Although most Americans seem to think that the mob has been out of business for decades, one of the places mob activity seems to surface most often is in its intersection with the operations of unions and union locals, particularly in the northeast. Union operative Joseph Olivieri was found guilty the last week of October of perjuring himself by denying his ties to the Genovese crime family, and still faces four other charges, including conspiracy and fraud. Olivieri, ex-executive director of the Long Island-based Association of Wall, Ceiling & Carpentry Industries (WC&C), was the alleged point man in a racket enabling union officials and mobsters to siphon around $10 million from scheduled contributions to benefit plans sponsored by New York City-area unions. Olivieri’s Genovese associations included deceased capo Louis Moscatiello, and the mob-murdered Ralph Coppola. Apparently, efforts to obliterate union presence in some parts of the country equates to diminishing mob influence and corruption as well.
