Leaders of Buffalo-area construction union arrested (racketeering and extortion) [View All]

[Omaha Steve]

These are the kinds that make ALL union members look bad in the public eye.

OS

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=8134853

Associated Press - April 8, 2008 11:15 AM ET

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Federal agents in Buffalo have arrested 12 members of a large construction union as part of an investigation into racketeering and extortion.

U.S. Attorney Terrance Flynn plans to release details of the arrests at a late-morning news conference.

The Buffalo News reports the arrests include officers and members of Operating Engineers Local 17 and that law enforcement has been investigating alleged acts of violence and extortion involving the union for more than a year.

The union's president, Mark Kirsch, was reportedly among those arrested Tuesday.

A woman who answered the phone at the union's Lakeview headquarters declined to comment and said she did not know if a lawyer had been retained to represent union members.