United States v. Bertucci

333 F.2d 292, 56 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2481, 1964 U.S. App. LEXIS 5046
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit·Decided June 16, 1964·No. Nos. 14345, 14351-14354·Published·Cited by 14 cases

Opinion

McLAUGHLIN, Circuit Judge.

Appellants, with Jerry Barsuglia, were indicted and tried for conspiracy to commit offenses in violation of Sections 101 (a) (1), 101(a) (2), 101(a) (5) and 610 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 411(a) (1), 411(a) (2), 411(a) (5) and 530 and of sixteen related substantive offenses in violation of Section 530.1 [294] Rita Maneini was named in the indictment as an unindicted co-conspirator. At the conclusion of the trial, on motion of the Government, the indictment against Barsuglia was dismissed. All of the appellants were found guilty on Count One, the conspiracy count. On the substantive counts Bertucci was found guilty on Counts Two and Six, involving Flounders and Axler; not guilty on Counts Seven and Eight, involving Mrs. McKay and Mrs. Corr Doherty was found guilty on Counts Twelve, involving Graf-figna; not guilty on Counts Eleven and Thirteen, involving Campbell and Kropp. Abrams guilty on Count Three, involving Flounders. McCabe guilty on Counts Four, Fourteen, Fifteen and Sixteen, involving Flounders, Kay, Corr, Campbell and Quirk. Zoroiwchak guilty on Count Five, involving Flounders. The offenses of which appellants were convicted involved infringement of the civil rights of the persons noted under Sections 101(a) (1), 101(a) (2) and 101(a) (5) of the said Act and in violation of Section 610 thereof in that they conspired to and did prevent by the use of force and violence those persons from exercising their right to attend and participate in a membership meeting of Transportation, Checkers, Receivers and Clerical Workers Union, Local 161, on February 22, 1962 at 105 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and to express their views, etc. upon matters properly before the meeting and of conspiring to so prevent them.

Local 161, consisting principally of employees of the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC), was organized in 1955 and is affiliated with the Teamsters Union. It has always been tightly controlled by Lawrence J. Mullen as Business Manager and Secretary-Treasurer. Until 1960, he and the Executive Board appointed the Local’s officers and trustees. In 1960 there was an election of officers at which Mullen and his group were unopposed. Mullen alone has always possessed the power to name the union’s shop stewards. Sometime prior to August 1961 some of the members, including a majority of those whose rights were found to have been infringed by appellants, sought to obtain changes in the union which would give the membership generally a voice in its affairs. Those efforts were unsuccessful in August and September of that year. In October they helped in inducing Mullen to call the first meeting of the membership to be held in a year. The proposal to have the stewards elected rather than appointed got nowhere at that meeting. The President of the Local as chairman and Mullen who took over as chairman, refused to listen to it; the latter peremptorily adjourned the meeting. The minority, by then called Sweep, went into the district court seeking protection of the members’ rights, inter alia, that regular meetings be held and that the court designate a meeting at which the supposedly proposed PTC contract could be passed upon. Prior to any action by the court, Mullen negotiated a collective bargaining agreement with PTC on January 23, 1962 which the latter considered “a bona fide contract. * * * As of February 1st.” Mullen then sent out a letter calling for a vote by mail on a proposed collective bargaining agreement with PTC with the ballots to be counted February 2, 1962. The letter fixed February 22, 1962 [295] for a membership meeting; it stated “All explanations concerning the procedures will be made. All questions will be answered.” The district court on February 1, 1962, by agreement of the parties, fixed general membership meetings to be held February 22 and 24, 1962 with ballots cast by mail to be received not later than February 28, 1962.

All of the above brings us to the meeting of February 22, 1962. The five appellants were present in and about the meeting hall. Bertucci and Doherty were employees of the Local. Six days before the meeting Bertucci’s salary had been raised from $95 a week to $140 and Do-herty’s from $60 to $100 a week. Mc-Cabe, Abrams and Zoroiwchak were shown to be members of the Teamsters Local 107, the first two were salaried employees of same at $150 per week apiece.

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United States v. Bertucci, 333 F.2d 292, 56 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2481, 1964 U.S. App. LEXIS 5046 (3d Cir. 1964).

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