Former Philadelphia Ironworkers Local 401 boss Joseph
Dougherty was sentenced on Monday to serve 19 years in prison and pay $558,000
in restitution, six months after a federal jury found the 73-year-old guilty of
a racketeering, conspiracy, multiple counts of arson and extortion.
"Hopefully, we're done with union violence in
Philadelphia," U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson said before he imposed
the sentence.
Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of 22 years.
Dougherty's attorney, Mark Cedrone, said he would appeal
the conviction and the sentence.
Dougherty led the local ironworkers union as it battled
nonunion contractors and a faltering economy in 2008 and beyond. The FBI
launched an investigation into the union's activities after a Dec. 2012 arson
attack at the site of a Quaker meetinghouse being built in Chestnut Hill.
Twelve high-level union members and officials were
indicted. Eleven pleaded guilty, leaving Dougherty alone on trial.
Some of those members eventually testified against
Dougherty during the trial, saying they set fire to rival sites and caused
mayhem while picketing nonunion jobs.
The back story
During the trial, two counts against Dougherty involving
the meetinghouse were dropped. According to reports, Baylson granted a defense motion
to dismiss the counts, ruling there was not enough evidence linking Dougherty
to the East Mermaid Lane arson.
The FBI also looked into union jobs dating back to 2010,
examining members' involvement in acts of arson or extortion on 25 different
job sites including a Toys R Us store near the King of Prussia Mall, a Planet
Fitness location in Roxborough, an Olive Garden restaurant in Montgomery County
as well as a La Colombe warehouse.
FBI agents gained access to cellphone records and text
messages and tapped the phones of the union's Northeast Philadelphia
headquarters, as well as the cellphones of high-level union "business
agents," who Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Livermore said were in
charge of carrying out acts of intimidation or violence.
"It was a union that was run through criminal
activity, that's how it was operated," Livermore said following the
verdict. "On a weekly basis, if not a daily basis, they talked about
committing crimes, committing extortion, things of that nature."
Attorney Cedrone said that, as business manager for the
local, Dougherty held an administrative job and didn't directly supervise the
members and business agents who committed crimes. "Joe Dougherty was
sentenced to 19 years in jail today for basically being unable to supervise a
bunch of guys who thought they were gangster," Cedrone said.
Ironworkers who held a demonstration in support of
Dougherty before the sentencing hearing condemned union violence. Ironworker
Joe Mathis said Dougherty was always opposed to it.
"To quote Joe Doc, the only way to beat the
non-unions is do it better than them, and that's what we did," Mathis
said. "Work hard, or go home. That's what Joe Doc says. He never said go
burn nuthin' down. We had some knuckleheads that did some s**t. They're going
to jail and they deserve it. But Joe Doc ain't one of em."
Joe Dougherty is no relation to electricians' union
leader John Dougherty.
Source:
NewsWorks
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