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Despite the fact that Laborers Local 91 was being investigated by a grand jury that would quickly move to indict its top leadership on federal charges of racketeering and extortion, there were still plenty of politicians ready to take the union's money during the last election cycle.
But those who benefited most financially from the Local 91 Political Action Fund (PAF) during the last three-month reporting period were its accountants and vendors, along with the attorneys who now represent many of the embattled union's indicted leaders.
Records filed on April 16 at the Niagara County Board of Elections show that, while the fund spent $8,525 on operating expenses and professional help, it distributed just $7,800 to 15 individual candidates, in addition to another $2,350 to various political organizations.
Several Niagara County politicians, including District Attorney Matt Murphy and Sheriff Tom Beilein, have refused Local 91's money for years, while a few opted out more recently. For Francine DelMonte, the last straw came on Nov. 28 of last year, when three union members were arrested following an altercation with a state highway employee.
"I told my people, 'That's it,'" she said. "No more. The whole thing was just getting way out of hand."
State Sen. George Maziarz had cut ties with the Laborers earlier, on Nov. 6, after then-county Republican Chairman Henry Wojtaszek publicly recommended that none of his party's candidates accept the union's money.
And the union's PAF has a lot of money, records show. As of Jan.1 of this year, the fund had a bankroll of $266,466. Since Local 91 was taken over by the Laborers International Union of North America following the May 17 arrests of 14 top local leaders, auditors have been poring over the funds records to see whether there have been any misappropriations.
Federal law provides for fines of up to $10,000 and imprisonment for up to one year for the submission of false, erroneous or incomplete information to the Board of Elections.
The most recent documents are signed, as they have been for several years, by Local 91 PAF Treasurer Dominick Dellaccio, a retired former leader of the union who was one of those indicted.
Among the candidates, the largest payout, $2,000, went to Richard Horn, a Niagara Falls firefighter who ran unsuccessfully against county Legislator Sam Granieri in November.
The race caused a rift among city Democrats, as Horn has always been a strong party supporter while Granieri is a converted Republican.
Still, Granieri won the endorsement of both the city and county Democratic committees, much to the dismay of many in the rank-and-file.
School Board Member and retired Laborer Mark Zito received $1,000 from the fund in his successful bid for re-election. Zito has been a strong public advocate for the position that the vast majority of Local 91's nearly 700 members are honest, hard-working people who have never been involved in any of the activities that led to the indictments.
He is seen by some as a logical future leader of the union, if and when the International decides to once again allow it to be controlled locally.
Despite the fact that he was running unopposed, county Legislator Dennis Virtuoso received $500 from the fund, as did Republican Dominick Luna, who ran unsuccessfully for the Legislature against incumbent Dan Mocniak.
Louis Fazzolari, a Gasport native who ran and lost for county Legislature, also received $500 from the fund, the records show.
In the Niagara Falls municipal elections, City Court Judge Robert Restaino's campaign received a total of $550 from the Laborers. Under state law, candidates for judicial posts are not permitted to know who contributes to their campaigns.
Additionally, city Councilman Charles Walker, the only incumbent facing a challenge in November, received $300 from the fund.
One other notable area politician who received aid from the soon-to-be-tainted union was Jeffrey Mis (who ran unsuccessfully against Wojtaszek for the post of North Tonawanda city attorney), who took $200 from the fund.
But as has been seen in other Local 91 PAF filings, nearly half the disbursements, $8,525, went to overhead.
A total of $1,936 was paid to Lipsitz, Green, Fahringer, Roll, Salisbury & Cambria, the law firm currently representing indicted union boss Michael "Butch" Quarcini and a number of other defendants in the federal case. Recently, prosecutors unsuccessfully attempted to have the firm's lawyers removed from the case on the grounds of their long association with the Laborers.
Another $1,163 went to Simpson, Kling, Quarantillo & Frosolone, a Niagara Falls accounting firm.
A total of $1,650 went to JBM Computer Consultants of Buffalo for computer services, while another $1,546 went to Gonka Graphics in North Tonawanda for the printing of Christmas cards, records show.
Other Local 91 funds, including the Pension and Welfare funds, took in a reported $1,339 for the PAF, while general operating expenses amounted to $891.
Investigators have told the Reporter on numerous occasions that unusually high overhead costs -- in many of the quarterly Board of Elections reports amounting to more than 50 percent of the total disbursements -- have raised a red flag over the Local 91 PAF and its activities.
"This is something that's being looked at very carefully," one lawman said.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | July 30 2002 |