A Chicago concrete contractor has hit a local labor union with a lawsuit, claiming the union lied about the business during demonstrations and in fliers designed to protest the contractor’s work on the Apparel Center building in River North.
On April 14, Quality Restorations Inc. filed its complaint in Cook County Circuit Court, alleging the International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers, Administrative District Council #1 of Illinois, defamed the construction company in fliers handed out to potentially thousands of people as part of a campaign against the business.
According to the complaint, Quality Restorations secured a contract to make unspecified repairs to the building, located at 350 N. Orleans, just north of the Chicago River and next to Merchandise Mart, in Chicago.
In June 2015, Quality Restorations’ complaint said the IUBAC’s Local 21 demonstrated near the building against Quality Restorations’ work on the project. According to the complaint, the demonstrators handed out “orange flyers … to numerous people passing by … including an agent of the owner.”
The complaint said the fliers delivered a litany of allegations against Quality Restorations, including that the company requires its workers to join a union, identified in the fliers as the “Independent Union of Amalgamated Workers Local 711.” The fliers said that particular union “negotiates sweetheart contracts that usually mean substandard wages and little or no benefits” for workers. Further, the fliers allegedly stated Local 711 was affiliated with “the Chicago Mob” through two men, identified in the court documents as James Bertino and John Matassa.
The fliers allegedly asked the owners of the building to stop working with Quality Restorations and “to stop doing business with a Mob union.”
It provided the contact information for a different contractor for the building’s owners to call, should they “think this work should be done by a contractor who works with real unions and whose employees receive proper wages and benefits.”
Quality Restorations said the building’s owners “questioned Quality Restorations about them immediately upon learning of them.”
The complaint indicated the fliers represented an injury to Quality Restorations’ business because the company asserted the accusations contained in the fliers were false, and “building owners and the engineers that manage their construction projects and assist in hiring contractors are sensitive to the associations and reputations of the contractors they hire, and they seek to avoid public relations issues at their buildings and work sites.”
Quality Restorations said they are “not associated with and does not conduct business” with Bertino, Matassa or “the mob” and pay their employees’ “proper wages and benefits,” contrary to the statements in the fliers designed to “impute that Quality Restorations is complicit in the alleged crimes of IUAW Local 711 and that Quality Restorations is involved in organized crime.”
The contractor asked the court to order the IUBAC to pay unspecified damages, including punitive damages, to be determined at trial.
Quality Restorations’ website lists Bob Joyce as its founder, owner and president. The website says the company has been in business since 1984, and has worked on a number of high profile building projects in Chicago.
The company is represented in this defamation action by attorney Matthew A. Wlodarczyk, of Wlodarczyk Law LLC, of Arlington Heights.
Thanks to Jonathan Bilyk.
Friday, April 22, 2016
Monday, April 18, 2016
More Than 20 Mexican Mafia Gang Members Arrested in Historic Raids
"Not in my town." That's the message Seguin police hope they got across to gangs.
Nearly a dozen raids were executed as the result of an 18-month long investigation into the Mexican Mafia.
Seguin police say that, as a result, they've put a dent in the gang and drug activity in their community.
Among the day's take: piles of drugs, $60,000 in cash, and several weapons removed from nearly a dozen locations where Mexican Mafia gang members were known to operate. "We do believe that this is going to cause an incredibly serious interruption in the Mexican Mafia in this region," Seguin Police Department Deputy Chief Bruce Ure said.
The investigation into the drug activity began in Seguin 18 months ago with other local, state and federal agencies helping with the execution of those search warrants. "The operation spanned as far west as San Antonio and went as far east as the Houston area. And as far north as New Braunfels," Deputy Chief Ure said.
All the arrests resulted in federal and state drug charges.
One woman at the scene says her family has no affiliation with the Mexican Mafia. "There's no gang members here. They need to get their investigation straight before they come accusing," said Amy Herrera, whose family's home was raided. But police say that all of the locations raided Friday were known to have drug activity. "They are all known Mexican Mafia gang members and if you know anything about the Mexican Mafia, they're a vicious, vicious gang," Deputy Chief Ure said.
It's a gang they hope they have sent a strong message to. "Our gang members need to know whether you're in the MS13, or the Mexican Mafia, or where ever you are. If you're in our region, you're on our radar," Deputy Chief Ure said.
Those that were arrested remain behind bars, including a high-ranking "lieutenant," until their detention hearings in federal court.
Authorities say they are still searching for three other men wanted for drug charges.
Nearly a dozen raids were executed as the result of an 18-month long investigation into the Mexican Mafia.
Seguin police say that, as a result, they've put a dent in the gang and drug activity in their community.
Among the day's take: piles of drugs, $60,000 in cash, and several weapons removed from nearly a dozen locations where Mexican Mafia gang members were known to operate. "We do believe that this is going to cause an incredibly serious interruption in the Mexican Mafia in this region," Seguin Police Department Deputy Chief Bruce Ure said.
The investigation into the drug activity began in Seguin 18 months ago with other local, state and federal agencies helping with the execution of those search warrants. "The operation spanned as far west as San Antonio and went as far east as the Houston area. And as far north as New Braunfels," Deputy Chief Ure said.
All the arrests resulted in federal and state drug charges.
One woman at the scene says her family has no affiliation with the Mexican Mafia. "There's no gang members here. They need to get their investigation straight before they come accusing," said Amy Herrera, whose family's home was raided. But police say that all of the locations raided Friday were known to have drug activity. "They are all known Mexican Mafia gang members and if you know anything about the Mexican Mafia, they're a vicious, vicious gang," Deputy Chief Ure said.
It's a gang they hope they have sent a strong message to. "Our gang members need to know whether you're in the MS13, or the Mexican Mafia, or where ever you are. If you're in our region, you're on our radar," Deputy Chief Ure said.
Those that were arrested remain behind bars, including a high-ranking "lieutenant," until their detention hearings in federal court.
Authorities say they are still searching for three other men wanted for drug charges.
Former Olympian, Current Hells Angel, Shot while Riding Motorcycle
Phil Boudreault, the Sudbury boxer who became an unlikely hero at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta and a longtime, high-ranking Hells Angels member, was reportedly shot while riding his motorcycle near Lachute, Que. on Saturday morning.
Sources say he suffered a punctured lung in the attack, which officers from the Surete de Quebec believe was linked to organized crime.
Police have not named the shooting victim, but according to QMI Agency, sources have identified him as Boudreault, a 41-year-old Sudbury native and vice-president for the Hells Angels Ontario Nomads who had been living in Quebec.
According to QMI, SQ spokeswoman Audrey-Anne Bilodeau said "the motorcyclist was seriously injured and was rushed to a hospital, but there is no fear for his life."
Sudbury sources have also identified Boudreault as the man who was shot.
Gord Apolloni, head coach at Top Glove Boxing Academy in Sudbury and Boudreault's former trainer, said he received calls on Sunday confirming the news. "He was going to a bike show near Montreal," Apolloni said. "He was lucky that his girlfriend didn't get shot, because she was on the back of the bike."
Apolloni said he was told Boudreault's injuries were serious and that he might have shrapnel in his spine.
Apolloni said he hasn't seen or spoken with Boudreault in some time, but said "it was a scary thought, knowing he could have been killed." "He has gone off on his own at this point, but I still remember Phil the way that Phil was at the Olympic Games. I still remember him living on his own and trying to clean his life up. That's how I remember Phil."
Police were called at around 10:30 a.m. about an incident on Bethany Road. A man was found lying in a ditch, his motorcycle at his side.
The assailants reportedly fled in an older, gray-blue SUV, which police are trying to locate.
"We heard maybe 10-15 shots," a witness, who did not want to be identified, told QMI Agency in French. "After that, there was a truck that passed us quite quickly and he left."
CTV News in Montreal reported a resident who lives nearby and who did not want to be named said he heard bangs and then a series of rapid-fire shots. He ran to the road and found the biker in pain and lying on the road with a woman at his side, CTV reported.
A second motorcyclist who was riding with them came and dragged the victim away to a ditch, the resident said. The resident spoke to the victim – an anglophone – who told him he is a member of the Hells Angels, CTV reported.
Boudreault had been seen last November at a funeral for one of the founding members of the Hells Angels in Montreal, Lionel Deschamps, in Repentigny, Que., QMI reported, and wore a jacket emblazoned with a Nomads "vice-president" badge.
Dubbed "The Sudbury Sensation," Boudreault represented Canada in the light welterweight division at the 1996 Summer Olympics and became a hero both locally and nationally for a time for his spirited showing in Atlanta.
Since then, however, he has spent much of his time getting in trouble with the law, including a brutal bar attack in 2005.
In 2013, he told a Sudbury court he planned to leave Sudbury after he was sentenced to 90 days in jail for violating his long-term supervision order. "My wife is a schoolteacher," Boudreault said after receiving the jail term. "We're moving. We're out of here … I will pack my bags and be out of this community for good … "I have overstayed my welcome, obviously.”
The former boxer was declared a long-term offender in August 2005, after he was found guilty of a vicious assault on a Valley East father and son in March, 2004. One of the victims suffered a broken jaw in three places, the loss of some teeth and part of his jawbone, and bruised ribs.
In August 2007, Boudreault was placed on a five-year long-term supervision order after completing a two-year prison term for the assault. The Crown had sought to have him declared a dangerous offender.
Boudreault made several attempts to resume his boxing career and compiled a 5-1 record as a professional, but couldn’t stay out of legal trouble.
"I still believe I can perform on the world stage,'' Boudreault told The Star during a training session at the Valley East Boxing Club's facilities in 2009. "I'm not saying I'm going to win a world title, but I believe I can compete at that level.''
Less than a year later, Boudreault was in jail in Sudbury.
Boudreault impressed boxing aficionados with his performance at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, finishing fourth in his weight class and coming within a whisker of winning a bronze medal. Many observers believed he should have won a medal, but was shortchanged by the judges' decision in his final bout.
Thanks to Sudbury Star.
Sources say he suffered a punctured lung in the attack, which officers from the Surete de Quebec believe was linked to organized crime.
Police have not named the shooting victim, but according to QMI Agency, sources have identified him as Boudreault, a 41-year-old Sudbury native and vice-president for the Hells Angels Ontario Nomads who had been living in Quebec.
According to QMI, SQ spokeswoman Audrey-Anne Bilodeau said "the motorcyclist was seriously injured and was rushed to a hospital, but there is no fear for his life."
Sudbury sources have also identified Boudreault as the man who was shot.
Gord Apolloni, head coach at Top Glove Boxing Academy in Sudbury and Boudreault's former trainer, said he received calls on Sunday confirming the news. "He was going to a bike show near Montreal," Apolloni said. "He was lucky that his girlfriend didn't get shot, because she was on the back of the bike."
Apolloni said he was told Boudreault's injuries were serious and that he might have shrapnel in his spine.
Apolloni said he hasn't seen or spoken with Boudreault in some time, but said "it was a scary thought, knowing he could have been killed." "He has gone off on his own at this point, but I still remember Phil the way that Phil was at the Olympic Games. I still remember him living on his own and trying to clean his life up. That's how I remember Phil."
Police were called at around 10:30 a.m. about an incident on Bethany Road. A man was found lying in a ditch, his motorcycle at his side.
The assailants reportedly fled in an older, gray-blue SUV, which police are trying to locate.
"We heard maybe 10-15 shots," a witness, who did not want to be identified, told QMI Agency in French. "After that, there was a truck that passed us quite quickly and he left."
CTV News in Montreal reported a resident who lives nearby and who did not want to be named said he heard bangs and then a series of rapid-fire shots. He ran to the road and found the biker in pain and lying on the road with a woman at his side, CTV reported.
A second motorcyclist who was riding with them came and dragged the victim away to a ditch, the resident said. The resident spoke to the victim – an anglophone – who told him he is a member of the Hells Angels, CTV reported.
Boudreault had been seen last November at a funeral for one of the founding members of the Hells Angels in Montreal, Lionel Deschamps, in Repentigny, Que., QMI reported, and wore a jacket emblazoned with a Nomads "vice-president" badge.
Dubbed "The Sudbury Sensation," Boudreault represented Canada in the light welterweight division at the 1996 Summer Olympics and became a hero both locally and nationally for a time for his spirited showing in Atlanta.
Since then, however, he has spent much of his time getting in trouble with the law, including a brutal bar attack in 2005.
In 2013, he told a Sudbury court he planned to leave Sudbury after he was sentenced to 90 days in jail for violating his long-term supervision order. "My wife is a schoolteacher," Boudreault said after receiving the jail term. "We're moving. We're out of here … I will pack my bags and be out of this community for good … "I have overstayed my welcome, obviously.”
The former boxer was declared a long-term offender in August 2005, after he was found guilty of a vicious assault on a Valley East father and son in March, 2004. One of the victims suffered a broken jaw in three places, the loss of some teeth and part of his jawbone, and bruised ribs.
In August 2007, Boudreault was placed on a five-year long-term supervision order after completing a two-year prison term for the assault. The Crown had sought to have him declared a dangerous offender.
Boudreault made several attempts to resume his boxing career and compiled a 5-1 record as a professional, but couldn’t stay out of legal trouble.
"I still believe I can perform on the world stage,'' Boudreault told The Star during a training session at the Valley East Boxing Club's facilities in 2009. "I'm not saying I'm going to win a world title, but I believe I can compete at that level.''
Less than a year later, Boudreault was in jail in Sudbury.
Boudreault impressed boxing aficionados with his performance at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, finishing fourth in his weight class and coming within a whisker of winning a bronze medal. Many observers believed he should have won a medal, but was shortchanged by the judges' decision in his final bout.
Thanks to Sudbury Star.
Prison Sentenced Announced for 10th Street Gang Member in Shooting
U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced that Luis Hernandez, age 26, of Buffalo, New York, who was convicted of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi, who handled the case, stated that on April 17, 2006, the defendant assisted a group of 10th Street Gang members, who were looking to shoot rival 7th Street Gang members, by firing a shotgun at a group of people outside of a residence on Pennsylvania Street on the West Side of Buffalo. On that date, the defendant was among a group of six (6) 10th Street Gang members and associates who were armed and fired shots at the victims. During the shooting, the defendant possessed a shotgun and discharged this firearm in the general vicinity of the victims. In total, dozens of shots were fired at the victims from the various firearms possessed by the defendant and other 10th Street Gang members and associates. Brandon MacDonald and Darinell Young were both shot and killed as a result of injuries sustained during the shooting.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi, who handled the case, stated that on April 17, 2006, the defendant assisted a group of 10th Street Gang members, who were looking to shoot rival 7th Street Gang members, by firing a shotgun at a group of people outside of a residence on Pennsylvania Street on the West Side of Buffalo. On that date, the defendant was among a group of six (6) 10th Street Gang members and associates who were armed and fired shots at the victims. During the shooting, the defendant possessed a shotgun and discharged this firearm in the general vicinity of the victims. In total, dozens of shots were fired at the victims from the various firearms possessed by the defendant and other 10th Street Gang members and associates. Brandon MacDonald and Darinell Young were both shot and killed as a result of injuries sustained during the shooting.
Prison Sentenced Announced for 7th Street Gang Member in RICO Case
U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced that 7th Street Gang member Luis Medina, 24, who pleaded guilty to Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy, was sentenced to 210 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi, who handled the case, stated that Luis Medina, as a member of the 7th Street Gang, sold heroin and possessed firearms. In addition, on April 16, 2006, Medina shot a rival 10th Street Gang member with a .22 caliber firearm. Furthermore, on June 13, 2009, while being held in the Erie County Holding Center, Medina learned that his cousin Christian Portes was killed by the 10th Gang members. Medina made a phone call from the holding center requesting that fellow 7th Street Gang members kill 10th Street Gang members in retaliation for the murder of his cousin. After being released on November 7, 2009, Medina himself fired shots at 10th Gang members.
A total of 18 defendants have been charged in this case. To date, 17 have been convicted.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi, who handled the case, stated that Luis Medina, as a member of the 7th Street Gang, sold heroin and possessed firearms. In addition, on April 16, 2006, Medina shot a rival 10th Street Gang member with a .22 caliber firearm. Furthermore, on June 13, 2009, while being held in the Erie County Holding Center, Medina learned that his cousin Christian Portes was killed by the 10th Gang members. Medina made a phone call from the holding center requesting that fellow 7th Street Gang members kill 10th Street Gang members in retaliation for the murder of his cousin. After being released on November 7, 2009, Medina himself fired shots at 10th Gang members.
A total of 18 defendants have been charged in this case. To date, 17 have been convicted.
Friday, April 15, 2016
Cuban Mafia Movie, The Corporation, to Involve @LeoDiCaprio and Benicio Del Toro
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Paramount Pictures have acquired the production rights for "The Corporation," a film in which Benicio Del Toro will play a Cuban mafia kingpin, Rock Moon Production, the multimedia firm that sold the rights, announced on Wednesday.
The Appian Way production company
, owned by DiCaprio, and Paramount Pictures bought the rights to produce the film based on the same-named book by author T.J. English.
Crafting the screenplay will be handled by David Matthews, who has written scripts for well-known HBO series such as "Vinyl" and "Boardwalk Empire."
A bidding war broke out last week among big Hollywood studios and production companies to obtain the rights to English's book, which tells an "epic story" of the Cuban-American underworld.
Del Toro will take on the role of Jose Miguel Battle Sr., the head of the Cuban-American mafia in a film that aims to be a "Cuban version" of "The Godfather" and "American Gangster," according to a statement on the matter.
English is the author of bestsellers such as "Havana Nocturne" and "Born to Kill," and he has been a co-screenwriter for the popular television series "NYPD Blue."
Rock Moon director Tony Gonzalez said that he could not think of a better studio than Paramount to produce the film, given that it is the studio that produced "The Godfather."
The Appian Way production company
, owned by DiCaprio, and Paramount Pictures bought the rights to produce the film based on the same-named book by author T.J. English.Crafting the screenplay will be handled by David Matthews, who has written scripts for well-known HBO series such as "Vinyl" and "Boardwalk Empire."
A bidding war broke out last week among big Hollywood studios and production companies to obtain the rights to English's book, which tells an "epic story" of the Cuban-American underworld.
Del Toro will take on the role of Jose Miguel Battle Sr., the head of the Cuban-American mafia in a film that aims to be a "Cuban version" of "The Godfather" and "American Gangster," according to a statement on the matter.
English is the author of bestsellers such as "Havana Nocturne" and "Born to Kill," and he has been a co-screenwriter for the popular television series "NYPD Blue."
Rock Moon director Tony Gonzalez said that he could not think of a better studio than Paramount to produce the film, given that it is the studio that produced "The Godfather."
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