Former treasurer of dockworkers’ union sentenced to six years for extortion
New York: A former treasurer of the dockworkers’ union was sentenced on Friday in Trenton, New Jersey, to six years in prison for extorting “tributes” from union members at the Port of New York and New Jersey.
Nunzio LaGrasso had pleaded guilty in January to charges of conspiracy to commit commercial bribery and money laundering while he was secretary-treasurer of the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) Local #1478.
He demanded the tribute money (in hundreds or thousands of dollars) from workers’ year-end bonuses. In return he doled out jobs, preferred shifts and overtime.
LaGrasso is one of three defendants in the case. One was sentenced to three years last month and the other, LaGrasso’s nephew, is awaiting sentencing.
The trio were caught in 2011 as part of “Operation Terminal” a joint investigation by New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbour.
