Review

Officer Address to the Delegates, October 18, 2012 Officers, delegates and members, as many of you know,

the United States Attorney has proposed that my tenure as Review Officer be extended by 18 months. The trustees of the Benefit Funds have agreed to the governments proposal. I understand that the proposition will be put to you tonight. Most of you also know that in the absence of an extension agreement between the District Council and the government, I will be filing a motion with the Court to extend my tenure. The United States Attorney will be doing the same. In the governments view, and in mine, an extension is necessary to insure that the goals of the Consent Decree and the Stipulation and Order are achieved. The District Council still faces grave challenges and must have the protection provided by judicial oversight as it continues to strengthen its political and business systems.
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The new District Council has restored its public

reputation and no doubt has the well-deserved respect of the industry. One of the clear results of this is that man-hours reported to the Benefit Funds are up. My office projects that hours for 2012 will exceed 18.5 million. Employers are not cheating you because they dare not try. However, the District Council is still a fledgling. When fully matured, it will surely soar to new heights. But now, it still faces grave dangers from external forces and risks from within. It still has problems to solve. There is much at stake, even the very future of the Union. I will of course, be available to answer any questions you might have about this, but I do intend to excuse myself from the room while you deliberate. Regardless of your decision, I feel that it is important that I share the following thoughts with you.

 I begin by telling you that it has been my great honor to

serve you. This undertaking has been more important, in my view, than any previous matter upon which I have worked, even more important than my efforts as an organized crime and rackets prosecutor whose work sent dozens of defendants to prison. I have immersed myself in this cause. I have shunted my

law practice to dedicate my time to do this job correctly, for it is imperative that this Union once and for all be removed from the control and influence of the racketeers and grafters, and fully achieve its noble purpose. Despite the problems you have faced, there is an

indisputable truth about this Union: yours is an honorable heritage -- born of wisdom, courage and fraternity. These are

qualities that are sorely lacking in too many aspects of society and of which you may be justly proud. The hardworking and dedicated members of this Union

deserve a rich harvest from their labor. That is why each one of you is here, why you chose to become involved in union governance. You all, as I do, believe in the imperative of organized labor and in keeping the District Council in the forefront of the labor movement. You have pledged yourselves to protecting the rights of

members, to finding good work, fighting for better wages and benefits, and safer working conditions. All of you here tonight, more than any other members, must use your energy, wisdom and vision to protect this Union, to make it more vital every day, and insure that it will provide for the needs of its members for decades to come. You must never tire in this

struggle and you must gain strength through your achievements. We are here, after all, in New York City, where labor

racketeering was born and has flourished for far too long; New York is of course the home of the five families, where Cosa Nostra has treated this and other unions as candy stores and fiefdoms and pummeled or bribed anyone who objected. And let us not forget the common cheaters. Here -- in The Big Apple -- the boodlers will shake your hand and look you in the eye -- then grab every one of your dollars that hasnt been locked up tightly. For decades, the minions of these gangsters and grafters

controlled the administration and governance of the District Council. You know all too well their legacy and the consequences of their tenure: millions of dollars in frauds on

the Benefit Funds, vile cronyism with hacks in key positions, misappropriations, indictments, arrests, and RICO cases. The membership has also paid an incalculable price, evident in its impact on so many: unemployment, discrimination, apathy and despair. Over the years, the Union has been subjected to all

manner of well-intentioned oversight through the Consent Decree, Job Referral Rules, the IRO, IIs, and UBC Supervision. In 2010, a Stipulation and Order was agreed upon by the District Council, the Benefit Funds and the United States Attorney and issued by the District Court. I was appointed by the Court to enforce the Consent Decree and the Stipulation and Order, which has one awesome, but simply stated objective: to eradicate corruption and racketeering as they affect Union Carpenters and Union employers.

As documented in my four reports to the Court, I have

endeavored to break this seemingly endless cycle of corruption and loss by employing strict and novel methods. Fumigation and reconstruction were in order. Tough love and zero tolerance were in order. Old methods that left this Union vulnerable to attack and fraud have been cast aside. Institutional change -- with new rules, new functions and safeguards -- has been realized and codified. Any lesser effort would have been doomed to failure. I did not take on this task seeking to make enemies,

though doubtless, I have. I did not take on this task seeking to make friends, though perhaps I have made a few. Above all, I am most grateful to have earned the respect of those members who appreciate what I have tried to do, and know that extraordinary problems require extraordinary solutions. To

those of you who have told me so, I must tell you how much that has meant to me, and I thank you. I recognize and applaud the progress that this institution

has made since the UBC supervision ended in January. True democracy, for the first time ever, has finally taken hold at the District Council. You have all accepted the responsibility to govern and conduct the business of this Council according to the highest standards of ethics and morality. Hard lessons have already been learned. Battles are being fought right now on many fronts -- in the field and in the courts -- and the officers of the Council surely appreciate, all too well, both the heavy burden and singular rewards of leadership. They have traveled the broad gulf between the theoretical and the actual, between the untested notions they espoused as candidates and the reality of problem solving as fiduciaries.

The field of engagement has been leveled. Traditional

power bases, sources of what some might call strength, whether from affiliation with gangsters -- or built through years of tainted political patronage -- no longer exist. The hotline to the wiseguys has been disconnected. The new leaders at the District Council must minister to their constituents by acts which demonstrate their sound judgment and integrity. They face an almost impossible challenge without your support and counsel. There are those of you in this delegate body who have

heard the sound of the horns and answered the urgent call to duty, who know that you must rise to the occasion and show by your example what can be achieved through careful thought and preparation -- and through collegial debate and compromise. The members you represent have every right to expect that all of you do so. As I said in the conclusion of my

last report to the court the leaders of the District Council must always listen to the membership, but be unafraid to tell them why they might disagree with them; they must be teachers, when learning is required, and they must by the example of their fortitude and good conduct earn the trust they will need in order to succeed. Every member truly does know how to find the road to a

corruption-free District Council. Unfortunately, it has been the road less traveled. I say to those of you willing to tread that path -- do not doubt that you will be protected, strengthened and indeed comforted in your journey-- for that road is lighted by the rule of law. If you have pledged to uphold the honor of this brotherhood, the light of the law will guide you and its force will keep you safe.

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I have strived to serve the members by insuring their

protection through the rule of law. Know well and trust that the law stands as a tireless sentry, always guarding against those who would invade by force or creep in by stealth. For almost two and a half years I have done my utmost to shine the light of the law and fortify this institution. For however long I am permitted to carry that torch, I will surely feel privileged to do so. I would know no greater disappointment than to see the members lose their way, once again enveloped by the darkness of corruption, or find that their house had been plundered or made rotten after I am gone. Surely the goal of everyone is an autonomous District

Council, governed wisely by members who flourish in a sound democratic system. As Emerson said bolts and bars are not the best of our institutions. That which will serve the members best will be the product of your intellect and your

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hard work, your integrity and your courage. It will be the triumph of a few good men -- and women. One day, as John Kennedy said in his famous City on the

Hill speech, the high court of history will sit in judgment on each one of us -- and will record whether we fulfilled our responsibilities by the answers to four questions, which I adapt only slightly and pose to you now: First: were we truly men of courage with the

courage to stand up to ones enemies and the courage to stand up when necessary to ones associates, the courage to resist public pressure, as well as private greed? Secondly: were we truly men of judgment

with perceptive judgment of the future as well as the

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past of our own mistakes as well as the mistakes of others with enough wisdom to know that we did not know, and enough candor to admit it? Third: were we truly men of integrity men

who never ran out on either the principles in which they believed or the people who believed in them men whom neither financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of our sacred trust? Finally: were we truly men of dedication

with an honor mortgaged to no single individual or group and compromised by no private obligation or aim, but devoted solely to serving the membership?

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I ask you to think about these questions -- today -- and on

each of a thousand new days hereafter in which you serve in this great cause. And finally, to each of you, I say thank you, good night and

God speed to this honorable and proud brotherhood. *****

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