There are few things quite like a mass arrest to serve as a reminder of the Mafia's continuing presence in American life. The mob roundup last Thursday morning, the largest in U.S. history, at once underscores the large dent that the Justice Department has been making in organized crime and how deeply entrenched so many organized crime operations have been. Some 800 FBI agents, U.S. marshals, state police and New York City cops fanned out and arrested nearly 120 wise guys and associates named in an 82-page, 16-count indictment for acts of murder, racketeering, money-laundering, loan-sharking, extortion and other offenses going back three decades. The takedown includes crime soldiers from each of New York's "Five Families," plus the DeCavalcante (Northern New Jersey) and Patriarca (New England) families. A number of the arrestees were heavily involved in labor corruption.
Kevin Clor's intentions may have been good, but members of the union he represented might not be impressed. Clor, formerly general counsel for New York State Thruway Employees Local 72, 
On November 1, John Giannone, former vice president of International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 706 in Chicago, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois with an information count for embezzlement of $11,900 in union funds. The charge follows an investigation of the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
New York City residents finally are digging out of a devastating post-Christmas blizzard, aided by unexpectedly warmer weather. But a growing number are sounding as if they want to use their shovels against union snowplow workers and their supervisors. Various news outlets have reported that leaders of the Service Employees-affiliated Sanitation Officers Association ordered their Teamsters-affiliated work crews to slack off as a protest against recent City Department of Sanitation budget cuts and demotions. The apparent work slowdown not only paralyzed traffic, but also led to two deaths and any number of commuters trapped overnight in subway cars. On the hot seat, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has demanded, and is getting, a full investigation. Union leaders deny culpability, insisting fiscal austerity had reduced manpower. But evidence appears to undercut such claims.
Mark Tracy had two union credit cards. He's no doubt wishing he was more prudent in the way he used them. Tracy, formerly secretary-treasurer of International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 533, pleaded guilty on December 6 in U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada to embezzling about $125,000 in union funds over a three-year period. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
On July 15, Stacey Spalding, former bookkeeper for Local 215 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana to one year at a work release facility and two years probation for embezzling $29,516 from the Evansville union. She also will have to pay $29,499 in restitution to Zurich Insurance of North America, $1,597 in restitution to various 401(k) accounts, and $100 in court fees. She had pleaded guilty in May. The guilty plea and sentencing follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
