Dockworkers’ Union’s Mafia Connections Are Not Ancient History

Most people are aware of the historical mafia connections of the International Longshoremen’s Association, the East Coast dockworkers’ union. On the Waterfront, starring Marlon Brando, came out in 1954. Many of the mafia connections to transportation were laid out by congressional committees in the 1950s and 1960s, then by prosecutors in the major mafia trials of the 1980s and 1990s.

But, just as a thought experiment, read this account and try to guess what year it’s from:

The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, denied the emergent motion by Frank Ferrara for a stay of the Commission’s revocation of his registration to work as a maintenance man pending his appeal. Ferrara’s registration was revoked . . . after the Commission found that he had associated with the following organized crime figures who had been convicted of racketeering activities: (1) Pasquale “Patty the Clubber” Falcetti, Sr., a soldier in the Genovese crime family; (2) Andrew Gigante, an associate of the Genovese crime family and the son of the crime family’s late boss Vincent “The Chin” Gigante; and (3) Carmine “Little Carm” Della Cava, a soldier in the Genovese crime family. The Commission further found that Ferrara had committed fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation in connection with a sworn interview in which he falsely denied associating with anyone who is a member or associate of an organized crime group. In addition, the Commission found that Ferrara’s presence in the Port was a danger to the public peace or safety.

Now, try this one:

The Commission accepted the request of Anthony Pansini III, of Brooklyn, NY, to withdraw with prejudice his application for registration as a longshoreman as a referral of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), Local 1814. Pansini was charged with 49 counts of Waterfront Commission Act violations. The notice of hearing included allegations that Pansini had associated with the following career offenders and convicted racketeers:

1. Anthony “Sonny” Ciccone, a capo (captain) of the Gambino crime family, whose crimes involved the domination of ILA Local 1814, the very same Local that referred Pansini’s application for registration as a longshoreman;
2. His father, Anthony Pansini, an associate of the Gambino crime family who pled guilty, in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, to a conspiracy to defraud ILA Local 1814, the very same Local that referred his son’s application. The elder Pansini facilitated Ciccone’s de facto control over Local 1814 in a conspiracy that allowed Ciccone to control the awarding of union jobs;
3. Joseph “Scoops” Licata, a capo of the Philadelphia (Bruno-Scarfo) crime family; and
4. Jerry Balzano, a soldier of the DeCavalcante crime family.

How about this one:

Nicholas Atria of Glendale, New York, . . . requested the Commission accept the surrender of his registration with prejudice following the issuance of a notice of hearing which charged him with associating with two organized crime figures, Thomas Leonardis and Joseph “Joey Carts” Caridi. A hearing commenced and the Commission presented proof before an Administrative Law Judge that Leonardis had called Atria on multiple occasions from prison and had contacted him multiple times by phone once he was released. Leonardis was the former president of ILA Local 1235 who was convicted of Extortion . . . in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey for his part in the scheme in which longshoremen were required to pay some or all of their year-end bonuses to the Genovese crime family.

Or this one:

The Commission accepted the request of Vito Lavignani of Staten Island, New York, to surrender his registration as a longshoreman with prejudice. Lavignani operated machinery at Global Container Terminals in Bayonne, New Jersey. He faced charges at an administrative hearing of violating the Waterfront Commission Act because of inimical associations with organized crime figures, false testimony during a sworn interview, disqualifying misdemeanor convictions, and representing a danger to the public peace or safety by his presence at the piers or other waterfront terminals in the Port of New York district. Specifically, he was charged with the following:

1. Association with Anthony (“Tough Tony” or “Tony Parkside”) Federici, a capo (captain) of the Genovese crime family;
2. Association with Michael “Mickey Dimino” “Mickey the Leach” Generoso, an underboss of the Genovese crime family who was convicted of a racketeering activity;
3. False testimony during an interview at the offices of the Waterfront Commission that he had never heard or knew that either Federici or Generoso were linked to the Genovese crime family or an organized crime group;
4. Disqualifying misdemeanor convictions for Driving While Intoxicated . . . ;
5. Causing physical injury to three (3) police officers by resisting arrest;
6. Forcibly stealing [property] belonging to a police officer;
7. Operation of a motor vehicle while intoxicated after receiving warnings and a suspension by the Commission for two earlier occasions when he drove under the influence or while intoxicated; and
8. Possession and use of cocaine after receiving warnings during interviews at the offices of the Waterfront Commission against drug use.

All of these are from . . . 2018.

Let’s try another one:

The Commission ordered the revocation of the registration of longshoreman Vincenzo Randazzo of Brooklyn, NY, . . . following a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. The ALJ found that Randazzo’s association with Emanuele Favuzza, who was a soldier in the Colombo crime family, a convicted racketeer and career offender, was under prohibited circumstances inimical to the policies of the Waterfront Commission Act. Randazzo admitted during both a sworn Commission interview and at his administrative hearing that he had known Favuzza for decades, lived in Favuzza’s family home for four years, and considered Favuzza a trusted friend.

And one more:

Six men were sentenced for their roles in criminal schemes that generated millions of dollars through illegal loansharking, unlicensed check cashing, gambling, and money laundering on behalf of the Genovese crime family. As previously reported, the defendants were indicted in “Operation Fistful,” a joint investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office — Division of Criminal Justice and the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, conducted with assistance from the New York and Queens County District Attorneys’ Offices and other law enforcement agencies. Much of the illicit revenue was collected and laundered through licensed and unlicensed check-cashing businesses in Newark, NJ, run by Genovese associate Domenick Pucillo. Pucillo and the other associates allegedly are part of a New Jersey crew that was operating under the supervision and control of two “made” members of the Genovese crime family – Vito Alberti, a Genovese “soldier” and Charles “Chuckie” Tuzzo, a Genovese capo – who answer to the Genovese hierarchy in New York. The following six defendants were sentenced by Superior Court Judge Donald G. Collester Jr. in Morris County:

1. Domenick Pucillo, 61, of Florham Park, NJ, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to first-degree conspiracy to commit money laundering.
2. Robert “Bobby Spags” Spagnola, 72, of Morganville, NJ, a former Newark Police Officer, was sentenced to five years in prison. He pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal usury.
3. Vito Alberti, 60, of Morristown, NJ, a Genovese Soldier, was sentenced to five years in prison. He pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal usury.
4. Manuel “Manny Rod” Rodriguez, 54, of Chatham, NJ, a former longshoreman, was sentenced to four years in prison. He pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy to commit money laundering.
5. Vincent “Sonny” Coppola, 42, of Union City, NJ, son of imprisoned Genovese Capo Michael “Mikey Cigars” Coppola, who previously served 103 days in jail, was sentenced to time served and two years of probation. He pleaded guilty to third-degree promoting gambling.
6. Jerry Albanese, 52, of Scotch Plains, N.J., a former longshoreman, was sentenced to two years of probation. He pleaded guilty to third-degree promoting gambling

Those two are from . . . 2019.

The Waterfront Commission, the bistate agency formed by New York and New Jersey to prosecute port corruption and stamp out organized crime, which uncovered these cases, was disbanded in 2023 when New Jersey withdrew from it. “New Jersey — supported by a powerful dockworkers union and the shipping industry — has long sought to reform or leave the commission, arguing the agency holds up hiring and adds bureaucracy,” Politico reported at the time.

Ah, yes, because the government of New Jersey is big on cutting bureaucracy. And the dockworkers’ union is really concerned about holding up hiring, not that the commission kept finding that its membership is intertwined with organized crime.

Just like the Teamsters union, which operated under federal oversight as recently as 2015, and the United Auto Workers, which operates under a court-appointed monitor now, the ILA is a byword for corruption and criminality — not in the distant past but very recently and, at least in some cases, probably still in the present.