Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil

Unity Team - One Down, Two To Go...
Pictured far right, a smirking Peter Thomassen along with Dennis Sheil, is what's left of disgraced Mike Fordes "Unity Team."

Fordes two handpicked yes-men shown marching in Saturdays September 12, Labor Day Parade have yet to officially comment about the revelations of corruption and arrest of Mike Forde.


Carpenters all around town are wondering why Thomassen and Sheil have not been fired.

It has been well documented by Independent Investigator, Walter Mack that the district council officers "engaged in, at least, willful ignorance" of the corrupt conduct by companies like Tri-Built and On Par, which are believed to be two of the six unnamed contractors in the indictment and were notorious among carpenters as "cash" companies, yet permitted to work corrupt for years.

Thomassen, never once informed the delegate body or membership about the revelations of corruption that Mack discovered and reported on (Boom, Tri-Built, On Par, Special Request, among others) taking place at the district council.


"I am absolutely shocked, we didn't even know there were reports from Mack," a former delegate who did not want his name used for fear of retaliation said.


Almost all the carpenters I have spoken with on the condition of anonymity agreed, Thomassen and Sheil "betrayed" the carpenters, have no "integrity" and were Forde's "biggest enablers and defenders" of the council's “culture of corruption."

Carpenters were also complaining about being kept in the dark, "it's ridiculous, it's been over a month and we still don't know what's going on". Where is the "outrage from our so-called leaders."

Echoing the same sentiment was an anonymous local 608 apprentice who attended his union meeting and posted, "What I was shock by was how short and unimportant the meeting was. You would think that there would be questions, comments, something!!! Especially since the person that led the last meeting was accused of some serious violations. Perhaps maybe cause our ex EST is in rehab and accused of some even worse shit."

Disgraced corrupt former carpenter boss Mike Forde, along with nine others were arrested and charged with a 29-count indictment on August 5, 2009 for corruption, racketeering, bribery and perjury, in a conspiracy that stretches over a decade, involving six contractors, business agents, business manager, benefit fund trustees, shop stewards, associates, council employees and testing positive for cocaine use.

UBC General President Douglas McCarron fired Forde, local 608 business manager, John Greaney and local 608 business agent, Brian Hayes, on August 13, and ordered an “emergency supervision” of the district council and appointed Vice President Frank Spencer, supervisor.

In a letter to the membership supervision Spencer wrote he will keep the membership "updated on a regular basis", whatever that means. Since the posting of letters by McCarron and Spencer on the councils website, there has not been any "regular" updates.

An informed source at the council told me Spencer is "completely clueless to the extent of the corruption."


Federal authorities say that the district council investigation is continuing.


Forde and nine others pleaded not guilty following a lengthy federal and city joint probe. If convicted Forde faces up to 50 years in prison.