Arthur Coffey

Federal Judge Throws Out RICO Suit; Questions Remain

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 11/19/2007 - 01:00

The leaders of the International Longshoremen’s Association might not have uncorked any champagne at their Lower Manhattan headquarters, but it’s unlikely they had seen happier times.  On November 1, U.S. District Judge I. Leo Glasser announced his dismissal of the Justice Department’s civil racketeering suit against them.  In a 109-page decision, Judge Glasser stated that the government’s complaint failed to “sufficiently specify” its rationale for applying the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act to the alleged crimes.  He wrote:  “This court will not abet the government’s effort to stretch the concept of a racketeering enterprise beyond all recognition in order to bring various otherwise disinterested parties within its scope, even for the worthwhile purpose of combating the influence of organized crime on the waterfront.” 

Rift Between Top Officials Could Strengthen Feds’ Case

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 06/19/2006 - 00:00

Bad blood always has run through the top echelons of the International Longshoremen’s Association.  But the latest power struggle could wind up sinking its entire leadership.  Last summer federal prosecutors filed a civil RICO suit in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Thug’s Testimony for Prosecutors Influenced Jury Acquittals

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 12/05/2005 - 01:00

At first reading, it seems like a travesty of justice.  But the acquittals of all three defendants in the recent criminal trial of two highly-paid ranking Longshoremen officials and an underworld associate should be placed in context.  The jury in that Brooklyn, N.Y.

Union Officials, Mobster Found Not Guilty; Questions Remain

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 12/05/2005 - 01:00

In the end, the jury wasn’t convinced.  But that hardly means the prosecution wasn’t convincing.  On Tuesday, November 8, a federal jury in Brooklyn, N.Y. acquitted all three defendants of conspiracy and fraud charges related to allegations they steered Longshoremen union benefit funds toward a mobbed-up pharmaceutical company.  The fortunate ones are:  Harold Daggett, the union’s assistant general organizer; Arthur Coffey, ILA vice president and Miami chieftain; and Lawrence Ricci, a reported Genovese crime family captain.  While the verdict was a clear victory for the union, nagging questions remain – like the whereabouts of Ricci.    

Two more Indictments Handed Down against FL and NY Bosses

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 08/02/2004 - 00:00

An indictment was unsealed in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the East. Dist. of N.Y. on July 27 charging 2 officials of the Intl. Longshoremen's Assn. -- alleged associates of the Genovese Family of La Cosa Nostra -- with extortion conspiracy aimed at placing Genovese associates as officers in the ILA, and controlling the operation of businesses on the piers in the N.Y., N.J. and south Fla.

 

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