Local 23 at the behest of the Gambino Family.

8. I know an individual named Danny Pagano, a Genovese associate, who is a powerful force in the construction industry and represents the Genovese Family's interests in Local 59. In the mid-to-late 1980's, I met Pagano in the lobby of either the World Trade Center or the Vista Hotel. Pagano also

has strong ties to Local 104, another Local that the Genovese Family exerts influence over, and HRH Construction, a company that the Genovese Family exerts influence over.

9. Pagano also has a close relationship with Johnny Gammarano, a "made" member of the Gambino Family, who I would regularly rely on to relay messages to people in the construction industry. When the Gambino Family wanted to exert influence at Local 59, the Gambino Family would contact Danny Pagano through Johnny Gammarano. For example, the Gambino and Genovese Families would agree to share a kickback from a contractor who would use Local 59 when the job would be located in Local 23's jurisdiction. On other occasions, John Gotti and I would send a message to Pagano through Gammarano that Local 59 employee could work a job in Local 23's jurisdiction. In return, the Genovese Family would allow Local 23 to do a job in Local 59's jurisdiction.

10. As Underboss of the Gambino Family and through my associations and conversations with members of the other organized crime families in New York City, I knew that the Genovese Family maintained control over the Mason Tenders District Council throughout the 1980's and up until the time of my imprisonment in 1990.

11. The Gambino Family likes to control unions of unskilled workers, such as the Mason Tenders, because there are no apprenticeship or special training requirements to become a

member in such unions. As a result, members and associates of the Gambino Family could be placed easily into Mason Tenders' jobs, even though they generally lacked training or experience in the more skilled forms of construction work.

12. The LCN likes to have control and influence over labor unions because such control provides organized crime with a "power base." Through control over labor unions, the LCN can slow a construction job to a "snail's pace," which then provides the LCN with great power over a contractor, who wants a job completed as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Second, by controlling labor unions, the LCN has an easy way to employ people in legitimate jobs. Third, organized crime can infiltrate legitimate businesses by influencing bids for contracts. If organized crime controls a union and favors a specific contractor, organized crime can ensure that: the company seeking bids favored by organized crime is hired; that there will be no labor problems; and that the project will be completed at a lower cost.

13. I know an individual named Louis Moscatiello, an associate of the Genovese Family, who exerts influence over the District Council of New York City and Vicinity of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America ("District Council") for the Genovese Family. Moscatiello reports to someone I know as "Barney." Photographs of that person are attached as Exhibit A. Barney is a member of the Genovese Family

and, at the time of my own arrest, was the acting Boss of the Genovese Family. Barney also exercised influence over the District Council through a person named Ralph, whose last name I do not know. A picture of that person is attached as Exhibit B.

14. In 1990, Alphonse "Al" D'Arco, a captain in the Luchese Family, created a construction panel for the Luchese Family. Initially, D'Arco proposed to establish the construction panel for all of the New York LCN families. D'Arco wanted the construction panel to divide control over construction jobs, to share illegal payments from those jobs and to settle disputes among the families regarding control over labor unions and construction jobs. Because the Gambino Family wanted to deal with individual contractosr on our own terms, John Gotti, the Boss of the Gambino Family, and I agreed that the Gambino Family would not join the construction panel. However, I assigned Johnny Gammarano to communicate the Gambino Family's interests in construction matters with Dominick Truscello, the head of the Luchese construction panel.

Executed: October 17 , 1994.

signature:

SALVATORE GRAVANO