LawFuel.com – PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the
Southern District of New York, JOSEPH M. DEMAREST, JR., the
Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), ROSE GILL HEARN, the
Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation
(“DOI”), and DANIEL R. PETROLE, the Acting Inspector General of
the United States Department of Labor (“DOL-OIG”), announced that
SANTO PETROCELLI, SR., the former owner and chairman of
Petrocelli Electric Company (“PEC”), was sentenced today to three
months in prison for making tens of thousands of dollars worth of
payments to BRIAN McLAUGHLIN, a former Business Representative of
Local 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
in violation of federal labor law. The sentence was imposed by
United States District Judge MIRIAM GOLDMAN CEDARBAUM in
Manhattan federal court.
According to the felony Information to which
PETROCELLI, SR., pleaded guilty and statements at his plea
proceeding:
At the time of the unlawful payments, PEC was an
electric company based in Queens, New York, that employed Local 3
union members and entered into contracts with the City of New
York to perform work involving the maintenance and installation
of street lights and traffic signals.
PETROCELLI, SR., pleaded guilty on July 31, 2009, to
one count of making illegal payments to a union official. At the
plea proceeding, PETROCELLI, SR., admitted that the unlawful
payments to McLAUGHLIN took the form of cash and the use of a PEC
car given to McLAUGHLIN for his use. PETROCELLI, SR., further
admitted that, at the time he made those payments, he was aware
that they were unlawful because he was an employer of Local 3
union members and McLAUGHLIN was a labor representative of those
members.
In addition to the prison term, Judge CEDARBAUM
sentenced PETROCELLI, SR., to two years of supervised release.
At the sentencing, Judge CEDARBAUM stated: [The goal of the
sentencing is for] “people who may be tempted, as Mr. Petrocelli
was tempted, [to] be discouraged from being drawn into supporting
a corrupt union official over many, many years.”
McLAUGHLIN previously pleaded guilty, on March 7, 2008,
to racketeering and to making a false statement on a loan
application. McLAUGHLIN was sentenced on May 20, 2009, to ten
years in prison by United States District Judge RICHARD J.
SULLIVAN.
Mr. BHARARA praised the investigative work of the FBI,
DOI, and DOL-OIG.
Assistant United States Attorney LISA ZORNBERG is in
charge of the prosecution.
09-395 ###
