Two men affiliated with Ironworkers Local 395 were charged with labor-related extortion in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana through one count of the Hobbs Act Extortion conspiracy and two counts of attempted Hobbs Act extortion. The Hobbs Act prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce. The statute is frequently…

Federal authorities made secret recordings at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios as part of an investigation into a Teamsters union boss who was charged with extorting the business. Who knows whether this extortion rap will stick or if the union boss will be acquitted like the Teamsters who extorted the Top Chef program but were acquitted…

I remember where I was when I first blogged about this case – a hotel in San Francisco. Some things just stick with me. Perhaps I remember this because I found the actions of the Teamsters so outlandish. As outlandish as they were, they were, unfortunately, lawful – and had been since 1973. This case…

The former head of a Michigan construction union was recently charged with extorting union business agents and other employees to each pay $5,000 of their salaries per year into his personal “Slate Fund.” The fund was to be used for union election campaign expenses. But, and stop me if you’ve heard this one before, the…