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Local Union Leaders Plead Guilty to Extortion
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Three members of Local 17 of the International Union of Operating Engineers have pleaded guilty to violating federal extortion laws and agreed to testify against their co-defendants in an upcoming trial.
The defendants, Carl A. Larson, 50, of Boston, New York, Michael Eddy, 44, of Gowanda, New York, and George DeWald, 50, of Springville, New York, face up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 each when they are sentenced in May 2014.
Larson, a former organizer for Local 17, admitted to participating in a campaign of threats, violence, and property destruction against non-union contractors in an effort to force them to sign collective bargaining agreements with the union. He specifically targeted an Orchard Park contractor and its owner, threatening them after the owner was stabbed by another Local 17 member.
Eddy, a member of Local 17, pleaded guilty to being part of a campaign of violence and intimidation against a Latham, New York contractor in 2005. He admitted to being present when members of Local 17 damaged a pickup truck and physically assaulted the contractor’s project manager.
DeWald, also a member of Local 17, admitted to participating in a campaign designed to force a Frankfort, New York contractor to sign a collective bargaining agreement with the union. He and several other Local 17 members caused over $240,000 in damage to equipment at the Chaffee Landfill in 2002 by sabotaging heavy machinery.
The three defendants have agreed to testify against seven remaining defendants, including former Local 17 business manager and president Mark Kirsch, at a trial scheduled to commence on January 7, 2014. The investigation of this case is being handled by the United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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