The local president of the International Longshoremen’s Association has been accused of taking $150K in exchange for not filing grievances.
Glenn Blicht, president of the International Longshoremen’s Association local in New Jersey has been charged with demanding and accepting $150,000 in bribes from an unidentified employer over the past decade, according to ABC 7 News.
“Federal prosecutors say that while heading a branch of the International Longshoremen’s Association with offices in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, Blicht shook down the employer for bribes he code-named “tickets,” each worth $1,000. He was caught on tape receiving the cash payments three times at meetings with the employer after the employer pleaded guilty to tax charges and began cooperating with authorities, it says.”
“Earlier this month, Blicht became upset with the employer for falling behind on payments and threatened to go forward with an arbitration claim unless he received 10 “tickets,” the complaint says.”
“It says in a recorded call, the defendant warned, ‘Don’t screw me on this, because if you do – this is a not a threat, it’s a promise – you’ll regret it.'”
Corruption in the New Jersey longshoremen’s union has been an issue for decades and was the inspiration for the 1954 Hollywood movie ‘On the Waterfront.’
