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From the September/October 2004 issue of UDR #152
New
York Teamster charged:
RISE uncovers corruption before its demise
by Herman
Benson
In one of
its last acts before Edwin Stier dissolved the project, RISE uncovered
the derelictions of Anthony Rumore and brought the facts to the Independent
Review Board, the federal court-appointed body charged with exorcising
crime from the Teamsters union. Rumore is president of Joint Council 16
in New York and of the 3,900-member Local 812. He is charged before the
IRB with forcing his business agents to act as his bag men and as his
personal errand boys.
Two years
ago, Rumore faced earlier charges at the IRB when he was accused of inviting
Barry Feinstein to address an official Teamster gathering. Feinstein had
been ousted from the union on corruption charges and Rumore’s invitation
violated the IRB ruling barring Feinstein from participation in Teamster
affairs. For that violation, Rumore was suspended very briefly from office.
That trial cost him $88,000 in legal fees, and he was determined, it is
charged, to get that money back by squeezing it out of his defenseless
Local 812 membership.
Rumore stands
accused of ordering his business agents --- and not very gently --- to
put the arm on every member to kick in toward his "defense"
fund. Some members, understandably not enthusiastic, ducked. Rumore, according
to the charges, ordered the business agents to cancel arbitration hearings
on behalf of 17 members, some of whom faced discharge. They had failed
to contribute.
And Rumore
is accused of demanding even more from his suffering business agents.
His father, Louis Rumore, had been forced out of the union on charges
of membership in the Gambino crime family. At the IRB, Rumore is charged
with ordering BAs to drive Louis, now an old man, to his doctor’s
appointments. This would constitute a kind of double violation: consorting
with a barred individual and misusing union resources. Moreover, it is
charged, the BAs were turned into involuntary chauffeurs and handymen
for the whole Rumore family, driving around his wife and daughter on demand,
and doing chores around his house. It is not clear which the BAs resented
more: serving as bag men or as errand boys.
In its report
on this case, the IRB commends RISE for helping to bring these charges.
It is obvious now that when Hoffa first agreed to a RISE program, he did
not have that kind of role in mind.
Articles on
RISE and Teamster reform:
RISE
uncovers corruption before its demise (9/04-10/04)
RISE and Teamster reform at Cornell University (1/04-3/04)
Can the IBT police itself?(9/03-10/03)
The Transmogrification of
Teamsters Local 854(9/03-10/03)
Is Teamsters
Union safe for dissenters? An exchange (10/11 2002)
The vindication of Ron
Carey (12/1 2001-2002)
"The Fox and the
Chicken Coop" -- comments on the proposed Teamsters Ethics Code.
(3/4 2000)
"Some Modest
Proposals for a Teamster Code" (3/4 2000)
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