Fwd: MANY EX OFFENDER TEAMSTERS WORKING ON BOSTON MOVIE SETS..but local 25 says they are rehabilitated and deserve the right to work

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from the BOSTON HERALD:

Felon Teamsters behind the scenes of Boston films
Criminals on the set

By Dave Wedge   |   Tuesday, December 9, 2008  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

Photo by Herald file

Teamsters Local 25 has sought to shed its shady film industry past, but the union still allows career felons - including a killer, bank robbers and repeat drunken drivers - to rake in up to $3,000 a week on taxpayer-subsidized movie sets without going through basic criminal background checks.

A Herald probe matched criminal records to the names of nearly a dozen Teamsters who drove stars and crew on the set-in-Bo ston Bruce Willis flick “The Surrogates” this summer, among them an armored car thief, a murderer-turned-accused rapist and various thugs, including a Hells Angel identified by law enforcement sources.

The cop drama, like other movies shot in the Bay State since 2007, received generous film industry tax breaks championed by Gov. Deval Patrick, House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi and Senate President Therese Murray.

Local 25 president Sean O’Brien acknowledged several felons are active Teamsters working in the Hub film industry, but said there have been “no incidents” or complaints since he took over the troubled union in August 2006.

“I can’t change the sins of the past,” O’Brien said. “All I can control is what goes on on these movie sets.”

But Sen. Richard Tisei (R-Wakefield) called $100 million in film industry tax breaks “giveaways” and said news that felons are still landing on movie sets is “disheartening.”

“That is serious cause for concern,” Tisei said. “I was under the understanding that Massachusetts was making a fresh start.”

O’Brien said the union does not do criminal background checks on members because removing a felon could be construed as an unfair labor practice. “We don’t discriminate against any one,” he said.

Among the felons who worked on “The Surrogates” according to criminal records and a Teamster source:

• Charles Doucette, 49, of Beverly: A killer and armed home invader paroled in 2006, he was fired from “The Surrogates” after crashing a truck, and is now in prison awaiting trial on rape charges.

• Jon M. Campagna, 50, of Winthrop: A Teamster driver, he’s got seven drunken driving convictions on his 30-year record, most recently in 2001.

• Gilbert J. “Gigi” Eatherton, 61, of Charlestown: A Teamster “captain,” or job site manager, he served 10 years in federal prison for a 1975 Boston bank heist and has two DUIs, the latest in 1995.

• Joseph Abruzzese, 57, of Lynn: A 33-year Teamster, he served six years in the 1980s for assault.

• Diulio “Lilo” Fabbo, 38, of Medford: He served a year for a 1995 gun rap, and was convicted of assault and battery in 1991.

• Keith A. Leahy, 38, of Charlestown: Shot in a wild shootout with armored car guards in Harvard Square in 1996, he was released in 2003 after serving seven years.

Another Teamster working on local movie sets is convicted cocaine trafficker Michael Indelicato, who was released from federal prison in 2006 after serving 15 years.

Campagna, who isn’t currently working with the film crew, said, “Believe me, I made mistakes and I regret them. I haven’t had a drink in nine years. I turned my life around.”

Fabbo, who also is not actively working on films, acknowledged his criminal past, but said, “Everybody deserves a second chance.” Abruzzese and Leahy declined to comment; Eatherton and Indelicato did not return messages.

O’Brien confirmed he was generally aware of the criminal pasts of Eatherton, Leahy and Indelicato, among others, and said felons have landed on recent films because of high demand for drivers.

“A lot of these members have paid their debts to society,” O’Brien said. “They’re trying to straighten out their lives.”

Massachusetts Film Office executive director Nick Paleologos praised O’Brien’s stewardship. “I have not had a single Teamsters-related complaint from any producer or studio,” he said. “I can’t tell you what he’s doing over there, but whatever he’s doing, it’s working.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1137730

Despite ex-cons, state’s movie biz to keep rolling

By Dave Wedge   |   Wednesday, December 10, 2008  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

Teamsters Local 25 may be allowing felons onto movie sets, but officials say studio bosses are still lining up to send more productions to the Bay State as positive reviews flow back to Hollywood about the Hub’s behind-the-scenes crews.

Massachusetts Film Office executive director Nick Paleologos said several new projects are ready to be signed once a contract dispute between the studios and the Screen Actors Guild is settled.

“I think we’ll have a year next year that’s bigger than this year,” Paleologos said.

The Herald reported yesterday that criminal background checks are not done on Teamsters drivers, despite the union’s shady past and millions in taxpayer funding being funnelled to the film industry. A Herald probe found that Teamsters Local 25 allowed nearly a dozen ex-cons to work on the Bruce Willis drama “The Surrogates” this summer, including a killer, bank robbers, drug dealers and a violent Hells Angel.

Mike Elliott, a producer who worked on the recent made-in-Boston film “My Best Friend’s Girl,” said he was “not surprised” ex-cons were working on Hub sets but said of the Teamsters: “The drivers themselves were effective, hard-working, pleasant and pretty much as good or better than anywhere else in the world.”

While acknowledging felons are working on sets, Local 25 president Sean O’Brien said crews are under close watch. “I just want people to be able to make a living,” he said. “My first goal is to never tarnish the Local’s image.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1137976

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