ILA denounces U.S. disclosure of racketeering lawsuit

ILA denounces U.S. disclosure of racketeering lawsuit    The office of the United States attorney in Brooklyn, N.Y., intends to file a civil racketeering lawsuit against the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), asking a federal judge to allow the government to take over the ILA and several of its benefit plans, according to The New York Times.
   A spokesman for Roslynn R. Mauskopf, the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn, told Shippers' NewsWire that The Times report Thursday was accurate. Mauskopf's office will not comment in more detail until after the lawsuit is filed in U.S. district court in Brooklyn. The filing is expected to occur next week, the spokesman said
   The ILA said in a statement it 'sharply denounces the shameful tactics used by the U.S. Department of Justice in leaking information to the press regarding its intention to bring a lawsuit against the union.'
   The Times said the government's lawsuit would ask that John Bowers, ILA president; Robert E. Gleason, secretary-treasurer; and Albert Cernadas, executive vice president, be barred from playing any role in the union or its pension plans.
   The lawsuit depicts the ILA as being tightly controlled by the Gambino and Genovese organized crime families, and alleges that Bowers, Gleason and Cernadas conspired with Gambino and Genovese mob figures to rig the union's 2000 election of high-ranking officials 'to ensure that a longtime Genovese associate would succeed Bowers upon his eventual retirement,' The Times said.
   Cernadas was charged last year in federal court in Brooklyn with extortion and conspiracy to control business on the docks in New York, New Jersey and Florida. He pleaded not guilty and is on a paid leave from his union job.
   The lawsuit is also expected to name 26 members of the ILA's executive council, The Times said. The government's empowerment to take over the ILA derives from the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) act.
   'We are disappointed that the government has leaked its intention to bring a civil RICO complaint even as we are engaged in negotiations with them,' Joseph D. McCann, the ILA's special counsel, told The Times.
   McCann said the ILA had cooperated with the government's investigation and carried out substantial reforms, including the creating of a code of conduct, setting up a hot line to report corruption, and hiring Milton Mollen, a retired judge, to oversee its ethical practices.
   'For over three years, the ILA has been engaged in intensive reform efforts and the government has been kept appraised, but has not until the last month even purported to have any interest in discussing a resolution,' the ILA noted in its statement.
   'By leaking its intention to file a civil lawsuit against the ILA, the government has demonstrated it was not negotiating in good faith with representatives of the union in seeking a resolution, but was rather intent on initiating an action in the press rather than in the courts that could have severe economic impact and devastating consequences on the operations of the ILA and the entire shipping industry,' the ILA said.
   In addition, 'the leadership of the ILA is disappointed that the government has chosen to perpetuate an outdated stereotype of the ILA, focusing on stale allegations of wrongdoing,' the union concluded, adding that 'the ILA vehemently denies any wrongdoing ' and believes the organization should not be condemned for the acts of a few. The Justice Department's intention to bring suit is an unwarranted and unnecessary attack on our entire membership.'