Head of largest municipal labor council arrested in N.Y.
By Pat Milton Associated Press
NEW YORK - A seven-term Democratic state assemblyman who is president of the nation's largest municipal labor council was arrested on racketeering charges yesterday, accused of stealing more than $2.2 million from the state, labor unions, and even a Little League fund.
Brian M. McLaughlin, 54, was accused in an indictment of teaming with associates to steal money from several organizations in which he held official positions. They allegedly stole money from labor unions, the state of New York, and not-for-profit groups.
McLaughlin surrendered and was released on $250,000 bail. He has been under investigation for several years. If he were convicted, his sentence could theoretically be 500 years in prison. McLaughlin and his attorney, Jonathan Bach, declined to comment as they hastily left U.S. District Court in Manhattan and entered a waiting sedan.
The million-member labor council is an umbrella group of unions that has supported Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
"The Midas touch turned everything into gold; the McLaughlin touch made money disappear - into his pockets," said Andrew Arena, special agent in charge of the FBI's New York criminal division.
"This case lends new meaning to the term 'hand in the till,' " U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia agreed.
According to a 186-page indictment unsealed yesterday, McLaughlin and others engaged in racketeering from 1995 through 2006 by using union money to pay personal expenses, including credit card bills, rent, and home improvements.
Garcia said union members whose dues were siphoned off by McLaughlin and his friends suffered the most, financially and with hits to their dignity as he turned them into a private workforce available for major construction projects or to change a light bulb.
McLaughlin directed union members to take his dog to the doctor, hang Christmas lights, shovel snow, clean out a barn, and look for rodents in his basement, the prosecutor said. Sometimes, he added, they were called upon to deliver money to his friends.
Garcia said McLaughlin lived lavishly with his stolen money, buying his wife an $80,000 Mercedes Benz and using other money for a country club membership, a rehearsal dinner for his son's wedding, a wide-screen plasma television, and renovations on his Long Island home in Nissequoque near the Hamptons. Other money went to pay rent on Albany and Queens residences and to pay off personal credit bills, Garcia said.
"Everyone should keep in mind that Brian McLaughlin has not been convicted of a crime, and will be afforded the opportunity to respond to and defend himself against these allegations," said Denis M. Hughes, chairman of the Central Labor Council executive board.
The indictment accused McLaughlin of working with others to obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal payments and other things of value from companies in the street-lighting and traffic-signal industry. McLaughlin is the only one named in the indictment.
The indictment accused McLaughlin of committing mail fraud, embezzlement, money laundering and labor bribery by diverting money from various funds he controlled or had access to for his own use.
Among the funds identified by the indictment were McLaughlin's political campaign committee, union accounts meant to provide benefits for union members, and even contributions meant to support a Little League baseball program.
The indictment said McLaughlin and others misappropriated state funds by creating fictitious positions on his legislative staff, by providing McLaughlin with a share of salary for one purported employee, and by submitting false expense forms.
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