Indictment: Rigged Union Elections — Teamsters, Chicago
Posted on September 22, 2007 at 6:00 am by WTH
Looks like dues aren’t the only thing that union officials steal. This time, the Teamsters local 743 president is indicted for stealing a 2004 election by rigging votes to keep himself and his pals in power.
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Indictment: 4 Rigged Union Votes
By Jeff Coen Tribune staff reporter
The acting president and three former representatives of one of the largest Teamsters locals in the country allegedly conspired to rig closely contested union elections to ensure an incumbent slate of officers won, according to charges made public Friday.
The four defendants, all once affiliated with Teamsters Local 743, were accused of diverting hundreds of official ballots to friends, relatives and confidants in two elections in 2004 instead of mailing them to union members, the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago said Friday. The ballots were then cast for the Unity Slate to ensure its candidates were re-elected, the indictment alleged.
Among those charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and theft was Richard Lopez, the secretary-treasurer of Local 743 until he rose to president a week ago. He was on the slate of incumbents re-elected in 2004, authorities said.
Two former Local 743 business agents, Mark Jones, 48, of Joliet and Cassandra Mosley, 51, of Gary, and a former organizer, David Rodriguez, 35, of Chicago, also were indicted.
The local, based in Chicago, represents more than 12,000 warehouse, office, medical and service workers.
A call to Lopez’s union office was not returned Friday, but his lawyer, Keith Spielfogel, called the indictment baseless. Jones’ lawyer, Phillip Turner, said his client was innocent. Lawyers for the other two couldn’t be reached for comment.
