PHILADELPHIA -- Federal authorities Wednesday filed suit to seize control of the scandal-plagued Philadelphia Roofers Union and prohibit its top officials from ever again holding leadership positions.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, asked that a trustee be appointed to run the daily affairs of Roofers Union Local 30-30b and 'rid the union of corrupt and criminal influences,' said U.S. Attorney Edward Dennis Jr.
The action came a week after union boss Stephen Traitz Jr. and 12 other current or former officials of the local were convicted of a wide range of racketeering charges, including bribing judges and other public officials.
'The evidence is overwhelming that the Roofers Union has been used and corrupted by unscrupulous men for illegal purposes for a significant part of its existence,' Dennis told a news conference.
'Without strong remedial measures, it is unlikely that the union will extricate itself of such a long history of illegal conduct,' he said.
Dennis said the trustee would remain in control 'until the court is satisfied that the union is no longer being operated as a racketeering or corrupt organization.'
The civil action is only the fourth such lawsuit filed by federal prosecutors against a labor union. The first federal takeover of a union occurred in June 1986, when a U.S. District Judge in Newark ordered Teamsters Union Local 560 placed under a federal trustee.
Dennis denied union accusations he was engaging in 'union busting,' saying that the Roofers Union would continue to act as the legal representative for local roofers in contract negotiations.
Furthermore, the lawsuit 'does not contend that every member of the Roofers Union is a racketeer or a criminal,' he said.
The convictions for Traitz, his two sons and 10 other current or former union officials were handed down last Monday following a two-month trial.
In addition to bribing nearly 50 judges and other public officials, the union members also collected debts for the mob and used threats and violence to extort money from roofing contractors.
Federal and state investigations into the Roofers scandal also have resulted in criminal charges against four Philadelphia judges and the suspension of 11 others.
To prevent the union from reverting to its old ways, the lawsuit asked for an injunction barring Traitz and the 12 other convicted union members from ever again holding office in the union.
The suit also asked that the union itself be 'enjoined from engaging in bribery, the collection of unlawful debts, beatings and assaults to extort unlawful payments from contractors, arson and destruction of property, and aiding and abetting the Mafia,' Dennis said.
