Judge Berman Denies Bilello's Appeal

Clueless Bilello, You're fired!

Breaking News...Judge Berman issued a Decision and Order today denying Bilello's appeal, in short Berman wrote "there is a continuing need for zero tolerance of official misfeasance and malfeasance at the District Council."

On Monday, April 29, 2013 Bilello, the former disgraced carpenter boss, was booted from his post by the court appointed Review Officer (RO) Dennis Walsh for violating several union rules — including directing a schedule pay raise into the Welfare Fund without proper authorization (a story we broke on March 23, 2013) and letting a suspended union member work at the Javits Center and then lie about it.

Among other things Berman wrote, "Having reviewed the record herein, "the RO’s April 29, 2013 Veto correctly concludes, with respect to Specification 1, that from on or about July 1, 2012, through March 12, 2013, Bilello failed to abide by Section 21 of the District Council Bylaws and caused or attempted to cause employer compensation for members totaling more than $900,000 to be directed to the New York City District Council of Carpenters Welfare Fund.

Bilello contends that Specification 1 is “unreasonable” because, while “before the week of March 20, [2013] he had not taken note of § 21’s terms,” (Bilello Petition at 8), the Delegate Body approved his actions on March 27, 2013 nunc pro tunc, “curing any prejudice from this procedural oversight.”

The RO responds (persuasively) that Bilello’s action was more than a mere “procedural” oversight. “Allowing Bylaws to be disregarded, especially based on past practices, [i.e. historical pervasive mismanagement in the Union], would undermine the reform efforts undertaken pursuant to the Consent Decree and the Stipulation and Order.”

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Arbitrators Got It Right

Bylaws apply to ALL District Council Delegates! 

By email dated February 25, 2013, John Musumeci, a Delegate of the New York City District Council of Carpenters Delegate Body, filed a Complaint and Request for Arbitration with the undersigned Trial Committee Chairpersons pursuant to Section 5(F) of the Bylaws of the New York City District Council of Carpenters. The Request for Arbitration lists the following “Questions to be Decided” and sets forth the requested remedy:

1. Did NYCDCC EST Michael Bilello, in violation of the laws of the UBC, engage in a concerted effort and targeted pattern of harassment, threats, coercion, bullying & intimidation carried out by his assistant and/or others, in a year long campaign which culminated at a July 25, 2012 delegate meeting at approximately 7:30 pm, whereby Bilello, directly engaged in a course of vexatious, personal and indecorous comments or conduct that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome, which incited UBC members to publicly harass, intimidate and humiliate Delegate John Musumeci by threatening to file; and by filing bogus charges against him, in direct retaliation for exercising his First Amendment freedom of speech, LMRDA & NLRA Section 7 rights as a union member with regard to his having raised multiple serious questions relative to the conduct and handling of the MWA Arbitration?

On April 19, 2013, Respondent New York City District Council of Carpenters filed a Motion to Dismiss the Complainant’s Complaint and Request for Arbitration.

A hearing on the Motion was held before the Trial Committee Chairpersons on June 18, 2013, at the offices of the New York District Council of Carpenters, on the limited issue of jurisdiction of the Trial Committee Chairpersons to decide each of the questions posed in the Request for Arbitration tiled by the Complainant, John Musumeci. Mr. Musumeci and James Murphy, Esq., on behalf of the New York City District Council of Carpenters, appeared at the hearing and were given the opportunity to be heard. The record establishes that Respondent Michael Bilello was given proper notice of the hearing, but did not appear.

"Based on a review of all the evidence and the arguments made by both parties and the answers offered to the above questions, we find that by the plain meaning of the language of Section 5(F), written by experienced counsel, the Bylaws provision in question applies to all Delegates of the Council Delegate Body, not just those who are employed by the District Council."

Santo Barravecchio, Esq.
Barbara C. Deinhardt, Esq.
Carol Moran, Esq.
Trial Committee Chairpersons

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Court Transcript from the oral argument in the Bilello veto matter

Below is an excerpt from Thursday hearing regarding the Bilello veto matter

THE COURT: So the purpose of today's proceeding is to have a brief oral argument, I believe counsel requested, with respect to this matter involving Mr. Michael Bilello. So I am happy to hear briefly from each side. You don't really need to repeat a lot of what is in your briefs. I have the briefs, or your written submissions. But if you want to touch on some high points, that is fine.

MR. WALSH: I think, without hesitation, that the notion that a member of this union and the top fiduciary of this union can willfully lie in an investigation conducted by an appointee of the district court is appalling. I assign great significance to that specification. When Mr. Petrillo says Mr. Bilello is not superman, it is revealed he is not even a careful man. One of the questions which we asked all of the candidates for EST was whether they were familiar with the bylaws that had been implemented in August of 2011 and there were people who I did not approve to run for office because they could not say that they were familiar with those bylaws.

In Section 21, the question of the allocation of those payments to the welfare fund, what Mr. Petrillo talks about in that interim report was my strong recommendation that the welfare fund needed money, that the costs were excessive and any bit of income was a good thing. The document that Mr. Bilello, Mr. Cavanaugh signed and submitted to the benefit funds in June of 2012 was never submitted to me for review. I could indeed have made the argument that they failed to follow the stipulation and order by giving me prior notice, and the entire framework of the stipulation and order is based, with respect to the District Council, on the giving of prior notice. There are too many moving parts. I was not given notice of that unilateral application of asserted authority by Mr. Bilello. If I had been given notice of it, perhaps the outcome would have been different.

But as we pointed out in the papers, I am not counsel to the District Council, I am not an advisor, and I am certainly not there to tell them to watch out for every pothole that they may be about to drive over in their daily affairs. The fact is that over $900,000 was allotted to the welfare fund, which was not money that the welfare fund had to give back should the nun pro tunc vote have gone the other way. And if the delegates had decided they wanted that money as income, the chances are they would not have gotten it back. There was no obligation for the welfare fund to return that money.

With respect to the reading of the minutes of the funds, it is easy to characterize that as a minor matter, but it is not a minor matter. The executive committee of the District Council needs to be informed about the affairs of the benefit funds because this union is in a struggle. The District Council is out front trying to organize non-union companies, trying to organize non-union workers. They need to be apprised of the urgent problems confronting the benefit funds, as this court knows and as we have discussed on many occasions the problems confronting the benefits funds. I attended many of those executive committee meetings where it was apparently much more important that correspondents from the Boy Scouts and various district councils and local unions seeking to fill tables at dinner dances be read to those trustees, to those executive committee members, and I think the priorities were all wrong in that regard. It is easy to characterize each one of these specifications in a certain way.

The reality is that the careful EST, the careful fiduciary consults with counsel. The general counsel for the District Council has an office right next to the EST. He is available basically five days a week and certainly 24 hours a day by telephone. If Mr. Bilello had been inclined to consult him, perhaps we would not be here today.

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Judge Richard M. Berman Orders– Brief oral argument

ORDER: Brief oral argument (10-15 minutes per side) on the petition of Michael Bilello, dated May 24, 2013, is hereby scheduled for Thursday July 18, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. in Courtroom 12D of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse at 500 Pearl Street, New York, New York 10007. Parties to the petition should be prepared to discuss with the Court factual circumstances and legal arguments. The Court is not planning to entertain presentations from others.

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REPLY MEMORANDUM OF LAW OF MICHAEL BILELLO IN SUPPORT OF HIS PETITION TO VACATE THE VETO OF THE REVIEW OFFICER

Mr. Bilello respectfully submits this reply memorandum of law in support of his petition to vacate the Veto of his continued service as EST, issued by the RO on April 29, 2013.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT – As discussed below, the RO’s Memorandum in Opposition  is marred by several fundamental legal and logical flaws, which when corrected, underscore the compelling need for relief in this matter. As an initial matter, the context of this Veto is of singular importance: Mr. Bilello was elected by the rank and tile in a successful democratic process that the Order, at its core, is in place to promote. His service has been tireless, honest and productive for the union°s members. Respectfully, it does not advance the interests served by the Order for the “RO process” and its judicial review to countenance unreasonable and unsupported charges, as here, all of which were addressable through reasonable dialogue, rather than the drastic action of veto, and one of which was required by the Order to be addressed through a Court hearing, on notice, not by RO fiat. We accordingly respectfully request that this Court reverse the Veto in the interests of democratic union process; the promotion of respect for law (which the RO’s position herein undermines in two important respects); and to bring reasonable proportion to a set of over-caffeinated and defective charges that should never have required this Court’s time and focus in the first place.

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MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN RESPONSE TO THE PETITION OF MICHAEL BILELLO

On April 29, 2013, the Review Officer vetoed the position of Michael Bilello as Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the New York City District Council of Carpenters ("District Council"), based on five findings supported by the Declaration of his Chief Investigator Jack Mitchell; the Mitchell Declaration detailed evidence including interviews and documents and was further supported by exhibits, including the declarations of others. This memorandum is submitted in response to Mr. Bilello's petition challenging the veto.

The veto should be upheld. The veto was a proper exercise of the RO's authority under Paragraph 5.b.iii of the Stipulation and Order entered in United States v. District Council of New York City and Vicinity of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, et al., 90 Civ. 5722 (RMB), on June 3, 2010. It should be affirmed under the applicable standard of review as the RO's findings are plainly reasonable and supported by substantial evidence in the record as a whole and consistent with the law, as discussed below. See United States v. District Council, et al. (Nee), 2012 WL 5236577, at *5 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 23, 2012); see also United States v. District Council, et al. (Passero), Decision and Order at 4 (S.D.N.Y. June 5, 2013).

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Do you believe the Balls!

Bilello—Veto is overreaching, capricious and unreasonable

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT—–As set forth more fully below, the Veto, which was issued on the basis of five stated grounds (each a “Specification”), should be overturned as an overreaching, capricious and unreasonable determination, unsupported by governing authority and indisputable facts.

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Bilello Appeals Veto

Former disgraced scandal scared council leader seeks appeal

Judge Berman has schedule a pre-motion conference on May 22, 2013 at 3:15 pm to "set a briefing schedule" regarding the veto of Bilello by the court appointed Review Officer (RO) Dennis Walsh.

On Monday, April 29, 2013 the former Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the New York City & Vicinity District Council of Carpenters Michael Bilello, was booted from his $225,000 paid position by the RO for violating several union rules — including directing a schedule pay raise into the Welfare Fund without proper authorization and concealing it, and letting a suspended union member work at the Javits Center and then lie about it.

Back in April we reported that Bilello hired a big gun attorney, Guy Petrillo, (a former Chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's office in the Southern District of New York) to handle the veto. Last Friday Petrillo sent a letter to Judge Breman requesting the pre-motion conference and leave to file a "memorandum of law not to exceed thirty-five (35) pages in length."

Petrillo wrote, "the veto was issued on the basis of five separate allegations, each of which has its own factual setting and history. We will endeavor to be as succinct as possible, but believe based on our current draft that an appropriate treatment of the facts and law will benefit from the requested page extension."

Page Six

Booted disgraced former leaders Mike Bilello and Bill Lebo.

Sightings...sightings...Disgraced scandal scared former District Council leaders MIKE BILELLO & BILL LEBO were spotted at last Wednesdays Delegate Body meeting sitting in the members gallery.

On Monday, April 29, 2013 Bilello, the former carpenter boss, was booted from his post by the court appointed Review Officer (RO) Dennis Walsh for violating several union rules — including directing a schedule pay raise into the Welfare Fund without proper authorization and letting a suspended union member work at the Javits Center and then lie about it.

Bilello & Lebo were elected on December 15, 2011 to head the New York City & Vicinity District Council of Carpenters after vowing several reforms to the union —including saving the out of work list and contract ratification by the membership. The two former leaders reneged on those vows and ironically Bilello was the man who presided over the destruction of the out of work list, by negotiating a contract that includes full mobility and forcing it on the membership, despite the membership rejecting it in March 2012.

Bilello's running mate and former president and assistant Bill Lebo, also got the boot and was forced to resign last September, after receiving a notice of possible veto from the RO, amid allegations of inappropriate behavior and lying about it.

Sources said, Bilello is planning to appeal his veto in an effort to get his job back. The two disgraced former leaders sat quietly as they witnessed a properly run meeting by the new Executive Secretary Treasurer (EST) Pro Tem Stephen McInnis.

GP McCarron letter granting dispensation

Dear Sir and Brother:

This will respond to your letter dated May 3, 2013. You currently hold the position of President, to which you were recently elected, of the New York City and Vicinity District Council of Carpenters (“Council”). On behalf of the Council, you requested dispensation from certain requirements of the UBC Constitution.

You explained that Michael Bilello held the position of Executive Secretary-Treasurer (“EST”) of the Council until a “Notice of Veto by the Review Officer” was issued on April 29, 2013. The veto was issued by Dennis M. Walsh, the Review Officer appointed pursuant to a Stipulation and Order in United States v. District Council, et al., 90 Civ. 5722 (SDNY; RMB). The veto provides, in part, that Brother Bilello’s “service as Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the [ Council] is hereby vetoed.”

Section 32B of the UBC Constitution provides, in part, that,

(w)hen a vacancy occurs in any elective office of a Council, the Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Council may appoint a qualified member to fill the vacancy pro tem, until such time as an election is held to fill the vacancy. If no Executive Secretary-Treasurer position exists or such position is vacant, the President of the Council may make such pro-tem appointment.

Thus, as the Council EST position is presently vacant, you, as President, may appoint a qualified member to serve as Council EST on a pro-tem basis. You indicated that you are “not comfortable appointing another member” to the EST position. However, you do wish to appoint yourself as interim EST, but doing so would require you to vacate the President position to which you were elected.

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McInnis Named Executive Secretary-Treasurer Pro Tem

McInnis, new EST

In accordance with the Constitution of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiner of America, Stephen McInnis, the current President of the NYC District Council of Carpenters, appointed himself to the office of Executive Secretary Treasurer (EST) on a Pro Tem basis, which means that he will be serving as the EST until an election is held to fill the remainder of the office’s term. McInnis formally announced the appointment today during a noon conference call with the members of the District Council’s Executive Committee.

The EST position, the highest in the District Council, has been vacant since April 29 when the federal court appointed Review Officer, Dennis M. Walsh, vetoed the services of then-incumbent Michael Bilello. McInnis will continue to hold the office of President during this interim period under an order of dispensation issued by UBC General President Douglas McCarron. The scheduling of an election to fill the office for the remainder of the EST’s term, which runs through December 2014, will be directed by Review Officer Walsh under the authority of the Stipulation and Order entered by the federal district court on June 3, 2010.

“Today, I formally announced my decision to appoint myself as the Executive Secretary-Treasurer Pro Tem to the District Council Executive Committee," said McInnis. "As the Interim EST, I will properly fulfill the duties of this office as well as act on and promote what is in the best interest of our membership and their families.”

Cover-Up

VP Cavanaugh engaged in cover-up.

Updated: 5/6/13

An informed source says Review Officer (RO) Dennis Walsh is "reserving judgment" on whether to charge Vice President Michael Cavanaugh for his role and participation in the illegal allocation of a wage increase into the Welfare Fund.

On Monday April 29, 2013 Carpenter boss Michael Bilello was booted from his post by the court appointed RO for violating several union rules — including directing a July 1, 2012 wage increase for Hod Hoist carpenters into the Welfare Fund without proper authorization and concealing it from the membership and delegate body.

Back in March, local157blogspot broke the story that Bilello "illegally diverted millions of dollars of a contractual raise into the welfare fund and now may face a possible veto by the Review Officer.

Bilello concealed the wage allocation to the welfare fund from the membership and delegate body and it now appears that his highly paid assistant Michael Cavanaugh participated in the scheme and engaged in the cover-up by also withholding this vital information from the membership and delegate body.

According to the "Notice of Veto," we learned that on June 28, 2012 Bilello and Cavanaugh signed a document titled “Rate Increase Allocation” (see picture left) in which the amount of $2.59 an hour was directed to the Welfare Fund for each hour worked by members covered under the Hoisting & Scaffolding Trade Association, Inc. (“HASTA”) CBA, in violation of Section 21 of the District Council bylaws which gives the Delegate Body the sole power to decide all allocations to the various benefit funds.

Cavanaugh wasn’t charged in the case — which followed a lengthy investigation by Jack N. Mitchell, the Chief Investigator for the RO, — but when asked whether the vice president should have been, several members and delegates told local157blogspot, “In a way, yes.”

“In my opinion, he knew what was going on, he signed off on the illegal wage allocation, he had a duty to report it, he concealed it and he should be held responsible," members told us.

The Rate Increase Allocation document was put in place by the UBC during the emergency supervision, the document requires a counter signature as a check and balance and is used to create a schedule of wages and benefits that is sent to contractors so that the contractors pay the appropriate wages and benefits.

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New Carpenter Boss decision expected soon

McInnis, next boss?

On Tuesday April 30, the council posted a statement saying, "Stephen McInnis, President of the New York City District Council of Carpenters, after consulting with the District Council’s Executive Committee, will appoint an interim Executive Secretary-Treasurer (EST) in accordance with the Constitution of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiner of America until an election takes place."

According to reliable sources, an executive committee meeting was held on Tuesday at 3:30 pm and McInnis "desperately" wants to appoint himself as EST, Pro Tem, but is wrestling with the rule in the UBC Constitution that would require him to resign the presidency in order to serve. Also several high ranking council employees have declined the top spot and a handful of others are considering and interested in the post.

A decision is expected by the end of the week and as soon as today.

The schedule of elections to fulfill the vacancy of the EST will be directed by Review Officer (RO) Dennis Walsh as per the Stipulation and Order, and is not expected to be a compressed election cycle, and may take a little over four months to complete. Assuming the RO asked Judge Berman for an order establishing June 1st as day one of the election cycle, AAA would not count the votes until October.

On Monday, April 29th, Michael Bilello, was vetoed by the RO as EST for violating several union rules — including directing a schedule pay raise into the Welfare Fund without proper authorization and letting a suspended union member work at the Javits Center and then lie about it.

Bilello failed to beat Jinx

On Monday, April 29, 2013 Carpenter boss Michael Bilello was booted from his post by the court appointed Review Officer (RO) Dennis Walsh and became the fifth district council leader to run afoul with the law and unable to beat the jinx.

Bilello, 55 was elected on December 15, 2011 to head the New York City & Vicinity District Council of Carpenters after vowing reforms to the union. He reneged on his vows and violated several union rules — including directing a schedule pay raise into the Welfare Fund without proper authorization and letting a suspended union member work at the Javits Center and then lie about it.

Bilello violations won't land him a prison sentence, but do add to the Jinx

• Mr. Bilello’s immediate predecessor, Michael Forde, is serving an 11-year term in federal prison for taking bribes
• Frederick W. Devine was convicted in 1998 of embezzlement
• Paschal McGuinness was acquitted of bribery but resigned in 1994 as part of a consent decree that settled a federal civil racketeering case and placed the union under court oversight
• Theodore Maritas did not make it to court: he vanished in 1982 on the eve of his trial on mob-tied extortion charges, leaving behind only a wallet found floating near the Throgs Neck Bridge

Why Bilello was Vetoed– Details and Discussion

On Monday, April 29, 2013 Michael Bilello, Executive Secretary-Treasurer (EST) of the New York City & Vicinity District Council of Carpenters was vetoed by the court appointed Review Officer (RO) Dennis Walsh under the authority of the Stipulation and Order entered on June 3, 2010.

Jack N. Mitchell is the Chief Investigator for the RO, in that capacity Mr. Mitchell participated in an ongoing investigation into Michael Bilello. During the course of the investigation he has interviewed members and staff of the District Council and Benefit Funds, reviewed District Council and Benefit Funds documents and records, reviewed investigative documents and discussed the matter with RO investigators.

On March 26, 2013 the RO issued a Notice of Possible Action by the Review Officer (“NPA”) regarding Bilello.  The NPA listed eight instances in which the RO suspected the EST violated the Stipulation and Order.

The following excerpt is taken from the Declaration of Jack N. Mitchell on April 29, 2013 where five of the the eight instances (the other three were not necessary) the RO cited in the veto are detailed and discussed.

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District Council’s Statement on RO’s Veto Removing ExecutiveSecretary-Treasurer from Office

On Monday, April 29th, Michael Bilello, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the New York City & Vicinity District Council of Carpenters was vetoed by the court appointed Review Officer Dennis Walsh under the authority of the Stipulation and Order entered on June 3, 2010.

Stephen McInnis, President of the New York City District Council of Carpenters, after consulting with the District Council’s Executive Committee, will appoint an interim Executive Secretary-Treasurer in accordance with the Constitution of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiner of America until an election takes place. The schedule of elections to fulfill the vacancy of the EST will be directed by Review Officer Walsh as per the Stipulation and Order.

The New York City & Vicinity District Council of Carpenters will continue to serve and represent our membership with integrity. We will continue to keep you informed of any new developments.

Notice of Veto by the Review Officer

To: Michael Bilello
Executive Secretary-Treasurer
New York District Council

With a Notice of Possible Action and related procedures having been sent to Michael Bilello (“Bilello”) on March 26, 2013, and upon the facts presented in the Declaration of Jack Mitchell, dated April 29, 2013, incorporated herein by reference, the Affirmation of Michael Bilello dated April 26, 2013, and having considered the statements and arguments made by Bilello and his counsel in the pre-action conference conducted by the undersigned and attended by Investigator Mitchell on April 26, 2013, and upon my observations of Bilello's conduct and undertakings as Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the New York District Council since January 11, 2012, I find that there is reasonable cause to believe that:

(1) from on or about July 1, 2012, through March 12, 2013, Bilello failed to abide by Section 21 of the District Council Bylaws and caused or attempted to cause employer compensation for members to be directed to the New York City District Council of Carpenters Welfare Fund;

(2) on March 22, 2013, Bilello directed a business representative of the District Council attempting to properly enforce the collective bargaining agreement at the Javits Center to let a suspended member work at the Javits Center knowing that the person had been suspended as a member;

(3) from on or about September 2012, to the present, Bilello failed to continue the development of the business representative cross-training program recommended by the Review Officer and begun by the former District Council President and Assistant to the EST;

(4) from on or about January ll, 2012, to the present, Bilello failed to review minutes of the meetings of the Board of Trustees of the Benefit Funds with the District Council Executive Committee, in contravention of the Section 10(L) of the Bylaws of the District Council;

(5) on March 22, 2013, Bilello failed to cooperate with an investigation of the Review Officer by falsely stating, in sum and substance, that a certain business representative “suggested to me that I give [a suspended member] to the end of the week [working at Javits Center], like we are doing for others.”

The conduct of Michael Bilello violated the Stipulation and Order entered in this matter on June 3, 2010 (the Stipulation and Order) and presents grounds for a veto pursuant to Paragraphs 5.b.iii (c, d and e) and 7 of the Stipulation and Order. His service as Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the New York District Council is hereby vetoed.

April 29, 2013

Dennis M. Walsh
Review Officer

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Bilello Vetoed

Bilello–You're Fired! 

BREAKING NEWS...New York City District Council of Carpenters Executive Secretary-Treasurer Michael Bilello has been vetoed.

On March 26, 2013 Review Officer (RO) Dennis Walsh slapped Bilello with an eight-count notice of possible veto, Bilello had until April 9, to answer the complaint and to deliver a written submission to the RO stating any facts, law or arguments which might be relevant to consideration of the possible veto.

We reported that Bilello hired a big gun attorney, Guy Petrillo, (Petrillo Klein & Boxer) who requested an extension to April 22nd, to respond, but "due to his travel schedule" was briefly extended. The RO held a pre-action conference on Friday April 26, and today issued the veto.

The UBC will not have a role in this action, an informed source said.

According to section 32B of the UBC Constitution, "when a vacancy occurs in any elective office of a Council, the Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Council may appoint a qualified member to the vacancy pro tem, until such time as an election is held to fill the vacancy. If no Executive Secretary-Treasurer position exists or such position is vacant, the President of the Council may make such pro-tem appointment."

Under that scenario District Council President Steve McInnis gets to make the pro-tem appointment to fill the vacancy until such time as an election is held

The most likely scenario is the RO will order a special election to fill the vacant position (read the" Fifth Interim Report of the Review Officer," page 5 and exhibit 3).

The Notice of Veto by the Review Officer is posted below, story still developing...Stay tuned!

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Tick Tock, time running out on Bilello

Bilello faces possible veto today.  

We reported THAT a pre-action conference was held on Friday April 26, to discuss the "notice of possible veto" issued to Executive Secretary-Treasurer Michael Bilello.

Review Officer (RO) Dennis Walsh has stated,"the matter is now under advisement. I expect to decide it very soon, as soon as Monday or Tuesday."

On March 26, 2013 the RO slapped Bilello with an eight-count notice of possible veto, Bilello had until April 9, to answer the complaint and to deliver a written submission to the RO stating any facts, law or arguments which might be relevant to consideration of the possible veto.

We reported that Bilello hired a big gun attorney, Guy Petrillo, (Petrillo Klein & Boxer) who requested an extension to April 22nd, to respond, but "due to his travel schedule" was briefly extended.

Despite transparency claims Bilello has failed to informed or give any update to the delegates or membership regarding the notice of possible of action.