The feds had him dead to rights, but the startling turn of events Friday in the federal fraud trial of Newfane dentist Scott Geise may have repercussions that reverberate all the way to Niagara Falls, and the Seneca Avenue headquarters of Laborers Local 91 here.
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According to a 65-count federal indictment handed down in July 2008, Geise ran a lucrative side business processing phony claims for Local 91 members, billing both private insurance companies and the union's welfare fund for dental work that was never performed. The fraudulent activity occurred between September 2002 and November 2006, according to the indictment.
Geise vehemently denied any impropriety, telling local media outlets that, if anything, he was guilty of falling in with the wrong people, and that any illegal activity originating at his Newfane office had been done by others.
He seemed to be pointing a finger at Local 91 member Tony Fazzolari, whose wife, Wendy, worked as a receptionist for Geise. Fazzolari was a partner in a private contracting business with convicted labor racketeer and stool pigeon Robert Malvestuto Jr. It is believed that Fazzolari, who was sentenced to a year's probation after pleading guilty to charges of embezzling $6,970 from the union welfare fund, provided evidence against Geise in return for a lighter sentence.
Malvestuto Jr., who wore an FBI wire and was willing to rat out any and all of his union brothers in return for less jail time on charges relating to the bombing of a house occupied by non-union workers, is now serving a 51-month sentence in federal prison and continuing to cooperate with the feds. He gave evidence against Fazzolari, Geise, former union president Mark Congi, who headed Local 91's notorious "Goon Squad," Local 91 sergeant-at-arms Randy Butler, who was sentenced as the second bomb-thrower in the Town of Niagara case, and Laborers executive board member Patrick McKeown.
Prior to his indictment, Malvestuto was elected president of Local 91 on a "reform" ticket that also included current Laborers Business Agent Rob Connolly and current Assistant Business Agent Rico Liberale. Four weeks from now, Connolly and Liberale will be facing a highly organized campaign to unseat them from their powerful positions in the local.
Under rules set up by the Laborers International Union of North America, an election has to be held among union membership no later than May 25. Geise's sudden guilty plea, which came two days into what was expected to be a month-long trial, couldn't have come at a worse time for Liberale and Connolly.
Numerous Local 91 members, both active workers and retirees, told the Niagara Falls Reporter last week that dissatisfaction with the current regime has been growing steadily over the years, and particularly since 2007, when construction of a much ballyhooed $1 million training center was announced.
Three years have passed since then. The promised construction has not taken place, and rank-and-file Laborers blame Connolly and Liberale for the delays. Top officials at the International who enthusiastically signed off on the project are disappointed with the local for apparently reneging on its promises.
Additionally, several local contractors have contacted the FBI in recent years concerning the Local 91 leadership's return to the heavy-handed pressure tactics that got the union in trouble to begin with.
In all, 18 union thugs were convicted on various counts, and several of those remain in federal prison today. One of those, Albert Celeste, is scheduled to be released from federal prison and placed in a Buffalo halfway house on May 5. Celeste was accused of several counts related to racketeering and extortion.
Liberale was named on the Justice Department list of unindicted co-conspirators participating in violent episodes that led to the 2002 arrests and subsequent convictions of most of the union's then-management. Federal attorneys said at the time that Liberale couldn't be prosecuted because the statute of limitations had expired on the violent incidents he was involved in.
If Geise's plea is an indication of his willingness to testify about the union officials and members who colluded with him in the insurance fraud, the impact on the election could be enormous. He is facing five years in prison and fines of $250,000 when he is sentenced, and has told close associates he wants to avoid jail time at all costs.
"What they're looking at now is who was in charge of overseeing these fraudulent claims, who was really running the union's welfare fund?" said one top lawman familiar with the case. "Somebody put their stamp of approval on these obviously fraudulent claims, and that seems to be where the case is headed now. If the FBI can get the dentist to cooperate, we might see another round of indictments relative to the Laborers here."
Both Connolly and Liberale were in office during much of the period Geise was running his insurance scam, and documents made available to the Niagara Falls Reporter last week show that, during the period in question, the welfare fund board members included Connolly, Liberale, Fazzolari, Malvestuto, Ronny DeGrillo, Mark Congi and the late Michael "Butch" Quarcini, who ran Local 91 with an iron fist prior to his 2002 arrest.
In the early stages, at least, the Geise scam must have seemed like relatively small potatoes to the union, which was then involved in extortion on a massive scale. Bombings, beatings, violent picket lines, and theft and vandalism at area construction sites made life difficult and often dangerous for anyone trying to build anything in Niagara County without acceding to Local 91's extortionate demands.
Many, if not most, political officeholders here accepted generous contributions from the union's political action committees and individual members, money repaid with the influence it bought. Prior to the U.S. Justice Department taking an interest in Local 91, few members were ever prosecuted, and those who were received little in the way of punishment.
A task force was assembled consisting of federal agents working alongside state, county and municipal law enforcement personnel to gather evidence on the violent cadre responsible for the union's decades-long reign of terror. In all, out of a membership of around 700, 18 officers and rank-and-file Local 91 Laborers were convicted on a wide array of federal charges.
Although Geise's sentencing has been scheduled for June 14, it is likely to be delayed, particularly if the dentist agrees to testify against others involved in the case.
Geise was well known for his political connections in the eastern end of the county, and he was able to purchase Lockport's old city hall on Pine Street in 2004. Two years later, he and a partner received a sizable state grant to buy an old wooden schooner, the Ellida, which he said would be docked in Olcott as an attraction. Instead, the Ellida was moved to St. Petersburg, Fla., where it is used for municipal festivals and corporate functions.
The disgraced dentist was a pillar of the community in Newfane, where he created his family practice dental center on Main Street out of what had been a bankrupt appliance store and two derelict houses. In front of the complex, he erected a gazebo, which hosts band concerts throughout the summer and has become the pride and joy of the town. He is a Gulf War veteran and a former star football player at Hobart College who tried out for the Buffalo Bills in 1983.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | March 9, 2010 |