Unions under 5 family control

We all know mafia infiltration in the Unions isn't as prevalent anymore and that's a good thing. But they are still there in some of them and probably won't ever be completely. For conversations sake, if anyone has any info on Unions that we KNOW to be under sway of the five families please share. One example I can think of is ILA local 1235 has been Genovese run for years and Carpenters Union 608. Any others for the Gambino's, Lucchese's, Bonanno's and Colombo's?

These are the unions, etc. the NY families have been involved with in cases since 2000.


Genovese Family
Carpenters Union Local 11, 20, 45, 157, 608, 926, 964
New York District Council of Carpenters
Association of Wall-Ceiling & Carpentry Industries
Amalgamated Carpenters and Joiners Union
Operative Plasterers & Cement Masons Union Local 530, 780
Operative Plasterers & Cement Workers Union Local 780
International Union of Journeyman & Allied Trades Local 124, 713
International Union of Operating Engineers Locals 14, 15
United Union of Roofers, Water Proofers & Allied Workers Local 8
Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Union Local 7
International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 1
Elecrical Workers Union Local 3
Teamsters Local 701, 813, 1181
ILA Local 824, 1235, 1478, 1588, 1804-1, 1922, 1922-1, 2062
Metropolitan Marine Maintenance Contractors Association
United Food & Commerical Workers Union Local 348, 1262
Bakery, Confectionary, and Tobacco Workers Union Local 102
Building Service Workers Union Local 32 B/J
Novelty and Production Workers Union Local 148
Laborers Local 734
HEREU Local 69
New York Central Labor Council


Gambino Family
Laborers Local 79, 325, 731, 1018, 1153
International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 1
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 14, 825
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters Local 638
Teamsters Union Local 282, 854
ILA Local 1, 1814
United Plant & Production Workers Union Local 175
Building Service Workers Union Local 32 B/J
United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 305
New York Sanitation Department


Lucchese Family
Laborers Local 20, 29, 66, 79
Carpenters Local 608
Bricklayers Local 1
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825
Teamsters Local 806, 282
New York Department of Buildings
United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 348
Communication Workers Local 14170


Colombo Family
International Union of Operating Engineers Locals 14, 15, 137
Laborers Local 6A
Teamsters Local 282
Production Workers Union Local 400

Thanks Ivy as always. Do you know anything about how many of these Unions are still under mob sway?

I made that list as such because all we can really do is look at recent history. Unless somebody is a fed doing the investigating, a union guy who's having to deal with the mob, or a mobster himself, there's no way to really say what's going on at present.

That said, some unions are easier to guess about then others. Only a fool would say the Genovese family doesn't still have sway over some of the ILA locals on the New Jersey waterfront or some locals in the Carpenters Union. The Amalgamated Carpenters & Joiners Union is certainly under mob control, as it was basically created by the Genovese family as a reaction to federal attacks against their control of the Carpenters Union. Certain Operating Engineers Union locals are also likely to still have mob influence, as they have been among the most mob-infested in recent years. It's also a good bet some Laborers locals are still influenced by a few of the families. After the January 2011 indictment against the Colombo's control of Laborers Local 6A, an internal FBI memo the following June claimed the Gambino and Lucchese families met to discuss a possible takeover of the local.

I think most have been driven out. All the indictments and trials of past years had to have some effect.

No bonnanos?

BONNANO were not allowed, because of drug dealing..!they were gansters and said f*&^k off we do what we want..and they did

Definitely not most jace. Theres still a good amount of their influence in the unions they managed to hold onto. It isn't the old days where they had a universal grip on them, but make no mistake they're still there

Who stole from like a police union pension fund? Hahahaha thats the only ways these guys can fight back

Who the hell robbed a police pension fund? Didn't the west side create a front for their union infiltration like Ivy siad.?

What the amalgamated such and such? Or the DOC?

The amalgamated thing

Laborers local 6A I think was taken over by the lucchese and gambino families btw

Originally Posted By: IvyLeague

Genovese Family
Carpenters Union Local 11, 20, 45, 157, 608, 926, 964
New York District Council of Carpenters
Association of Wall-Ceiling & Carpentry Industries
Amalgamated Carpenters and Joiners Union
Operative Plasterers & Cement Masons Union Local 530, 780
Operative Plasterers & Cement Workers Union Local 780
International Union of Journeyman & Allied Trades Local 124, 713
International Union of Operating Engineers Locals 14, 15
United Union of Roofers, Water Proofers & Allied Workers Local 8
Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Union Local 7
International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 1
Elecrical Workers Union Local 3
Teamsters Local 701, 813, 1181
ILA Local 824, 1235, 1478, 1588, 1804-1, 1922, 1922-1, 2062
Metropolitan Marine Maintenance Contractors Association
United Food & Commerical Workers Union Local 348, 1262
Bakery, Confectionary, and Tobacco Workers Union Local 102
Building Service Workers Union Local 32 B/J
Novelty and Production Workers Union Local 148
Laborers Local 734
HEREU Local 69
New York Central Labor Council

Wow...and we still wonder why they are #1.
Can't imagine the cash these unions put into their pockets.

Yeah where are the Bonannos? They have to have at least a couple union's

That was the Colombos, including Frank Persico, back in the big June 2001 case that charged members and associates of all the NY families. They were using kickbacks to skim from te Detective’s Endowment Association, as well as Production Workers Local 400 and Operating Engineers Local 137.



Amalgamated Carpenters & Joiners Union



As I said above, the FBI memo said a representative from the Gambino family met with a Lucchese captain and some soldiers to discuss taking it over. I guess time will tell if it happened or not.



Most of the Bonanno family's union involvement didn't continue past the 1960's, which coincidentally enough, was when Joe Bonanno was kicked out and the family had a lot of internal problems. From then on, the family always seemed to be on the outside as far as the unions, including ones involving multiple families, were concerned. The only exceptions were Teamsters Local 814 (the Movers Union) , which they lost control of after an indictment came down in the 1980's, and the rackets they had at the NY Post, which included the union that represented the newspaper delivery drivers. In recent years, the Bonannos have had some involvement with a few construction companies here and there but really nothing to do with the unions themselves.

They are still there, but union membership is more aware of any influence, and unlike older times, more willing to come forward and complain. The influence is much less than 1970-1990 time period.

I find that very believable. Were they also kept out of commission meetings?

No, they still had a seat on the Commission after Joe Bonanno was kicked out but it seems they were squeezed out of the labor union rackets, which included a lot of joint-family operations. The Bonannos lost their seat on the Commission in 1979, albeit temporarily of course. Their excessive involvement in narcotics may have been one reason but, according to Jerry Capeci, it had more to do with the family not being unified and the much disputed reign of Carmine Galante. The revelation a couple years later of Pistone infiltrating the family didn't help either. The family didn't regain it's seat until the 1990's when Massino became boss.

Massino have any unions? What the hell made him so powerful?

brasco was the big thing after joe b tried to take over..no commission voting..

No, he didn't. In fact, he even made the remark that "We (the Bonannos) really have nothing to do with the unions or construction."

Ironically, the Bonanno family's lack of involvement in the unions protected them. It spared them being caught up in a number of labor racketeering cases that involved the other families working together. And, of course, the Bonanno also benefited from the FBI not considering them a big priority. In the early 1990's, the Bonanno and Colombo squads were combined and the Bonannos had about a decade of relatively little FBI pressure. This enabled them to regroup and rebuild.

At one point, he was considered the top boss but that was only because he was the only official boss left on the street. That's why he chaired that Commission meeting. Not because he had more clout than Chin, Gotti, Amuso, or Persico.

So what exactly did the bonannos do if they didn't have anything to do with unions or construction? That's where a great majority of the families get their money even the Colombos

Contrary to what some have been saying here, sports betting is still the mob's #1 money maker over all. The Bonannos didn't have any union involvement but they were and are major players in the traditional rackets - gambling, loansharking, extortion, drug trafficking, etc. They were also big into new things like stock fraud, though Massino kept the family from becoming involved in the gas tax scam.

Thanks to Massino however the Bonanno's fell from grace once more. I wonder how they keep it all together with their hierarchy getting pinched all the time

Since 2000...


Genovese Family
8 administration members indicted
23 captains or acting captains indicted
45 soldiers indicted


Gambino Family
8 administration members indicted
27 captains or acting captains indicted
59 soldiers indicted


Lucchese Family
5 administration members indicted
12 captains or acting captains indicted
29 soldiers indicted


Colombo Family
12 administration members indicted
10 captains or acting captains indicted
17 soldiers indicted


Bonanno Family
11 administration members indicted
25 captains or acting captains indicted
38 soldiers indicted

That's a fair statement. The '70s thru the early '90s were the "Golden Age" of union corruption. They're still there, and always will be to a degree, but the federal mandates have made it much tougher.

You don't think the 1950's and 1960's would fit into that "Golden Age?"

Of course, Ivy. It's just that Jace specifically mentioned the '70s thru the '90s, so that's how I replied .

But now that you mention it, it does bring the Teamsters to mind (you know it always does with me). Many people believe (myself included) that the Teamsters were even more corrupt under Fitzimmons than they were under Hoffa. And Fitz did fit that time frame (the late '60s thru the early '80s).

And for the record, Jackie Presser (who served as President for most of the '80s) was no Saint, either. That guy was some piece of fucking work, believe me when I tell you .

Oh, absolutely. From what I've read, Fitzimmons knew his place and was the classic "yes man." I always got the impression that Hoffa was harder to control and had an uneasy partnership with the mob; and only because he had to. It's no mystery why they didn't want Hoffa taking over again.



Regarding Presser, there's a very good book from his former assistant called Devil's Pact: Inside the World of the Teamsters Union.

I think early nineties is when the Feds started to break these guys grip and it's been slowly declining ever since

Yes, 1992 was the year that really got the ball rolling.

It all started with the Teamsters. The info the Sammy gave the Feds about Local 813 beginning in late 1991, had Bernie Adelstein out of office by the fall of 1992. After more than fifty years running the local, Gravano's testimony unseated him in less than a year. And the information which led to Adelstein's ouster is what led to Jimmy Brown finally getting pinched on a murder that the Feds never would have convicted him of otherwise.

Getting Jimmy Brown out of carting and out of the union (he was Adelstein's Rabbi since forever) was a huge blow to the New York Teamsters. It had a trickle effect. Local 813, Local 456, Local 282, and on and on. Eventually the Federal mandates would go nationwide. Today the mob getting next to a big time Teamster local is next to impossible because of those mandates. And if it does happen in a rare case, it won't last long. When you can ban a guy from the union for life because he "brought reproach upon himself" by virtue of having had dinner with a guy once twenty years ago, you know the deck is stacked.

That's what gave the Feds the gumption to eventually go after the other unions. The conventional wisdom being that if you can unseat the mob from the Teamsters, which at one time was unthinkable, you could eventually chase them from the other unions as well. But they've proven themselves to be harder to remove from the waterfront and the various laborer's locals (carpenters, steamfitters, etc.). In my opinion that's because the wiseguys weren't as greedy with those locals as they were with the Teamsters. They treated the pension fund like it was their own private lending tree, and they paid the price for it.

good post PB

Thanks, Cheech .

I'm assuming the only reason the mob remains in the laborers, waterfront and construction unions is because the level of corruption that goes on in those are smaller and harder to detect. That right PB?