The Watchdog Agency: Fighting Organized Crime on the Waterfront in New York and New Jersey

722CRIMINAL AND CIVIL CONFINEMENT[Vol. 38:nnn2012]THE WATCHDOG AGENCY723

The Watchdog Agency: Fighting Organized Crime on the Waterfront in New York and New Jersey

Michelle J. Demeri*I. Introduction

The attention paid to dock workers started in 1949, when Malcolm Johnson wrote a series of articles appearing in the New York Sun highlighting the infiltration of organized crime on the New York-New Jersey Waterfront (the Waterfront). These dockworkers worked along the Waterfront for decades, but operated in the shadows of a society dependant on their labor, which included the movement of food, clothing, and other essential goods in and out of the port. These longshoremen worked for an honest pay, but were overshadowed by the crooks, thieves, loansharks, gamblers, and the bosses that controlled it allthe mob.Johnsons articles were followed by the film On the Waterfront, which won eight Academy Awards. In the film, Marlon Brando plays Terry Malloy, a former boxer turned longshoreman, who is given a no-show job by a mob-connected union boss, Johnny Friendly. During his career as a fighter, Malloy threw a match so that Friendly could win money betting against him. Malloy, who struggles with his decision to cooperate with authorities and expose the corruption on the Waterfront, tells his brother in a memorable scene, I coulda been a contender, referring to his boxing career had he not thrown the fight for Friendly. When Malloy decides to stand up to Friendly and the organized crime influence, he is blacklisted and cannot find work anywhere on the Waterfront.

On the Waterfront illustrates how a surplus of available labor provided mob-connected union leadership with the ability to control its membership. Work on the Waterfront was guaranteed only for those supportive members who agreed to kick back a portion of their wages. Shipping companies did not directly hire longshoremen because their needs were so irregular. Instead, they paid stevedore companies on a per ton basis to load and unload ships. To accommodate the shipping companies needs, the stevedore companies developed a shape-up system that hired laborers on an as-needed basis. This system established regular gangs of men that were given first rights to jobs at the gangs regular pier. It suited the needs of the shipping companies, but left the doors wide open for corrupt hiring bosses who often included an extra crew of fictitious workers. To ensure labor peace, which would allow their businesses to prosper, [s]tevedoring companies were forced to employ no-show employees so longshoremen would be paid even when they did not work at all.Other problems existed on the Waterfront. Public loaders, who were paid to load and unload cargo from trucks, added an unnecessary toll on the movement of goods throughout the port. Loansharks preyed on longshoremen who could not get enough hours of work to feed their families or who gambled away their salaries to mob-sanctioned bookmakers and cargo pilfering was rampant in the port. In the early 1950s, the poor working conditions at the ports of New York and New Jersey were documented through public hearings put on by the New York State Crime Commission and the New Jersey Law Enforcement Council.

Part II of this Article discusses the creation and purpose of the organization that combats organized crime influence on the Waterfront and provide an overview of organized crimes influence spanning the past twenty years. Part III discusses the control the Mafia had on the Waterfront in the 1990s and 2000s and various legal cases brought against its members. Part IV analyzes different tools the Waterfront Commission uses to combat organized crime. Part V concludes that organized crime still exists on the Waterfront and that the Waterfront Commission is uniquely qualified to eradicate it.II. The Commission: Creation, Regulation of Workers, and Union Oversight

A. Creation and Purpose

President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved a pact between New York and New Jersey that created the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor (Waterfront Commission or WCNYH) in August of 1953. Part I, Article I of the Waterfront Commission Act lays out the framework for change, indicating that:The states of New York and New Jersey hereby find and declare that the conditions under which waterfront labor is employed within the port of New York district are depressing and degrading to such labor, resulting from the lack of any systematic method of hiring,... corrupt hiring practice and the fact that persons conducting such hiring are frequently criminals and persons notoriously lacking in moral character and integrity and neither responsive or responsible to the employers nor to the uncoerced will of the majority of the members of the labor organizations of the employees; that as a result waterfront laborers suffer from irregularity of employment, fear and insecurity, inadequate earnings, an unduly high accident rate, subjection to borrowing at usurious rates of interest, exploitation and extortion as the price of securing employment and a loss of respect for the law; that not only does there result a destruction of the dignity of an important segment of American labor, but a direct encouragement of crime which imposes a levy of greatly increased costs on food, fuel and other necessaries handled in and through the port of New York district.

The pact gave a tremendous amount of responsibility to the Commission. The Waterfront Commission has two commissioners, each appointed by the respective governor of New York and New Jersey. Each commissioner serves a term of three years and can only act by unanimous vote of both members. Less than one hundred people are employed by the WCNYH, divided among seven divisions: Executive, Law, Licensing and Employment Information Centers, Police, Intelligence, Administration and Audit, and Information and Technology. It is funded by a maximum 2% assessment on covered waterfront employees, paid by employers. The WCNYHs mandate is to investigate, deter, combat and remedy criminal activity and influence in the Port of New York and New Jersey, and to ensure fair hiring and employment practices so that the port and region can grow and prosper. The WCNYH has various general powers to fulfill its mandate including, but not limited to the power:To administer and enforce the provisions of this compact;

To make and enforce such rules and regulations as the commission may deem necessary to effectuate the purposes of this compact or to prevent the circumvention or evasion thereof... .;

[T]o. . . issue subpoenas throughout both states to compel the attendance of witnesses and the giving of testimony and the production of other evidence;

To have... full and free access, ingress and egress to and from all vessels, piers and other waterfront terminals... for the purposes of making inspection or enforcing the provisions of this compact... .;

. . . .

To make investigations, collect and compile information concerning waterfront practices... .;

To advise and consult with representatives of labor and industry and with public officials and agencies... upon all matters which the commission may desire... .;

....

To co-operate with and receive from any department, division, bureau, board, commission, or agency of either or both States... such assistance and data as will enable it properly to carry out its powers and duties hereunder;

[I]ssue a temporary permit to any prospective licensee for a license.

These powers enabled the Commission to make many positive changes on the waterfront and in the shipping industry.

B. Regulation of Workers

To combat the depressing and degrading conditions on the Waterfront, the Waterfront Commission expelled public loaders from the port and implemented a hiring system that licensed longshoremen and assigned them work, replacing the corrupt shape-up system. To obtain registration with the WCNYH longshoremen, maintenance men, and warehousemen cannot be a danger to the publics peace and safety. These workers must obtain a license or registration to work. The WCNYH requires any applicant for a license or registration to furnish facts and evidence to enable it to determine whether to grant the license or registration. Pier superintendents, checkers, hiring agents, port watchmen, and stevedore companies must have good character and integrity in order to obtain licenses with the WCNYH. The WCNYH can suspend or revoke licenses and registations for not meeting these standards.

Reasons for the denial or revocation of a license or registration include, but are not limited to: committing fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation in securing a license or registration, or in the conduct of the licensed activity; violations of the compact; illegal drug use or trafficking; convictions of a felony, high misdemeanor, or illegally using, carrying, or possessing a dangerous weapon; making or possessing burglars instruments; buying or receiving stolen property; unlawful entry into a building; or aiding an escape from prison. If an applicant is convicted of a felony, high misdemeanor, or any of the other crimes discussed above, it is not an automatic bar from licensure or registration. Rather, the applicant, licensee, or registrant may submit evidence to the Waterfront Commission that he has, for a period of not less than five years, conducted himself according to the applicable standard: either good character and integrity or that he has not been a danger to public peace and safety. The Waterfront Commission will consider this evidence and can issue an order removing such ineligibility.

The Waterfront Commission cannot deny any application for a license or registration without giving the applicant, licensee, or registrant reasonable prior notice and an opportunity to be heard. These administrative hearings are held at the Commissions offices before an administrative law judge. The standard of proof is a preponderance of the evidence and decisions can only be overturned if the Waterfront Commission acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner. In cases where a licensee or registrant has been indicted for or otherwise charged with a felony or indictable offense, the Waterfront Commission may suspend a license or registration pending the results of a hearing.

Specifically, the amended laws indicate that a license or registration can be denied or revoked based on:Association with a person who is identified by a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency as a member or associate of an organized crime group, terrorist group, or a career offender cartel, or who is a career offender under circumstances where such association creates a reasonable belief that the participation of the applicant in any activity required to be licensed (or registered) under this act would be inimical to the policies of this act.

After September 11, 2001, the existing grounds for denial or revocation of licenses or registrations were too restrictive on the Waterfront Commission. There was a growing need to protect the ports from unsavory characters, leading to the enactment of this bill. Since 2008, the Waterfront Commission has issued notices of hearings and subsequently charged applicants, licensees, and registrants with association, pursuant to the statute. Many have withdrawn their applications rather than face the charges.

C. Union Oversight

The Waterfront Commission has limited oversight of the union and may not interfere with the collective bargaining agreementthe labor contract between the employer and the union. However, the third part of the Waterfront Commission Act section 8 prohibits any person who has been convicted of a felony, high misdemeanor, or misdemeanor of moral turpitude from serving as an officer, agent, or employee of any union which represents employees licensed by the Commission. There are exceptions that could remove this prohibition. One exception allows officials and employees who have received a pardon by the governor or another appropriate authority in the state the conviction was received and another enables persons who have received a certificate of good conduct from the board of parole.

III. Mob Control on the Waterfront

A. Understanding the Union

The International Longshoremans Association (ILA), created in 1892, is the largest union of maritime workers in North America, representing upwards of 65,000 longshoremen. This union includes the longshoremen who work at the ports of New York and New Jersey. Since its inception, the mob has corrupted various legitimate institutions that operate on the Waterfront, including ILA officials and stevedore companies. Loansharking, gambling, and theft as well as the infiltration, domination, or use of a union or employee benefit plan for personal benefit by illegal, violent, or fraudulent meanscommonly referred to as labor racketeeringare among crimes perpetrated by the mob through corruption of legitimate institutions. These labor racketeers determined who worked on the Waterfront and how fast ships were loaded and unloaded. They collected payoffs for jobs, extorted stevedore companies, facilitated cargo theft, and siphoned benefit-funds. Unable, or in some cases unwilling, to fight organized crime, some companies considered payoffs, missing cargo, and employing no-show workers to be the cost of conducting business in the port.

Unions were created to give workers a platform for issues experienced at work like wage increases or paid sick leave, but the ILA was plagued by years of corruption. Headlines stating that union officials and members were providing kick-backs to organized crime made it hard for the public to believe that fairness [exists] for all working people. In addition, the cost of labor racketeering was passed to the consumer. In 1952, Spruille Braden, Chairman of the New York City Anti-Crime Committee, declared that organized crime along the waterfront costs at least $350 million a year in hidden taxes. By hidden taxes, Braden was referring to the mob tax, part of which was passed on to the consumer through higher prices. Bradens formula shows that five percent of $7 billion worth of goods that passed through the ports in 1952 was stolen. Today, [r]oughly $200 billion in cargo moves through the port each year.

B. Structure of the Mob

The Mafia is an organization of six families in the New York-New Jersey area. These families represent organized criminal factions headed by captains. These factions are referred to as crews. The crews are made up of soldiers or made members and associates. Each captain is responsible for supervising, supporting, and protecting his crew. In return, the captain receives a share of the crews earnings. The head of the family is referred to as the boss. The boss of the family is assisted by the underboss and a consigliere. With the assistance of the underboss and the consigliere, the boss is responsible for setting policy, resolving disputes between family members and members of other factions, and approving all significant actions taken by the family. When an official boss, underboss, consigliere, or captain became incarcerated, another member of the family is temporarily appointed to the vacant position.

C.Dividing the Waterfront

In the late 1960s, George Barone organized a mob sit-down at the docks. Barone, once a member of the Jets, would later become a made member of the Genovese crime family and an ILA official. As a result of the sit-down, the Waterfront was divided: the Gambino family operated Brooklyn and Staten Island and the Genovese family operated Manhattan and New Jersey. This balance of power allowed organized crime to infiltrate the Waterfront for decades. However, the ILA continues to deny the level of mob infiltration that exists on the Waterfront. According to its website, the ILA purports that the level of mob infiltration has never even remotely approached the elaborate plots designed in the artists minds. It is... never to the extent that first Hollywood and later the press would have the public believe, but is rather a gangland myth.

In 2010, legislation was proposed in New Jersey, calling for the dissolution of the Commission, challenging its continued existence on the grounds that the purpose for which the Waterfront Commission was created no longer exists. Prior to proposing this legislation, Thomas Leonardis, then-President of ILA Local 1235, testified before the New Jersey State Senate Economic Growth Committee that the Waterfront Commission was as obsolete as a loading hook. Leonardis was later arrested for extorting ILA members. Without the presence of the WCNYH working together with other agencies to fight back against the influence of organized crime on the Waterfront, the labor racketeers would be free to control the union and the Waterfront without outside interference.

D.The Past Twenty Years of CorruptionThe enactment of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute in 1970 has impacted the prosecution of labor racketeering cases. RICO, which prohibits racketeering activities defined by reference to twenty-four separate types of federal crimes and eight different state felonies, is an important statutory weapon used by federal prosecutors against labor racketeering. The statute does not make illegal any action that was previously legal, but rather, adds the concept of enterprise to a criminal prosecution, requiring additional proof of a pattern of racketeering activity and its relationship to an enterprise in addition to that required to prove the individual crimes alleged.

1. 1990s

On February 14, 1990, a federal civil RICO suit was filed against six ILA unions. Various union and management officials were named in the suit and many of them were charged with being connected to organized crime. Two years later, a settlement was reached under a consent decree with the unions agreeing to clean up their act. As a result of this suit, six ILA unions were placed under federal monitorships. Thirteen years after the filing of the suit, a federal trusteeship was imposed on Local 1588 after it violated the consent decree. Those who were identified as mob figures were enjoined from associating with the ILA.

In 1994, at a social club in Brooklyn, New York, Michael Cookie DUrso, a Genovese crime family associate, was shot in the head. He survived, became a law enforcement cooperator, and aided in convicting other organized crime figures, including former Genovese crime family boss, Vincent Chin Gigante. DUrso recorded conversations between himself and fellow Genovese crime family associate Thomas Cafaro, who was also a union employee and the son of Vincent Fish Cafaro. The conversations of Cafaro and DUrso highlighted that the mob controlled the Waterfront through the union:

CAFARO: I told our friend... [W]e got to do the repair, container repair, chassis repair, store them and charge a rent and the trucking....

DURSO: And what did he say?

CAFARO: Youre right.

....

DURSO: What happens if legitimate guys come in and do it?

Then what?

CAFARO: They give them a hard time with the union. You know what I mean?

DURSO: Theyll sick them on them?

CAFARO: Yeah, theyll give them a hard time with the union .

...

In 1998, various Genovese crime family members, and WCNYH registrants, were indicted in the District of New Jersey on charges of racketeering, illegal gambling, and loan sharking. The indictment alleged that Joseph Queli, a maintenance foreman and alleged made member of the Genovese crime family, ran a crew responsible for loansharking and gambling activities on the Waterfront. Members of the crew included Ronald Quack Quacquarini (warehouseman and shop steward), Anthony Napolitano, (warehouseman and assistant shop steward), Anthony Skins Stoia, Raymond Ronni Cardosa (assistant clinic administrator at the ILA Medical Clinic in Newark, New Jersey), Louis Raimo, Stephen DePiro, and Manny Rodriguez. DePiro and Rodriguez were previously revoked by the Commission: DePiro in 1996 for engaging in a gambling conspiracy and promoting gambling and Rodriquez in 1993 for aggravated assault and promoting gambling. Queli and DePiro were convicted of racketeering. Stoia and Cardosa were convicted of illegal gambling.

2. 2000s

In 2000, two former Presidents of Local 1588, John John John Angelone and Eugene GSell pled guilty to conspiracy to embezzle from the Union. Office Manager Denise Bohn, former Local 1588 Business Agent William Hurley, former Local 1588 Vice President Joseph Pelliccia, and former union environmental officer Thomas Rackley were convicted of embezzlement and conspiracy. One year later Joseph Lore, a hiring agent and Genovese soldier who controlled ILA Local 1588 in the 1990s was convicted of embezzling $750,000 from union workers. During Lores reign, he collected one-half of all officers and specific union employees salaries in a salary diversion scheme. The Gotti convictions in United States v. Gotti included Peter Gotti, acting boss of the Gambino crime family and ILA officials Anthony Sonny Ciccone and Frank Red Scollo. The Bellomo convictions included Genovese acting bosses Liborio Bellomo, Ernest Muscarella, and Andrew Gigante, the owner of several waterfront businesses. In 2003, Bellomo, Muscarella, and Gigante entered into consent decrees barring them from waterfront businesses, and from any involvement with the ILA or its benefit funds.

In 2002, current and former officials of Local 1588 were charged with racketeering, extortion, bribery, and conspiracy by the State of New Jersey. All were reputed associates of the Genovese crime family. Among those charged were Nicholas Furina (hiring agent for Ports America), Ralph Esposito (shop steward for Local 1588 at Global Terminal), Anthony DErrico (field boss for Local 1588 at Global Terminal), Aniello Sonny Bello (hiring agent at Global Terminal), John Timpanaro (president of Local 1588), Carlo Bilancione (former field boss for Local 1588 at Global Terminal), and Nicholas Romano (former shop steward for Local 1588 at Global Terminal and Nicholas Furinas son-in-law). Bilancione and Romano had their registration revoked by the Commission after they pled guilty to conspiracy to steal an interstate shipment of goods in connection with the theft of $2 million of imported perfume from Global Terminals in 2000. In 2005, Bello, Esposito, and Romano, pled guilty to commercial bribery. Furina, who was accused of being the boss behind the mob-related shakedown scheme, pled guilty to theft. Following these pleas and after decades of mob control, the federal government finally imposed a trustee over Local 1588. In 2010, Furinas sons and grandsons licenses were revoked by the WCNYH in separate hearings for lacking the requisite good character and integrity to be pier superintendents.

In 2004, Louis Saccenti, former driver for Sammy the Bull Gravano, turned ILA official and Gambino associate, pled not guilty to a perjury charge after denying that he knew Primo Cassarino, a Gambino soldier, and that he visited the Ravenite Social Club, a hangout frequented by former Gambino boss John Gotti. Between 1981 and 1996, Saccenti met with thirty-eight Gambino family members at the Ravenite and other mob hangouts. In 1998, the Waterfront Commission revoked his license, but the union kept him on the payroll. Also in 2004, ILA officials Harold Daggett, Arthur Coffey, and Albert Cernadas were charged with extortion and fraud for a scheme aimed at steering union benefit contracts to companies that paid kickbacks to the mob from 1997 to 2004. Genovese crime family captain and former business agent of ILA Local 1235, Lawrence Ricci, was also charged. George Barone, then in his eighties and a government witness, testified against them at trial, indicating that the mob put Daggett in power. Ultimately, Cernadas pled guilty to fraud. Daggett, Coffey, and Ricci were acquitted on all charges. Ricci went missing during the trial and was later found dead in the trunk of a car. Daggett went on to become the President of the ILA.

In 2005, a federal civil RICO suit was filed against the ILA calling for the removal of corrupt officers and for federal monitoring over the entire union. A press release by the Eastern District of New York indicated that the charges against the ILA were based on decades of evidence relating to corruption and organized crime influence within the union and businesses operating on the Waterfront. The case is still pending.

In 2009, Michael Mikey Cigars Coppola, a Genovese crime family captain, was convicted on federal racketeering charges that included conspiracy to extort money from ILA Local 1235 and its members. He was sentenced to sixteen years in prison, but not before he could wish the judge and his family a Merry Christmas. Included in the evidence presented at the Coppola trial, was an FBI intercept of a 2007 conversation between the mobster and Edward Aulisi, then checker on the Waterfront, member of ILA Local 1, and son of Vincent Aulisi, former President of ILA Local 1235, in which they discussed extorting union members. At the time of the conversation, Coppola was a fugitive from justice, wanted in connection with the 1977 murder of John Johnny Cokes Lardiere. Aulisi was expelled by the Ethical Practices Counsel of the ILA for failing to answer questions associated with the conversation with Coppola and was removed from the Waterfront for associating with a member of organized crime.

3. Recent developments

On March 16, 2010, Roy Maglori, a registered maintenance man, was removed by the Waterfront Commission for his association with organized crime. In a conversation between Maglori and Angelo the Horn Prisco, a captain in the Genovese crime family, Maglori complained about his position. Prisco directed Maglori to see Nicky or his son, Anthony because they know youre my friend and theyll take care of you. Prisco was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of racketeering, murder, and other charges. Also, in 2010, hiring agent John Santores license was withdrawn by the stevedore company he worked for after he and the company were served with a notice of hearing alleging that he associated with Joseph Joey the Bull Bilotti, a known soldier in the Gambino crime family.

In April 2010, a joint investigation by the New Jersey Department of Criminal Justice and the WCNYH led to the arrest of Genovese crime family soldier, Joseph Queli and others. The investigations were referred to as Operation Terminal and involved allegations that ILA members working at the shipping terminals are required to make a cash tribute payment at Christmas time each year [to members of organized crime] out of year-end bonuses [] called container royalty checks. On October 28, 2011, Queli pled guilty to loansharking, money laundering, and filing false tax returns. In pleading guilty, Queli stated he made loans to ILA members at usurious interest rates, ranging from 78 to156% per year. Queli was sentenced to seven years in state prison.

In connection with the same case, checker Nicholas Bergamotto, who was temporarily suspended by the Waterfront Commission pending a hearing based on those charges, was sentenced to a term of probation for money laundering. Queli, or Bergamotto acting on his behalf, would demand weekly payments from the union members of 1.5-3% interest on the loan amount. ILA official Nunzio LaGrasso, Newark police officer Alan Marfia, and Rocco Ferrandino, a timekeeper on the Waterfront, were also charged. The investigation into these three individuals is still ongoing.

On January 20, 2011, 127 members and associates of various crime families of La Cosa Nostra were charged with racketeering and related crimes and at least 110 were arrested. Both United States v. Cicalese and United States v. DePiro had large impacts on the Waterfront. The Cicalese indictment charged three members of the ILA with committing perjury during testimony before a federal grand jury investigation of organized crimes infiltration of the waterfront and the ILA. The DePiro indictment charged fifteen individuals, including the current and two former ILA Local 1235 presidents with various racketeering related crimes, such as extortion of members of the ILA each year at Christmas time when the longshoremen received a portion of royalty payments paid by shipping companies. Aulisi, who was previously removed from the Waterfront and expelled from the union, was also charged in this indictment. On the date of the arrests, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman stated:[O]rganized crime still has a grip on the New Jersey waterfront. Workers should be free to pursue an honest living without being worried that their own union representatives will shake them down. Our ports and those who work there play vital roles in our regions economy and security. Paying tribute to the mob is not an acceptable cost of doing business in New Jersey.

These investigations are ongoing.

On September 15, 2011, Greg Ronnie Taylor, a former ILA official, was arrested and charged with embezzlement for allegedly stealing more than $100,000 in union funds for personal use from 2005 to 2010. This investigation is also ongoing.

IV. The WCNYHs Tools to Fight Organized Crime

In addition to conducting investigations in cooperation with federal and local police agencies, the Waterfront Commission also has various internal mechanisms to fight organized crime.A. The Controlled Register Statute

The Mafia exploited the labor imbalance on the Waterfront. Only union members who supported the corrupt union leaders and agreed to kick-back a portion of their wages were guaranteed a spot on one of the gangs. In order to facilitate the Commissions power to ensure fair hiring and employment practices, in 1966, New York and New Jersey enacted the controlled register statute or section 5-p of the Waterfront Commission Act. This provision empowered the Waterfront Commission to open and close the Deep-Sea Longshoreman Register as dictated by labor needs. The Waterfront Commission successfully serves as a buffer between the employers and the organized workforce, seeking to ensure that the workers are protected against unfair hiring and employment practices, specifically preventing a surplus of labor.

For more than forty years, the Waterfront Commission has exercised its power responsibly. The Waterfront Commission closed the register in 1966, shortly after the enactment of section 5-p due to containerization, which drastically reduced the need for labor. For the next thirty years, with the aid of section 5-p, the Waterfront Commission carefully stabilized the labor-to-job ratio to avoid imbalance. By 1998, there was an increased demand for labor as a result of increased business in the port, work-rule changes in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and attrition of the workforce. The Waterfront Commission responded by holding public hearings to determine the best way to meet the needs of the industry, workers, and the port without revisiting the problems that previously plagued the Waterfront. As a result, in 1999, section 5-p was amended to allow the industry to petition the Waterfront Commission for additional Deep-Sea Longshoremen and established specific criteria that the Waterfront Commission is mandated to examine before allowing or denying additional labor.

B. Prohibition Against Union Officials with Felony Convictions

In 2009, the Waterfront Commission removed John Shade from his position as General Vice President of the Atlantic Coast District (ACD) and prevented him from holding any ACD office in the future under 8 of Part III of the Act. Shade sustained at least five disqualifying convictions, several of which were for conducting illegal gambling businesses and illegal lotteries. One of his federal felony convictions was for conspiracy, in a case where the underlying charges involved racketeering. Shade challenged his removal by the Waterfront Commission in an Article 78 proceeding. However, the court agreed with the Commissions contention that officials in the ILA and the ACD hold positions that have substantial power to affect labor relations on the New York-New Jersey waterfront and rejected Shades claim that an ACD vice president for an area such as Baltimore is beyond the Commissions jurisdiction. Despite these victories, Shade was reinstated by the ILA after he obtained a Certificate of Good Conduct from the New York State Division of Parole. No one at the WCNYH was consulted by the Division of Parole prior to issuing the Certificate.

C. Public Hearings

Between October 14, 2010 and December 2, 2010, the Waterfront Commission held public hearings concerning conditions within the Port of New York and the dual question of work and pay. These hearings examined and evaluated allegations of widespread no show and no work jobs, favoritism, abuse of the collective bargaining agreement, unfair hiring practices, racketeering attacks on the industry, and the impact it has on the competitiveness of the Port.

Edward Aulisis case was highlighted at the hearing. Surveillance photos showed Aulisi barbequing and mowing his lawn at home while he was signed-in and being paid as a checker on the Waterfront. Between 2007 and 2010, he supposedly earned about $100,000 annually. His intercepted conversation in 2007 with Michael Mikey Cigars Coppola was played for an audience; it explained how Aulisis organized crime connections helped him get a better job on the docks. Aulisi refused to answer questions, systematically asserting his privilege against self-incrimination. A representative from the stevedore company who employed Aulisi testified that as a relief checker, Aulisi is paid whether or not he is providing relief and is not required to be on-site even during the [shift] he is assigned. These hearings demonstrated that organized crime continues to negatively influence the Waterfront.

V. Conclusion

The infiltration of the mob into the unions that unite the dock workers on the Waterfront is not a myth at all, but rather the reality of the state of affairs on the Waterfront. The WCNYH is a watchdog agency that has been fighting organized crime on the Waterfront since the 1950s. Recent public hearings held by the WCNYH exposed the current status of the corruption and the Public Hearing Report from March 21, 2012 suggests various ways to improve the conditions on the Waterfront, some of which would expand the Commissions powers. After a massive takedown of organized crime members and associates on January 20, 2011, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III stated, Some people believe organized crime is a thing of the past; unfortunately, there are still people who extort, intimidate, and victimize innocent Americans. The Commissions continued existence and success, especially in recent years after various reforms, is a beacon of hope in an industry that has been battling corruption for decades. As it continues to fulfill its mission, let there be no doubt that the Waterfront Commission has a purpose.* Assistant Counsel at the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor (WCNYH). B.A., 2004, Clark University; J.D. 2007, New England Law | Boston. The author would like to thank Chief Researcher David Byrne of the WCNYH and Special Agent Jonathan Mellone of the United States Department of Labor for their research assistance. The views represented herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Waterfront Commission or any other agency or authority. This article was produced independently by the author and all research was conducted in the free time of the parties mentioned.

.See generally Malcolm Johnson, On the Waterfront: The Pulitzer Prize Winning Articles that Inspired the Classic Film and Transformed the New York Harbor (2005).

.On The Waterfront (Columbia Pictures 1954); The 27th Academy Awards (1955), Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Oscars.org, http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/27th.html (last visited Apr. 15, 2012).

.See generally N.Y. Unconsol. 9806 (McKinney 2002); N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-6 (West 1990) (providing a definition of longshoreman).

.On The Waterfront, supra note NOTEREF _Ref314583413 \h \* MERGEFORMAT 2.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.The Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor Annual Report, 1 (2011), available at http://www.wcnyh.org/docs/WCNYH_2011_Annual_Report.pdf [hereinafter Waterfront Report].

.Id.

.

Stevedore shall also include (a) contractors [not including employees] engaged for compensation pursuant to a contract or arrangement with the United States, any state or territory thereof, of any department, division, board, commission or authority of one or more of the foregoing, in moving freight carried or consigned for carriage between any point in the port of New York district and a point outside said district on vessels of such a public agency berthed at piers, on piers at which such vessels are berthed or at other waterfront terminals.

N.Y. Unconsol. 9905(1)(a) (McKinney 2002), and N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-85 (West 1990).

.See Waterfront Report, supra note NOTEREF _Ref314583608 \h \* MERGEFORMAT 9.

.See id.

.Id.; see also James B. Jacobs, Mobsters, Unions, and Feds: The Mafia and the American Labor Movement 102 (2006).

.Waterfront Report, supra note 9; see also William Finnegan, Watching the Waterfront: Mobsters, Terrorists, and Docks of New York Harbor, The New Yorker (June 19, 2006) at 10, available at www.wcnyh.org/news/TNY_watching_the_waterfront.pdf.

.See Waterfront Report, supra note NOTEREF _Ref314583608 \h \* MERGEFORMAT 9.

.Id.

.Waterfront Report, supra note NOTEREF _Ref314583608 \h \* MERGEFORMAT 9.

.Id.; see also Jacobs, supra note 14, at 13-14.

.N.Y. Unconsol. 9802 (McKinney 2002); accord N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-2 (West 1990); see also Alan A. Block, On the Waterfront Revisited: The Criminology of Waterfront Organized Crime, 6 Contemp. Crises 373, 383 (1982).

.Waterfront Report, supra note NOTEREF _Ref314583608 \h \* MERGEFORMAT 9, at 3.

.N.Y. Office of the Inspector Gen., Investigation of the Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor 6 (2009), available at http://www.centerforinvestigativereporting.

org/files/stateprofiles/newyork/newyorkwaterfront.pdf.

.Waterfront Report, supra note 9, at 5-6.

.Id.

.Id. at 1.

.N.Y. Unconsol. Law 9810(6) (McKinney 2002); N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-10(6) (West Supp. 2011)

.N.Y. Unconsol. Law 9810(7); N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-10(7).

.N.Y. Unconsol. Law 9810(8); N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-10(8).

.N.Y. Unconsol. Law 9810(9); N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-10(9).

.N.Y. Unconsol. Law 9810(11); N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-10(11).

.N.Y. Unconsol. Law 9810(12); N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-10(12).

.N.Y. Unconsol. Law 9810(14); N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-10(14).

.N.Y. Unconsol. Law 9815; N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-15.

.Jacobs, supra note 14, at 14.

.See N.Y. Unconsol. Law 9831, 9841-44 (McKinney 2002); N.Y. Unconsol. Law 9912-13 (McKinney Supp. 2012).

.N.Y. Unconsol. Law 9812-14 (McKinney 2001); N.Y. Unconsol. Law 9912-13 (McKinney Supp. 2012).

.See 9813; N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-13 (West 1990).

.

Checker shall mean a longshoreman who is employed to engage in direct and immediate checking of waterborne freight or of the custodial accounting thereof or in the recording or tabulation of the hours worked at piers or other waterfront terminals by natural persons employed by carriers of freight by water or stevedores.

N.Y. Unconsol. 9905(5) (McKinney 2002), and N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-85 (West 1990).

.See N.Y. Unconsol. 9812-14, 9841-44 (McKinney 2002); N.Y. Unconsol. 9912-13 (McKinney Supp. 2012); see also 32:1-35:78.

.N.Y. Unconsol. 9831; N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:1-35:78 (West 1990).

.N.Y. Unconsol. 9818 (McKinney Supp. 2012).

.N.Y. Unconsol. 9821 (McKinney 2002).

.Id. The five year period can be measured either from the date of payment of any fine imposed upon such person, the suspension of sentence, or unsupervised release. Id.

.N.Y. Unconsol. 9821 (McKinney 2002); N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-105 (West Supp. 2011).

.N.Y. Unconsol. 9821; N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-105 (West Supp. 2011).

.See N.Y. Unconsol. 9845, 9847 (McKinney 2002); N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-46 to 52 (West 1990 & Supp. 2011).

.N.Y. Unconsol. 9849 (McKinney 2002); N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-49 (West Supp. 2011).

.CC Lumber Co., Inc. v. Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor, 292 N.E.2d 1, 6 (N.Y. 1972).

.N.Y. Unconsol. 9848 (McKinney 2002); N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-48 (West Supp. 2011).

.N.Y. Unconsol. 9912, 9913 (McKinney Supp. 2012); N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-92 to 93 (West Supp. 2011).

.S. 189, 211th Leg. (N.J. 2005).

.See infra Part III.D.3; see Press Release, Waterfront Commn of N.Y Harbor, NJ Superior Court Upholds Waterfront Commn Subpoena of Longshoreman (June 10, 2011), http://www/wcnyh.org/newspaper59.html.

.Joseph Fisch, Office of the Inspector Gen., Investigation of the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor 16 (2009), available at http://www.ig.state.ny.us/pdfs/

Investigation%20of%20the%20Waterfront%20Commission%20of%20New%20York%20Harbor.pdf.

.N.Y. Unconsol. 9868 to 9869 (McKinney 2002); N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-68 to 69 (West 1990).

.See N.Y. Unconsol. 9933 (McKinney 2002); N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-80 (West 1990).

.N.Y. Unconsol. 9933; N.J. Stat. Ann. 32:23-80.

.Welcome, International Longshoreman Association, ILAUnion.org (2010), http://www.ilaunion.org/index.html (last visited on April 27, 2012).

.See id.

.See Battling Corruption in the ILA: A Partial Chronology, Union Democracy Rev. (Assn for Union Democracy, Brooklyn, N.Y.), Aug. 2005 HYPERLINK "http://" , available at http://www.uniondemocracy.org/UDR/97-attling%20corruption%20in%20the%20ILA.htm; see generally Finnegan, supra note 15.

.See Waterfront Report, supra note NOTEREF _Ref314583608 \h \* MERGEFORMAT 9, at 2.

.See Jacobs, supra note 14, at 49.

.See id. at 51.

.See Jacobs, supra note 14, at 51; Alan A. Block, On the Waterfront Revisited: The Criminology of Waterfront Organized Crime, 6 Contemp. Crises 373, 375 (1982). This was not an issue for public welfare as it concerned mainly the dockworkers and their families. Companies paying the mob tax and the occurrence of illicit activity was contained within the industry so the public-at-large did not have reason for concern. Finnegan, supra note 15.

.See AFL-CIO, What Unions Do, AFLCIO.org, http://www.aflcio.org/Learn-About-Unions/What-Unions-Do (last visited Mar. 24, 2012).

.Battling Corruption in the ILA: A Partial Chronology, supra note 59.

.E.g., Thomas Zambito, Waterfront Shakedowns N.J. Union Leaders Face Charges in Docks Scam, N.Y. Daily News (Mar. 8, 2002), http://articles.nydailynews.com/2002-03-08/news/18198411_1_global-terminal-p-o-ports-bayonne; see AFL-CIO, supra note 63.

.G. Robert Blakey & Ronald Goldstock, On the Waterfront: RICO and Labor Racketeering 17 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 341, 342 (1980).

.Dock Rackets Cost Put at $350,000,000, N.Y. Times, Nov. 8, 1952, at 29 (on file with author).

.Id.; see Larry McShane, On the Waterfront, in the Courtroom; Storied New Jersey Union Local Faces Another Racketeering Trial This Spring, Wash. Post, Jan. 4, 2004, at A10.

.Dock Rackets Cost Put at $350,000,000, supra note 68.

.Tom Hester Sr., Joseph Queli of Wall Gets 5 Years in Prison for Waterfront Loansharking, NewJerseyNewsRoom.com (Feb. 10, 2012), http://www.newjersey

newsroom.com/state/joseph-queli-of-wall-gets-5-years-in-prison-for-waterfront-loansharking/page-2.

.Indictment at 2-3, United States v. Gotti, S1 02 Cr. 743 (RCC) (S.D.N.Y 2004). This nationwide criminal organization known by various names, including the Mafia and La Cosa Nostra (LCN), operated through entities known as Families. Id.

.Id. at 3.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id. at 3-4.

.Id. at 4.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.McShane, supra note 69.

.History: Struggle and Changes, ILAUnion.org, http://www.ilaunion.org/

history_struggle.html (last visited Jan. 31, 2012); see Ted Sherman, Tale of the Docks and Mobsters Gets New Life, N.J. Star Ledger (May 1, 2005), http://www.wcnyh.org/

news/Tale_of_Docks_and_Mobsters_get_new_life.pdf (There is no mob influence in the union, said ILA spokesman James McNamara.).

.History: Struggle and Changes, supra note 86.

.S. 2360, 214th Leg. (N.J. 2010) (discussing purpose as combating criminal activity, specifically organized crime, on the ports).

.Timothy J. Carroll, Waterfront Hearing, Lesniak on Politics: Maybe We Need a Waterfront Commission, PolitickerNJ.com (Sept. 23, 2010), http://www.politickernj.

com/hearing-waterfront-oversight-lesniak-politics-maybe-we-need-waterfront-commission.

.Press Release, District of N.J., E.D.N.Y., Genovese Organized Crime Family Soldier and Associates Indicted on Racketeering Charges, Including Extortion of Intl Longshoremens Assn Members (Jan. 20, 2011), http://www.wcnyh.org/news.html.

.Press Release, Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor, Why Kill the Mob Watchdog at the Port (Oct. 10, 2010), http://www.wcnyh.org/newspage41.html; see also Finnegan, supra note 17.

.See Blakey, supra note 67, at 349.

.Id. at 348.

.Id. at 348-49. Blakey and Goldstocks famous article promotes RICO as an important statutory weapon used against labor racketeering. They discuss how RICO can best attack various labor rackets including fringe benefit misuse, sweetheart contracts, strike insurance, and racketeering in illicit business. See id. at 342-46.

.Battling Corruption in the ILA: A Partial Chronology, supra note 59.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.See Michael Brick, Jury Rules One Way, Judge Another in Mob Killing, N.Y. Times (Dec. 15, 2007), http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/nyregion/15mob.html.

.Id.

.See Government Exhibit T4, Transcript of Conversation between Michael Cookie DUrso and Thomas Cafaro, Mar. 23, 2000, 14:48:33-14:50:00 (on file with author).

.Id.

.See Tom Baldwin, Latest Commission Mob Investigations Lead to Indictments, J. of Com. (1998), at 2B.

.Baldwin, supra note 105.

.Press Release, Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor, Three Waterfront Workers Suspended (Apr. 22, 1998); see Baldwin, supra note 105.

.Baldwin, supra note 105.

.Id.

.Id.

.See McShane, supra note 69.

.Five Guilty in ILA Skimming Case, J. of Com. ( Dec. 19, 2001).

.McShane, supra note 69.

.Five Guilty in ILA Skimming Case, supra note 112.

.See Joseph Bonney, Feds target the ILA, J. of Com. (Oct. 18, 2004), at 32; Press Release, Dept of Justice, U.S. Files Racketeering Case Against the ILA and Top ILA Officials (July 6, 2005).

.Bonney, supra note 115.

.Sherman, supra note 86.

.Press Release, Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor, Reputed Waterfront Faction of the Genovese Crime Family & Dock Workers Union Demand $$$, For WorkSeven Arrested in Early Morning Roundup (Mar. 7, 2002), available at http://www.wcnyh.org/

news/DCJ_Target%20Mob-run%20shake-down%20on%20NJ%20docks.pdf.

.Id.

.Id.

.Michael Nelson, Two New Jersey Bosses Plead Guilty to $2 Million Perfume Heist, National Legal & Policy Center (Sept. 25, 2010), http://nlpc.org/stories/2000/

09/25/two-new-jersey-bosses-plead-guilty-2-million-perfume-heist.

.Ronald Leir, Dirty Docker License Targeted, Jersey J., Apr. 29, 2005, available at www.wcnyh.org/news.Dirty-Docker-lincense-targeted.pdf.

.Joe Malinconico, Something is Missing in the Union Vote: The Mob, N.J. Star-Ledger, Apr. 8, 2007; Ronald Smothers, U.S. Wants Overseer for Dock Workers Local, N.Y. Times (Dec. 11, 2002), http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/11/nyregion/us-wants-overseer-for-dock-workers-local.html.

.McShane, supra note 69.

.Press Release, Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor, Pier Superintendents License is Revoked for Dishonesty During Waterfront Commn Interview and Hearing (May 17, 2010), http://www.wcnyh.org/newspage34.html; see also Press Release, Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor, Pier Superintendent Permit Revoked for Violation of the Waterfront Commn Act (July 19, 2010), http://www.wcnyh.org/newspage37.html.

.Jerry Capeci, Tony L, Mob Royalty, N.Y. Sun, July 15, 2004, at 3.

.Douglas Feiden, The Fat Cats on the Waterfront: How Bosses Load Up on Pay Despite Their Ever-Shrinking Union, N.Y. Daily News (Jan. 4, 2004), http://articles.nydailynews.com/2004-01-04/news/18264235_1_ila-nonunion-competition-john-bowers.

.Id.

.Id.

.Press Release, Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor, U.S. Files Racketeering Case Against Intl Longshoremens Assn and Top ILA Officials (July 6, 2005), http://www.justice.gov/usao/nye/pr/2005/2005jul6.html.

.See John Marzulli, Probation for Ex Docks Big, N.Y. Daily News (Feb. 23, 2006), http://articles.nydailynews.com/2006-02-23/local/18322641_1_lawrence-ricci-mob-influence-genovese.

.Sherman, supra note 86; Bonney, supra note 115.

.William Rashbaum, Three Longshoremen Not Guilty of Fraud and Other Charges, N.Y. Times (Nov. 9, 2005), http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=

9C00E2D8153EF93AA35752C1A9639C8B63.

.Id.

.William K. Rashbaum, Body Found in Car is Said to be Mob Figures, N.Y. Times (Dec. 1, 2005), http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07EFDC1531

F932A35751C1A9639C8B63.

.Harold Daggett Elected International President at ILA 53rd Quadrennial Convention, ILAUnion.org (July 29, 2011), www.ilaunion.org/news_election2011_

announcement.html.

.See Tiffany Ten Eyck Racketeering Lawsuit Againt ILA Leaders Must Give Members Control, Labor Notes (June 30, 2005), http://labornotes.org/node/796.

.Press Release, supra note 130.

.Id.

.Kati Cornell, Mikey Cigars Convicted of Racketeering, Cleared of Murder, N.Y. Post (July 21, 2009), http://www.nypost.com/news/regional/brooklyn/item_

TfhPo7hysFzueOxzcvI6TK.

.John Marzulli, Judge Slaps Michael Mikey Cigars Coppola with 16 Years in Prison Racketeering, N.Y. Daily News (Dec. 19, 2009), http://articles.nydailynews.com/

2009-12-19/news/17943070_1_merry-christmas-racketeering-sentence.

.Jerry Capeci, Encoded Lips Sink Mikey Cigars, N.Y. Sun (May 24, 2007), http://www.nysun.com.new-york/encoded-lips-sink-mikey-cigars/55136/.

.Id.

.Press Release, Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor, Checker Removed from Waterfront for Association with Organized Crime (Nov. 18, 2009), http://www.wcnyh.org/newspage27.html.

.Press Release, Waterfront Commn of New York Harbor, Maintenance Man Removed from Waterfront for Association with a Member of Organized Crime (Mar. 16, 2010), http://www.wcnyh.org/newspage40.html.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Press Release, Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor, Hiring Agent Charged with Associating with Member of Organized Crime is Removed from Waterfront (Apr. 7, 2010), http://www.wcnyh.org/news/newspage30.pdf.

.Hester, supra note 71.

.Id.

.Press Release, Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor, Genovese Soldier and Checker Pled Guilty in Port Loansharking Case (Oct. 28, 2011), http://www.waterfrontcommission.org/newspage67.html.

.Id.

.Press Release, Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor, Two Men Plead Guilty in Probe by Division of Criminal Justice & Waterfront Commn into Shakedown of Dock Workers (Oct. 28, 2011), http://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases11/pr20111028b.html.

.Press Release, N.J. Atty Generals Office, Top Union Official and Two Other Men Indicted in Investigation into Alleged Scheme to Extort Money from Dock Workers (Feb. 8, 2011), http://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases11/pr20110208a.html.

.Hester, supra note 71.

.Id.

.Id.

.Tom Hester, Sr., ILA Union Official, Newark Cop and Third Man Indicted in Alleged Scheme to Extort Longshoremen, NewJerseyNewsroom.com (Feb. 8, 2011), http;//www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/ila-union-official-newark-cop-and-third-man-indicted-in-alleged-scheme-to-extort-longshormen.

.Press Release, Dept of Justice-Office of Pub. Affairs-AG, 91 Leaders, Members and Associates of La Cosa Nostra Families in Four Districts Charged with Racketeering and Related Crimes, Including Murder and Extortion (Jan. 20, 2011), http://www.wcnyh.org/news/JusticeGov_01-20-2011_Press_Release.pdf.

.See id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Indictment at 1, United States v. Depiro, et al, 10 Cr. 851 (D. N.J. filed Jan. 01, 2011), available at, http://www.justice.gov/opa/documents/1-20-2011-depiro.pdf.

.Press Release, The U.S. Attorneys Office: Dist. of N.J., Genovese Organized Crime Family Soldier and Associates Indicted on Racketeering Charges, Including Extortion of Intl Longshoremens Assn Members (Jan. 20, 2011), http://www.justice.gov/

usao/nj/Press/files/Depiro%20et.%20al.%20News%20Release.html.

.See id. The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. See id.

.Press Release, Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor, Former Intl Longshoremens Union Officer Arrested, Charged with Embezzlement (Sept. 15, 2011), http://www.wcnyh.org/newspage63.html.

.See id.

.Letter from Walter Arsenault, Exec. Dir., Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor, to Michael H. Ranzenhofer, Senator, 61st Senate Dist. (May 13, 2012) (on file with author).

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Press Release, Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor, Court Rules Removal of ILA Atlantic Coast District VP John Shade Was Proper (Oct. 29, 2009), http://www.waterfrontcommission.org/newspage25.html.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.John Shade, Oct. 19, 2011, from Eric Fields, Senior Counsel of the WCNYH to Francis Herman, Director at New York State Division of Parole, at 1.

.Id.

.Steve Strunsky, New Jersey Waterfront Commission Holds First Hearing on Mob Influence at Docks, N.J. Star-Ledger (Oct. 15, 2010), http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/

2010/10/ nj_holds_first_hearing_on_fate.html.

.Id.

.Id.

.Id.

.Richard Perez-Pena, In Waterfront Hearings, Accounts of a Unions Kickbacks and a Mafia Tie, N.Y. Times (Oct. 14, 2010), http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/15/

nyregion/15waterfront.html.

.Strunsky, supra note 187.

.Id.

.Strunsky, supra note 187. A relief checker provides relief or a break to checkers that have been working for a long time. See Collective Bargaining Agreement between New York Shipping Association, Inc. and International Longshoremens Association, AFL-CIO, N.Y. Shipping Assn Inc. at 37 (Oct. 1, 2004), http://www.nysanet.org/pdf/CBA.pdf (last visited Apr. 15, 2012).

.Strunsky, supra note 187.

.Waterfront Commissions Special Report on Public Hearings, Waterfront Commn, Mar. 21, 2012, available at http://www.waterfrontcommission.org/news/Water

front%20Commission%20of%20New%20York%20Harbor%20Special%20Report.pdf.

.Id.

.Press Release, Dept of Justice-Office of Pub. Affairs-AG, 91 Leaders, Members and Associates of La Cosa Nostra Families in Four Districts Charged with Racketeering and Related Crimes, Including Murder and Extortion (Jan. 20, 2011), http://www.wcnyh.org/news/JusticeGov_01-20-2011_Press_Release.pdf.

.In July 2008, the Commission underwent various reforms, reorganization, and rededicated itself to its mission. See Press Release, N.Y. State Inspector Gen., Waterfront Commn Plagued By Abuse and Corruption (Aug. 11, 2009), http://www.ig.ny.gov/pdfs/Waterfront%20Commission%20Plagued%20By%20Abuse%20and%20Corruption.pdf; see also Press Release, Waterfront Commn of N.Y. Harbor, WCNYH Response to NYS IG [Draft] Report (July 13, 2009), http://www.wcnyh.org/news/WCNYH_IG_Response_7-31-2009.pdf.

701