-By Warner Todd Huston
For those of you that have been around our Blog for a while, you’ll remember we’ve highlighted the troubles of mob infested New York City bus drivers union before. Well, we have another update in this tale so filled with corruption, criminal activity, and mob actions.
The Village Voice reports that three union officials are now on the outside looking in at their former positions in the union.
Three officials with alleged mob ties got the boot today from the union representing the city’s 15,000 school bus drivers and escorts. Union delegates Paul Maddalone, his brother Nick Maddalone, and Gary Gugliaro were told they were personnae non grata by union trustee Tommy Mullins, who has been running Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transport Union since the local was exposed as a nest of mob corruption by a federal investigation.
The officials’ removal comes one month after The Voice reported that former union bigs had named the Maddalones and others of having ties to mobsters.
All three men were closely associated with ex-local president Sal Battaglia, a Genovese crime family associate who pleaded guilty in January to federal bribery and conspiracy charges.
This, I’m sure, is but another small chapter in the ongoing mess happening in New York. You’d be best advised, though, not to imagine that this is an isolated case of union corruption. It seems all too representative, unfortunately.