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Union Facts

Operating Engineers, Local 14

Guilty Pleas

Office of Labor-Management Enforcement

The Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) conducts both civil and criminal investigations of alleged violations of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) and related laws.

These investigations by OLMS District Offices involve issues such as embezzlements of union funds, union officer elections, the filing of required reports by unions and others with OLMS, and the imposition of trusteeships over subordinate unions by a parent body. These investigations may result in legal enforcement actions.

DateDescription
May 7th, 2004On May 7, 2004, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Michael Weiss, a contractor, pled guilty to an information charging him with obstruction of justice and making a false statement. Weiss was involved in a $10 million fraud against the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) in the renovation of its new headquarters at 2 Broadway in New York City. In April 2003, an indictment was filed against seven individuals including a developer, officers from Operating Engineers Local 14 and members of Elevator Constructors, Local One. Weiss' guilty plea follows a joint investigation by the OLMS New York District Office and the FBI.
October 10th, 2003On October 10, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Matthew Downey, a representative of Elevator Constructor Local One, was sentenced to 78 months imprisonment and three years supervised release. He was ordered to pay a total of $2.6 million in restitution for fraud involving a no-show elevator operator scheme against Local One and to forfeit the sum of $800,000 for his involvement in the Local One racketeering enterprise. Downey, jointly and severally with other co-conspirators, was ordered to pay $7 million in restitution for fraud involving the 2 Broadway Project. On February 5, 2002, Downey was indicted for unlawful activity involving Elevator Constructors Local One. Additionally, there were 27 members of Local One, including two business agents, indicted for their involvement in the no-show scheme at 19 different construction sites in New York City. On April 16, 2002, in a separate indictment, Downey was charged, along with seven other individuals (including the developer of the 2 Broadway Project, the Operating Engineers Local 14 treasurer, and Elevator Constructor Local One representatives), for defrauding the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority and ZAR Realty of more than $10 million in construction money that was intended for vertical transportation costs on the 2 Broadway project. On April 24, 2003, Downey pled guilty to various charges in both indictments. The guilty plea and sentence follow a joint investigation by the OLMS New York District Office and the FBI.
September 12th, 2003On September 12, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, James Roemer, former treasurer of Operating Engineers Local 14, was sentenced to 41 months imprisonment and three years probation for conspiracy to receive, possess, and dispose of money obtained by fraud and transported across state lines; making and receiving unlawful labor payments; engaging in unlawful monetary transactions; obstruction of justice; conspiracy to defraud the United States; and tax evasion. He was ordered to pay a total of $2.7 million in restitution and to forfeit $800,000 to the United States Government within 90 days of his guilty plea. He had been indicted on April 16, 2002, along with seven other individuals, including the developer of the 2 Broadway Project and Elevator Constructor Local One representatives, for illegal activity relating to defrauding the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority and ZAR Realty of more than $10 million in construction money that was intended for vertical transportation costs on the 2 Broadway project. On April 3, 2003, Roemer pled guilty to the charges following a joint investigation by the OLMS New York District Office and the FBI.
April 11th, 2003On April 11, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Morris Diminno, a former representative of Operating Engineers Local 14, pled guilty to conspiracy to receive, possess and dispose of money obtained by fraud and transported across state lines, unlawful labor payment, engaging in an unlawful monetary transaction, and obstruction of justice. He agreed to forfeit $800,000 to the United States Government within 90 days from various assets. He had been indicted on April 16, 2002 on charges relating to fraud against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and ZAR Realty in connection with the renovation of MTA headquarters. The charges had been brought following a joint investigation by the OLMS New York District Office and the FBI.
June 4th, 2002On June 4, 2002, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Edward Carroll, vice president of 2 BW Development Corporation, pled guilty to an information charging him with obstruction of justice in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1503 and 3551. The charges were filed in connection with false information that he provided to a Federal grand jury. This prosecution resulted from a case relating to the April 16, 2002, indictment of seven individuals involved in a $10 million fraud against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the renovation of their new headquarters at 2 Broadway in lower Manhattan. The seven individuals included a developer, union officials from Operating Engineers Local 14, and members of Elevator Constructors, Local One, as well as two other individuals. This money was intended for vertical transportation costs relating to Elevator Constructors, Local One and Operating Engineers, Local 14 elevator operators. A substantial amount went to Frederick Contini, owner of 2BW Development, in the form of cash kickbacks for his participation in the scheme. Carroll, who was partners with Contini, submitted false invoices to the MTA from a subcontractor known as Links. These invoices purporting to be from Links totaled in excess of $13 million and were prepared by Carroll under the direction of Contini. When asked questions concerning the handling of Links invoices, Carroll misled the grand jury by leading it to believe that Links invoices had been handled like other invoices in the normal course of business. The charges were brought following a joint investigation by the OLMS New York District Office, the FBI, and the IRS.