Crooked Shop Steward Accused of Lying to Grand Jury in Casino-Rigging Case

Michael Mitchell

By Rebecca Baker

One day after the last of three defendants was sentenced for rigging promotional giveaways at Empire City casino in Yonkers, the brother-in-law of one of them was charged with perjury, accused of lying to a grand jury investigating the case.

Michael Mitchell, 39, of Yonkers was arraigned in White Plains City Court on Wednesday on a felony charge of first-degree perjury for his grand-jury testimony in June 2009 regarding rigged promotional contests at the racetrack-casino.

According to the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, Mitchell testified that he recruited his brother, Brian Mitchell, to act as a phony winner in one of the fixed promotional contests in 2008. Brian Mitchell died in 2001.

Michael Mitchell is married to the sister of former casino promotions manager Donna Cronin; she and coordinators Alicia Murray and Terence Osborne were indicted in the scheme. The three were accused of receiving a combined $177,000 in kickbacks for running a two-year scam to let friends and relatives win promotional contests.

All three pleaded guilty to grand larceny and fraud charges and were sentenced to five years' probation, with Murray serving 12 weekends in jail. Murray was the last defendant in the case and was sentenced Tuesday.

Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, said the office did not intentionally delay charging Mitchell until after Murray's sentencing. He said Mitchell is facing federal charges, which took precedence over the casino case.

Mitchell pleaded guilty in July in a federal case that stemmed from a labor racketeering investigation. Mitchell, a shop steward for the carpenters union, admitted he conspired with others to steal from employee benefit plans and took bribes of more than $10,000 from a company called On Par Construction to allow the company to violate collective-bargaining agreements at construction sites in Manhattan. He also admitted that he lied to a court-appointed investigator who was looking into corruption in the carpenters union.

In a second case, Mitchell pleaded guilty last week to illegally collecting more than $50,000 in Social Security disability benefits meant for his dead brother, Brian. Mitchell collected the benefits between August 2001 and May 2007.

Mitchell faces up to five years in prison on each of the four counts he pleaded guilty to in the labor case and up to 10 years on the Social Security theft charge. He is to be sentenced Dec. 15.