Mobsters, Unions, and Feds: The Mafia and the American Labor Movement

by James B. Jacobs

Nowhere in the world has organized crime infiltrated the labor movement as effectively as in the United States. Yet the government, the AFL-CIO, and the civil liberties community all but ignored the situation for most of the twentieth century. Since 1975, however, the FBI, Department of Justice, and the federal judiciary have relentlessly battled against labor racketeering, even in some of the nation's most powerful unions.

Mobsters, Unions, and Feds is the first book to document organized crime's exploitation of organized labor and the massive federal cleanup effort. A renowned criminologist who for twenty years has been assessing the government's attack on the Mafia, James B. Jacobs explains how Cosa Nostra families first gained a foothold in the labor movement, then consolidated their power through patronage, fraud, and violence and finally used this power to become part of the political and economic power structure of Twentieth century urban America.

Since FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover's death in 1972, federal law enforcement has aggressively investigated and prosecuted labor racketeers, as well as utilized the civil remedies provided for by the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) statute to impose long-term court-supervised remedial trusteeships on mobbed-up unions. There have been some impressive victories, including substantial progress toward liberating the four most racketeer-ridden national unions from the grip of organized crime, but victory cannot yet be claimed.

The only book to investigate how the mob has exploited the American labor movement, Mobsters, Unions, and Feds is the most comprehensive study to date of how labor racketeering evolved and how the government has finally resolved to eradicate it.

Genres: Labor, Nonfiction, Crime

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Less a labor history than it is a textbook for law students who want to prosecute labor corruption. While the author proclaims his pro labor stance, his assertion that the primary reason for the decline of union density in the US is because of mafia involvement in the labor movement is absurd. The reasons for union membership decline are economic and political, not the small minority of union locals concentrated in a few cities that have faced mob involvement.

Also this book literally ends by favorably comparing the prosecuting of labor unions with RICO to the invasion of Iraq. Feel like that tells you all you need to know.

[Shaun Richman · Rating 1 out of 5]

In his lengthy preface the author speculates about why more labor historians haven't covered the subject of crime and corruption in unions. He sets out to offer a comprehensive history of mob influence on the labor movement and spectacularly fails on his own terms. Jacobs is a legal scholar. He understands RICO, the FBI and prosecutorial investigations. He never bothered to actually study the labor movement. He is utterly reliant upon secondary sources that themselves got basic facts wrong. He uncritically cites Congressional testimony, FBI investigations and plea-bargained turncoat testimony. The result is a narrative that is as dopey as it is lurid. I would call his treatment of the Hotel & Restaurant Employees libelous, except that to commit libel a writer has to actually know things.

For labor audiences who want to understand how the law is applied to unions suspected of corruption, this book's footnotes are useful.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book puts forth an interesting and well-supported premise that mob influence is responsible for the near-downfall of the US labor movement. It also provides in-depth descriptions of how RICO can be used and has been used to reform mob-infiltrated unions. This is a very different narrative than what I learned in law school when studying the labor movement— there, mob influence was a footnote in the narrative, and we were taught that the government was anti-union and was responsible for its demise.

My main complaints are: (1) the editing is awful; it seems to have been done by a crayon-wielding toddler and (2) I’m not sure who the intended audience is. The book is very dry and academic and provides many suggestions for how to use RICO more effectively. I suppose that the tiny universe of lawyers and judges working in this realm are the intended audience, but it seems strange that it would be written and marketed to such a small audience. But if it’s not for just them, the style could be improved and the level of detail could be reduced to appeal to a wider audience.

[Royce Ratterman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for personal historical research. I found this work of immense interest and its contents helpful and inspiring - Overall, this work is also a good resource for the researcher and enthusiast.
". . . labor racketeering was consciously permitted, even chosen... local politicians closely cooperated with the organized crime bosses, frequently there was a symbiotic relationship between the Democratic Party political machines and the organized crime families." -Pg 257
- - A good work to accompany:
Corruption and racketeering in the labor movement (Taft, Philip);
Corruption and Racketeering in the New York construction Industry;
The Chicago Mob. A History. 1900-2000;
The Hollywood Connection: The True Story of Organized Crime in Hollywood;
Mob Lawyer: Including the Inside Account of Who Killed Jimmy Hoffa and JFK
Dorothy Kilgallen: The Reporter Who Knew Too Much;
The Crime Confederation;
The Last Mafioso;
Death of a Nation: Plantation Politics and the Making of the Democratic Party.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

James B. Jacobs writes clearly and with authority on the criminal exploitation of the American labor movement. His book goes beyond a mere survey of the history of labor racketeering to explore the issue from every conceivable angle. It looks at the various criminal methods employed; the depth of Mafia penetration into some of the larger American unions; as well as the efforts of law enforcement, legitimate union organizers and anti-mob dissidents. Prosecutors' successful uses of RICO weaponry are detailed, as are the deficiencies in RICO processes.

Of particular interest to readers of Mafia titles, Jacobs provides concise explanations for the ways organized criminals insinuate themselves into and extract money from labor unions. He follows up with actual historical examples.

Jacobs' writing style is scholarly but not beyond the reach of a casual reader. However, the subject matter does eventually drift away from mainstream interests, as Jacobs engages a target audience likely comprised of lawyers, legislators and grad students in fairly technical discussion. That audience, in addition to the more dedicated underworld historians, will appreciate the many endnotes and the healthy bibliography.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I didn’t so much read this as lightly skim it. It wasn’t as on-topic for my research as I was hoping and with whole chapters of sentences like “Cosa Nostra’s influence in the air freight industry is well documented.” (62) or “In September 1995, DOJ filed a civil RICO complaint against the 250,000-member Hotel and Restaurant Employees International Union (HEREIU), alleging that since the 1970s its General Executive Board (GEB) members had conspired with organized crime figures to obtain illegal payments from employers, embezzle union assets, and violate union members’ Landrum-Griffin rights.” (217) who can blame me. And it’s very dense. It’s almost more of a laundry list of facts than a book. It might be a good research tool for someone looking for specifics, but it’s not a good read for someone looking for a general overview.