Laborers for JUSTICE
James W. McGough
55 S. Northwest Highway
Palatine, Il 60067
Tel (847)-202-3838
Fax (847) 202-4809
jimmcgough@super-highway.net
3/29/99
By Fax
Laborers International Union of North America
Attn: Arthur A. Coia, General President
Attn: Carl E. Booker, General Secretary-Treasurer
Michael S. Bearse, General Counsel
Re: Possible indictments for filing fraudulent Labor Management Reports under penalties of law.
Dear Sir and Brother:
In November, 1996 I made various claims and
allegations against you personally that you were guilty of signing
fraudulent Labor organization Annual reports on behalf of the
International Union when you declared under penalties of law that
the International had 770,000 or more members in response to question
18 on the form that asks for the number of members who pay dues.
See attached signatory pages for years 1994 through 1997 of original
and amended reports filed together with summary.
On December 2, 1996 General Counsel Michael
S. Bearse replied to those claims in his attached letter wherein
he stated: "First, the International Union's 1995 report
of 777,734 members accurately reflects our records. That figure
includes 381,596 regular members, 45, 267 members from the Mailhandlers
Division, and 349,871 associate members of the Division."
I have no doubt that the 777,734 membership
number accurately reflects your records. Your records are, I contend,
fraudulent-bogus, not true figures of members who pay dues. I
further contend that you knowingly and willfully declare these
fraudulent figures of dues paying members to be true, correct,
and complete under applicable penalties of law knowing full well
they are fraudulent.
The basis for my contention is the attached
letter of November 21, 1996 from the LIUNA Deputy Election Officer
wherein he states in response to my fax to the U.S. Attorney
(see attached) "The additional members to whom you refer
in your letter are approximately 300,000 "associate members'
of the MailHandlers. These "associate members" are enrollees
in a health Insurance program known as the MailHandlers Health
Insurance Program. They pay a one time fee to the MailHandlers
to participate in the insurance program but they are not covered
by collective bargaining agreements or represented by the MailHandlers
or any LIUNA affiliate as to their wages, hours, and working conditions.
The instructions (see attached) for completing
the Labor Management Reports as to membership figures specifically
state:
18. Number of members- Enter the number of members in your organization at the end of the reporting period. Include all categories of members who pay dues. Do not include nonmember employees who make payments in lieu of dues as a condition of employment under a union security provision in a collective bargaining agreement.
As you are aware, there were 445,754 members
eligible to vote in the 1996 election. Your letter to me of September
16, 1996 stated that the average number of issues of the Laborer
magazine mailed to members in good standing was 400, 000 per issue
for 1996. At that time, the 45,267 MailHandlers did not receive
the magazine.
I bring the foregoing to the attention of
Carl booker, Michael Bearse, and you because I have been informed
that there is a distinct possibility a grand jury will indict
you and others once it has a good faith belief that you sign these
LM-2s knowingly and willingly not to the best of your knowledge
and belief.
Now you know or should know that you cannot
include the number of "associate members" of the MailHandlers
Division of LIUNA in the number of dues paying members. They do
not pay dues according to OLMS interpretations I've been given.
Conversely, if there are more than 750,000
members that pay dues, I contend that annual receipts declared
by you to be true are in essence fraudulent as well. I have requested
DOL Agent Steve Willhertz (202) 254- 6514 to conduct yet another
compliance audit.
Either way you look at it, I feel justified
in formally requesting that the LIUNA GEB Attorney and/or the LIUNA Inspector General investigate the matter
fully and maker a report to the membership and appropriate law enforcement agencies.
As requested and in keeping with my duties
as both a citizen and LIUNA member, I am also submitting copies
of these documents to the U.S. Attorney in Boston for presentation
to the grand jury.
In light of the foregoing, I hope you file a truthful LM-2 report for 1998. If you don't, I will have to report the matter to the Attorney registration and Disciplinary committees of multiple jurisdictions and hope that they subscribe to the fiduciary concepts articulated in the Illinois Supreme Court "In Re:Himmel" ruling. (Himmel lost his license for not reporting unethical conduct of another lawyer)
Fraternally yours,
s/James W. McGough
James W. McGough
LIUNA member in good standing 2776753
cc: LIUNA GEB Attorney
LIUNA Inspector General
DOL Agent Steve Willhertz
OLMS Larry Yud, Kay Orchel, John Kotch
U.S. Attorney James Robinson, Scott
Lassar, AUSA Oswald, Buvinger
U.S. Representatives Hyde, McCollum,
Porter