Thursday, February 7, 2008

FORMER UNION SHOP STEWARD FOUND GUILTY IN HALF-MILLION-DOLLAR FRAUD SCHEME

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-- MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MICHAEL ANNUCCI, also known as "Mickey Annucci," was found guilty today of charges relating to his participation in a scheme to defraud the benefit funds of the New York City District Council of Carpenters (the "District Council") of at least half a million dollars. According to the evidence presented at the eight-day jury trial before United States District Judge BARBARA S. JONES:

ANNUCCI served as a shop steward for the District Council, an Executive Delegate to the District Council representing Local 157 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, and a member of the District Council's trial committee, which imposed discipline on carpenters who broke union rules. From July 2001 through February 2006, ANNUCCI was the shop steward for a Manhattan jobsite of L&D Installers, Inc. ("L&D"), a furniture installation and construction contractor. L&D was a party to a collective bargaining agreement ("CBA") with the District Council, pursuant to which L&D was obligated to pay all of its workers at a specified hourly rate and to make contributions for each hour worked to District Council benefit funds, which provide life insurance, hospitalization, medical care, pension and vacation benefits to union members.

As a shop steward, ANNUCCI was required to enforce the CBA by submitting weekly reports to the District Council setting forth the hours worked by each of carpenters assigned to the jobsite. The union’s auditors rely on the accuracy of shop steward reports in auditing contractors to ensure that all benefits contributions have been paid.

ANNUCCI, however, omitted more than 22,000 hours from his shop steward reports, thereby enabling L&D to cheat the benefit funds out of hundreds of thousands of dollars it owed. As a result, carpenters got paid lower wages and lost credit towards pension, vacation and retirement benefits, and some lost their health coverage. At the same time, ANNUCCI received full benefits, was regularly paid for overtime hours that he did not work, and was paid for at least 80 days off.

Co-conspirator FRANK PROSCIA, who succeeded ANNUCCI as L&D’s shop steward in February 2006, pleaded guilty in October 2007 to one count of aiding and abetting the embezzlement of monies from District Council benefit funds.

ANNUCCI is scheduled to be sentenced May 7, 2008. PROSCIA is scheduled to be sentenced on March 7, 2008.

ANNUCCI was convicted of one count of wire fraud – on which he faces a maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment -- and of conspiracy, theft of union benefit funds, and unlawful acceptance of payments by a union representative -- on each of which he faces a maximum of 5 years’ imprisonment.

Mr. GARCIA praised the efforts of the Department of Labor, Office of Labor Racketeering, and the assistance provided by the District Council’s anti-corruption committee.

Assistant United States Attorneys LISA ZORNBERG and KATHERINE GOLDSTEIN are in charge of the prosecution.

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12 comments:

  1. What a disgrace, I work hard all day and this guy is getting paid OT and time off to sell us out

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  2. there is a god !!! this guy had me laid off when I was was in the building doing ceilings, he is a real dirt bag, selling out the union as a rep. but lets look at who appointed him to the building, we all know who that was his golf buddy.

    here we are trying to make a decent living and union reps like this sell us out. well what people do catches up with them. There is a GOD!!!

    hope you have fun in your new accommodation's Micky

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  3. Mickey sold out every member in this union while portraying himself as a dedicated union man…the guy is a total disgrace and joke.

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  4. Wasn't Danny the BA for the job. This is just the begining, look for more indictments

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  5. But the NYCDC has been under a clound of mafia influence for over 3 decades.

    Does it bother anyone that Mickey has been indicted and convicted, but mike forde was indicted BEFORE Mickey (by 6 years) and has yet to be retried?

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  6. Half a million dollars, I find it hard to believe that no one at the local knew what Mickey was up to. Was Mickey just following orders from the BA?

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  7. Annuci was not brought to justice via the anti corruption, it was through Walter Mack, and Callahan that Mickey was caught.Mickey was at L and D for 6 years and everyone knew what he was up to. How many other Stewards are out there? After Annuci was indicted what did the dc do - nothing - they have not changed any procedures. This is the guy the DC made an Organizer. His replacement Frank Procia carried on the same scheme. Both these guys are Bill Hanleys long time friends.

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  9. well it is about time that fat lousy *!X#% was busted.now lets see his son go down as well.i am sure he is a chip off the same rock.thank god that hanley crew is out,

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  10. I WAS TOLD BY MY BOSS TO PUT MICKEY ON THAT JOB.THEN I WAS TOLD BY MY BOSS TO PUT FRANK PROSIA ON THAT JOB.

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  11. he has a family too.

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  12. FUNNY HOW WHEN I WAS A SHOP STEWARD AT 157 THESE BA'S WOULD GO OVER ALL MY REPORTS AND MARK UNION OR COMPANY LIKE IT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE WORLD-TO KEEP THE MATCH RIGHT,WHEN THEY WEREN'T EVEN GOING TO WORK OR ON THE DAMN GOLF LINKS.WHAT BALLS!AND THEY WERE SELLING US OUT TO COLLECT BRIBES FROM CROOKED CONTRACTORS.WHAT SCUM.AND WHY IS IT THAT I CAN'T FIND ANY ARTICLES ON FORDE'S 2ND TRIAL-THAT WAS THROWN OUT BECAUSE OF IMPROPER PROCEDURES AND NOT LACK OF GUILT???AND THEN HE WRITES IN THE CARPENTERS MAGAZINE THAT HE WAS NOT GUILTY.I DO NOT THINK THAT WAS THE CASE.

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