Carpenters Union President John Daly Axed, Amid Ongoing Investigation

THE HEAD OF a scandal-scarred carpenters union local has been booted - weeks after his predecessor was fired amid charges he rigged hiring lists to give cronies work at Ground Zero, Local157.blogspot has learned.

John Daly is the fourth Local 608 president to be axed this year. The 7,400-member local, is a major force in city real estate development, which controls union carpenters on the West Side of Manhattan and all of the Bronx. 

Daly’s firing has to do with an ongoing investigation by the federal review officer Dennis Walsh, sources said.

Walsh declined to comment.

UBC Supervisor Frank Spencer, called Daly's departure "part of our ongoing housekeeping efforts."

"Why hasn't Spencer placed the local under supervision and suspend the entire executive board," several carpenters questioned. 

Local 608 Vice President, Mike Murphy, is steping into Daly's shoes until an election can be held.

Daly, who was the locals vice president became president last month when Joe Firth was remove from office and fired amid charges he rigged hiring lists to give cronies work at Ground Zero.

Before he was elected president earlier this year, Firth was a business agent whose sole responsibility was, as he put it in court papers, assigning carpenters to jobs at "Ground Zero ... [and] the buildings that were damaged during the attack."

The presidents before Firth, Martin Devereaux, was fired in July, for misusing union money and refusing to cooperate with probers. Devereaux had replaced John Greaney, who was fired on August 10, 2009 after being indicted with nine others including, District Council of Carpenters chief Michael Forde.

In July, Forde, Greaney and seven other Local 608 officials pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges.