Another Local 401 official testifies against union boss Joseph Dougherty

Philadelphia Ironworkers Union boss Joseph Dougherty got him into the union and gave him his first job. And when Edward Sweeney got married, "Joe Doc" walked his bride up the aisle and gave her away. Later, the two families shared Easter dinners for five years.

On Thursday, however, Sweeney got nothing but an occasional frown from his former mentor as he testified for the prosecution at the federal racketeering trial of the 73-year-old business manager of Local 401.

Sweeney, 55, was one of 11 Local 401 members indicted last year with Dougherty as part of what prosecutors allege was a racketeering conspiracy to protect union jobs through a campaign of intimidation, arson and violence.

All 11 have pleaded guilty in deals with the prosecution that could earn them leniency when they are sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael M. Baylson.

Sweeney is the sixth cooperating ironworker to testify in the trial but his longtime relationship with Dougherty arguably poses the greatest danger to the aging union boss.

Defense lawyer Fortunato N. Perri Jr. has argued that Dougherty had nothing to do with the violence and intimidating tactics used against nonunion builders and subcontractors, dubbed "night work" within Local 401.

Perri has blamed the problem on rogue union members who made quick deals with federal prosecutors to try to escape decades-long prison terms.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Livermore has alleged that violence against nonunion contractors was welded into Local 401's culture. Furthermore, Dougherty approved the "night work" but was cagey enough to insulate himself from the orders.

Bearded and immaculately groomed and dressed in a blue business suit, Sweeney often seemed uneasy as he testified against Dougherty, regularly clearing his raspy voice.

Sweeney, a union business agent, said he rarely cleared the "night work" with Dougherty beforehand. Nevertheless, the tactics were discussed - in code - during the monthly meetings of business agents and other members of Local 401's leadership that Dougherty presided.

"We'd go over and let him know if it worked," Sweeney said. "If our guys got hired he'd say, 'Good job.' "

But Sweeney - who described Dougherty as tough, authoritarian and a master of union politics - also seemed to try to shield his ex-boss several times, such as when Livermore asked him about a July 2013 confrontation with the carpenters' union on a job site at 19th and Arch Streets in Center City.

The dispute was discussed by Sweeney and Dougherty in a phone call secretly recorded by federal agents. During that conversation, the union boss ordered ironworkers to stay atop a truck of steel wall panels to prevent carpenters from doing ironworker work.

Dougherty, expletives exploding, threatened to "shut the city down" by calling all 700 Local 401 members off the job and on picket lines at 19th and Arch as a show of strength.

"I mean it sounds good," Sweeney told Livermore, "but a lot of it is testosterone talking."

Source: Philly.com