Union boss charged in indictments
Cashman faces counts of bribery, embezzlement

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff, 1/18/2002

Local Teamster leaders George Cashman and William Carnes were charged yesterday with embezzling from their own union by fabricating work hours to allow 19 truck drivers, including a reputed Charlestown gangster, to illegally collect $72,400 in health care benefits.

The reputed gangster, John ''Mick'' Murray, and two other men were charged in related indictments with plotting with other members of Teamsters Local 25 to steal computer equipment and guns being shipped through United Parcel Service, including a $50,000 computer shipment belonging to the Navy.

Hours after Cashman, 53, president of Local 25, surrendered to authorities yesterday morning at his Revere home, Acting Governor Jane Swift called for his resignation from the board of directors of the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs Logan International Airport.

Although Cashman, Carnes, and three men who run a Somerville trucking business are charged with embezzlement for allegedly diverting health care benefits to union truckers who didn't work enough hours to qualify for them, the five men are not accused of personally profiting from the alleged scheme.

''This is a paper case,'' said A. John Pappalardo, a former US attorney who is representing Cashman. ''There is no allegation of violence or any threat of violence. It's unique in that there is no allegation that any of the defendants in this case received any money.''

Cashman declined to comment on the case or Swift's request for his resignation.

After learning of Cashman's 179-count federal indictment, Swift said, ''The credibility of Massport is of paramount interest and importance to the economic health of Massachusetts, and it's under that knowledge that I have asked my legal counsel to secure Mr. Cashman's resignation.''

Cashman was appointed by Governor William F. Weld in June 1993 and was reappointed by Governor Paul Cellucci in 1998. His current term expires in 2005.

If Cashman does not resign, Swift said she would suspend and replace him under a state law that prohibits a person under federal indictment from holding a seat on the Massport board. She said that any hint that Cashman's actions on the board might have compromised the authority would be dealt with. ''I have a clear goal of making Massport and Logan Airport national models of safety and security,'' Swift said. ''That obviously requires that their credibility be beyond reproach. My hope is that Mr. Cashman will do the right thing.''

Cashman became a virtual no-show at Massport meetings in the summer of 2000, about the time his name surfaced in a federal investigation. Prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he missed 10 of the 12 monthly meetings.

The four indictments unsealed yesterday against Cashman, seven other men, and three companies are the first charges to be handed up by a federal grand jury in Worcester that has also been focusing on allegations that Teamsters union officials extorted Hollywood producers who filmed in New England. Although none of the indictments allege wrongdoing by Teamsters involving the movie industry, law enforcement officials said that more charges are expected from the ongoing investigation by the US Department of Labor's racketeering division, US Drug Enforcement Administration, and State Police.

''I do not want to say there are going to be more charges against these defendants, but the investigation is continuing,'' said Assistant US Attorney Fred Wyshak, who is prosecuting the cases against Cashman and the others.

Cashman is charged with conspiracy, embezzlement, and bribery, along with Carnes, 58, of Melrose, the Local 25 vice president; Thomas A. DiSilva, 40, of Nashua; James P. DiSilva, 59, of Lexington; and William P. Belanger, 50, of Winchester.

The indictment also charges three companies run by the DiSilvas: DiSilva Transportation Inc. of Somerville, and Hutchinson Industries and Manfi Leasing Corp., both located in Burlington.

The indictment alleges that Cashman, Carnes, and the others fabricated work orders to make it appear that 19 Teamsters - including Murray and relatives of the DiSilvas - were working for the DiSilvas' companies so that they could collect health care benefits and eventually receive a union pension. According to the indictment, none of the workers had put in enough hours to qualify for the benefits.

Under federal law, a union official can be charged with bribery, even if he didn't personally pocket any money, for diverting benefits to someone else illegally. ''The loss is to the fund, which has to pay benefits that they wouldn't normally have to pay,'' Wyshak said.

Cashman, Carnes, and the DiSilvas pleaded not guilty to the charges yesterday in federal court and were released on $25,000 unsecured bond each. Belanger is slated to be arraigned Tuesday.

Murray, 47, of Charlestown, a convicted bank burglar and associate of fugitive South Boston gangster James ''Whitey'' Bulger, allegedly received $35,000 in undeserved health benefits for himself and his family.

Murray is charged in a separate indictment with racketeering, extortion, embezzlement, and theft for allegedly stealing computer shipments from the UPS facility in Chelmsford and shaking down a bookmaker and an Airborne Express truck driver.

The indictment alleges that Murray and Kevin Weeks, a former Bulger deputy who is now cooperating with investigators, extorted money from a Dorchester bookie. Murray was ordered held without bail yesterday pending a detention hearing Tuesday.

A third indictment charges Thomas Brennan, 35, of Tyngsborough, with plotting with a UPS employee, John Loughlin, at the company's Chelmsford facility to steal shipments containing computer equipment and guns. According to the indictment, Loughlin allegedly helped divert shipments containing computers and guns to Brennan to pay off debts from drugs and gambling.

The fourth indictment charges Bruce Ziskind, 44, of Cambridge, who owned Tufts Electronics, with plotting with another UPS driver, Daniel Gilday, to steal computer shipments. Bob Godlewski, a spokesman at UPS corporate headquarters in Atlanta, said yesterday that the company ''has been cooperating fully with authorities in this investigation and will continue to do so.''

A company official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that both Gilday and Loughlin were fired some time ago.

Attorney Paul Kelly, who represents Carnes, accused the government of trying to ''unfairly tarnish'' Carnes, Cashman, and the others by linking them to the separate indictments against Murray and Brennan. James DiSilva's attorney, Frank Libby, said, ''They're taking an elephant gun to a mouse. It's a records case.''

Yvonne Abraham, Sean Murphy, and Ralph Ranalli of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.

This story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 1/18/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.
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