September 18, 1996
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
Tom Feeley
September 18, 1996
Page 1
Tom Feeley
34-21 Review Avenue
Long Island City, NY 11101
James P. Hoffa
2593 Hounds Chase
Troy, MI 48098
Marie Schembri
Schembri & Associates
86-06 101st Avenue
Ozone Park, NY 11416
Bradley T. Raymond
Finkel, Whitefield, Selik, Raymond,
Ferrara & Feldman, P.C.
32300 Northwestern Highway, Suite 200
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
Nathaniel K. Charny
Cohen, Weiss & Simon
330 W. 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
Tom Feeley
September 18, 1996
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case No. P-928-LU804-NYC
Gentlepersons:
A pre-election protest was filed pursuant to Article XIV, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 1995-1996 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”) by
Tom Feeley, a member of Local Union 804. The protester alleges that James P. Hoffa and the Hoffa campaign hired Marie Schembri, a private investigator/employer, “to investigate
Ron Carey for purposes of discrediting him and thereby advancing Hoffa’s candidacy.” The protester argues that since neither Mr. Hoffa nor the Hoffa campaign has reported any expenditures to Ms. Schembri for her services on their Campaign Contribution and Expenditure Reports (“CCER”), Ms. Schembri is providing her services free of charge to the Hoffa campaign, which would constitute a prohibited employer contribution, under the Rules.
The Hoffa campaign responds that no expenditures to Ms. Schembri were reported on the CCERs because Ms. Schembri has not provided any services to the campaign.
The protest was investigated by Election Office Staff Representative Kathryn Naylor.
Tom Feeley
September 18, 1996
Page 1
The protester’s contention that Ms. Schembri has been retained by the Hoffa campaign is based on the following evidence:
1. The affidavit of Ms. Schembri, in which she states, “For a number of months, beginning in late 1995, I have been investigating the affairs of Ronald Carey.” Affidavit of Marie Schembri, In the Matter of the Probate Proceeding of the Last Will and Testament of Anne C. Morgen v. Eleanor Livoti, Surrogate’s Court, County of Queens (July 11, 1996), File No. 3967/94.
2. A July 14, 1996 Business Wire report focusing on Mr. Hoffa’s reactions to allegations that Mr. Carey improperly pressured an elderly Queens woman to name him as the beneficiary of her $395,000 estate and used a UPS lawyer from its Queens terminal to draw up the new will in 1987. The report states that “Upon learning of the charges, Hoffa called on Carey to abandon his campaign and spare the union the embarrassment resulting from prolonged government inquiries and likely criminal charges that will follow.” At the end of the report, Delacorte/Shinoff is listed as the contact for press representatives interested in attending a press reception with Mr. Hoffa on Sunday, July 14, 1996, for further comments on this matter.
3. A feature article on Ms. Schembri’s career as a private investigator that states “In hunting for a mob connection in the background of a labor leader, working for clients she describes vaguely as ‘media people,’ Ms. Schembri . . . went to Long Island and upstate, on the pretext that they were doing research for writers.” Andrea Kannapell, “A Snoop’s Story: The Confessions of a Private Eye,” New York Times, August 27, 1995, at Section 13, Page 1.
The protester contends that these three items considered together lead to the “unavoidable conclusion” that Ms. Schembri was hired by Mr. Hoffa’s campaign and, in particular, by the firm of Delacorte/Shinoff, as the “media people” to which Ms. Schembri refers to in the New York Times article quoted above. None of the evidence presented, however, connects Ms. Schembri to the Hoffa campaign or to Delacorte/Shinoff.
The Hoffa campaign denies that Ms. Schembri has provided services to the campaign or to Delacorte/Shinoff on behalf of the Hoffa campaign. Ms. Schembri also denies that she has worked for Mr. Hoffa’s campaign or for Delacorte/Shinoff. The Election Officer finds that the protester has not presented any evidence which shows that Ms. Schembri was retained by the Hoffa campaign and therefore should have been reported on the CCER.
Accordingly, the protest is DENIED.
Any interested party not satisfied with this determination may request a hearing before the Election Appeals Master within one day of receipt of this letter. The parties are reminded that, absent extraordinary circumstances, no party may rely upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Officer in any such appeal. Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing and shall be served on:
Tom Feeley
September 18, 1996
Page 1
Kenneth Conboy, Esq.
Latham & Watkins
885 Third Avenue, Suite 1000
New York, NY 10022
Fax (212) 751-4864
Copies of the request for hearing must be served on the parties listed above as well as upon the Election Officer, 400 N. Capitol Street, Suite 855, Washington, DC 20001, Facsimile
(202) 624-3525. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for a hearing.
Sincerely,
Barbara Zack Quindel
Election Officer
cc: Kenneth Conboy, Election Appeals Master