[ OUR OPINION ]
GARY Rodrigues' conviction for defrauding the United Public Workers will remove him from union leadership but will provide no assurance that his successor will act any differently. UPW and its parent union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, should increase scrutiny and provide greater access to financial records to prevent further corruption. Unions should be
suspicious of secrecy
THE ISSUE A federal jury has convicted labor leader Gary Rodrigues of fraud, embezzlement and money laundering.
Union members and political supporters who believe the verdict does not reflect poorly on organized labor are mistaken. Members of UPW's executive board were derelict in allowing Rodrigues to conceal financial records from them. AFSCME abetted Rodrigues' crimes by letting him continue to keep the records secret. Boards of other unions ought to be asking themselves whether similar wrongdoing could happen under their noses. The unions' rank and file should demand reforms.
The conviction on 101 counts of fraud, embezzlement and money laundering ends Rodrigues' 37 years of leadership in the union for state government's blue-collar employees. Unless exonerated on appeal, he could be prohibited from union activity for 13 years following his prison term, although labor law allows a judge to reduce that exile to as little as three years. Rodrigues could face more than six years in prison; he is likely to remain free during his appeal of the verdicts.
Rodrigues, who became a UPW business agent at age 23, has been among Hawaii's most influential labor leaders since becoming the union's state director in 1981. He was elected president of the state AFL-CIO four years later and held the prestigious post for several years. The state Supreme Court appointed him eight years ago to serve on a committee to recommend Bishop Estate trustee candidates. In 1997, then-Senate President Norman Mizuguchi appointed him to the state Judicial Selection Commission.
After a hearing in 1999, an international vice president of AFSCME rejected charges by current and former shop stewards that Rodrigues had denied them access to union minutes and financial records. The stewards questioned Rodrigues' connections to a company that supplied building materials for UPW offices on neighbor islands. A ruling on the side of the stewards could have disclosed financial crimes.
While the AFSCME veep was whitewashing Rodrigues' ties to the building supply company, federal authorities were investigating hundreds of thousands of dollars in "consulting fees" paid from the UPW's dental and medical contracts and kickbacks from the agent for the union's life insurance carrier. Much of the money went to Rodrigues' daughter, Robin Sabatini, who also was convicted of mail fraud and money laundering.
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