By Alex Wood
Journal Inquirer
July 3, 1999
The top official of Laborers' Local 230,
who had filed a civil lawsuit accusing a dissident union member
of illegally tape-recording conversations, defamation, & other
wrongful acts, has withdrawn the suit.
Stephen Manos of Glastonbury, the union dissident
who was named as a defendant in the suit, says he paid "absolutely
zero" to the plaintiff, union Business Manager Charles LeConche,
to settle the case. Manos said his only concession was that he
agreed not to file a counter-quit against LeConche's lawyer, Patrick
Tomasiewicz of West Hartford. Manos & two other dissident laborers,
William Cooksey & Gary Wall, are suing the Hartford-based
local, charging them with violating the federal Racketeer Influenced
& Corrupt Organizations Act. That suit remains pending in
U.S. District Court in Bridgeport & isn't affected by the
settlement.
Neither LeConche nor Tomasiewicz could be
reached for comment Friday. But East Hartford lawyer John T. Fussell,
who represents the local, said LaConche withdrew the suit because
Manos has retired. "It makes no sense to expend more resources
on the matter at this stage of the game," Fussell said. "The
issues over."
The lawsuit grew out of a heated union election
campaign in 1997 & 1998. Manos challenged LeConche for the
top job in the local, which represents about 900 laborers in north-central
Connecticut. Manos secretly recorded a July 30, 1997 meeting
of the union's executive board at Capriccio Ristorante on Franklin
Avenue in Hartford, during which he says he was assaulted by LeConche
& another union official. Manos says the tape of the incident is posted
on the Internet. In a partial transcript of the tape, he quotes
LeConche as telling him in obscenity-laced language, "Steve,
you are about that ... close from me ripping your ... throat out
personally." Manos says that LeConche threw a napkin at
him, hitting him in the chest, & rushed at him but was restrained
by two union officials. But he says another union official threw
him over a chair & onto the floor, then threw him out the
side door of the restaurant. Manos complained to Hartford police about
the incident, but they didn't bring charges, saying they closed
the investigation for lack of evidence.
LeConche charged in the lawsuit that Manos
had requested permission to tape record the meeting of the executive
board. & that the board denied the request. He said Manos
violated the board's instructions by surreptitiously taping the
meeting. LeConche also accused Manos of making a "calculated
effort to entice an altercation" which he secretly recorded
"out of the context of the ongoing relationship between the
plaintiff & defendant."
In addition, LeConche charged Manos with
defamation, saying he had made unspecified false statements to
the FBI, Hartford police, several other government agencies, &
various media outlets, including the Journal Inquirer. The union leader also accused Manos of making
"unfounded allegations of criminal conduct" before a
congressional subcommittee that heard him testify in May 1998,
less than two months before the union election..
Manos lost the June 1998 election. Its results
were later overturned by the international union's independent
hearing officer, who found that LeConche & his supporters
had engaged in improper campaign practices, including use of the
union's newsletter in campaigning. But LeConche and his slate were re-elected
without opposition this year, Manos has said in an affidavit.
Manos said he was unable to run this year because he had retired
shortly after his defeat in last year's election.
In a statement Manos, who represented himself
in the case , described LeConche's lawsuit as "bogus."
He pointedly included copies of subpoenas
showing that LeConche & another union official were scheduled
to give depositions Friday- along with a court document showing
that the suit was withdrawn Wednesday.