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James Cahill, the former president of the organization that represents more than 200,000 unionized construction workers, along with 10 other defendants entered guilty pleas for the offenses in the conspiracy that took place from about October 2018 to about October 2020, Damian Williams, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Raymond Tierney, the District attorney for Suffolk County, announced on Tuesday, Dec. 13.
“These convictions highlight a shocking level of corruption among powerful labor officials in New York State," Tierney said. "Through their greed and self-dealing, these defendants betrayed the hard-working members of their respective unions, and undermined the protections meant to be afforded by organized labor."
Tierney said as part of the conspiracy, Cahill accepted about $44,500 from a contractor who had projects and potential projects within the region.
As part of his guilty plea, he also admitted he accepted about $100,000 in additional bribes from the contractor, according to the announcement.
The other defendants also accepted thousands, and in some cases tens of thousands, of dollars in bribes from the contractor, the DA's Office said.
The contractor would request favorable action in exchange for the bribes, including that the union would support the contractor's bids on projects and consider signing labor agreements the contractor viewed as favorable, such as agreements that paid union workers lower rates than their experience merited.
The contractor also requested the union permit them to falsely claim to developers that the contractor employed union workers, the DA's Office said.
The DA's Office the following defendants were involved in the scheme:
- James Cahill was convicted of honest services fraud conspiracy and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
- Christopher Kraft was convicted of honest services fraud conspiracy and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
- Patrick Hill was convicted of honest services fraud conspiracy and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
- Matthew Norton was convicted of Taft-Hartley Act violation (felony) and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
- William Brian Wangerman was convicted of Taft-Hartley Act violation (felony) and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison
- Kevin McCarron was convicted of Taft-Hartley Act violation (misdemeanor) and faces a maximum penalty of 12 months in prison.
- Jeremy Sheeran was convicted of Taft-Hartley Act violation (felony) and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
- Andrew McKeon was convicted of Taft-Hartley Act violation (felony) and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
- Robert Egan was convicted of Taft-Hartley Act violation (felony) and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
- Scott Roche was convicted of Taft-Hartley Act violation (misdemeanor) and was sentenced on Tuesday, Dec. 6, to two years’ probation and a $10,000 fine.
- Arthur Gipson was convicted of Taft-Hartley Act violation (felony) and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
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