Union leader gets 11 year prison sentence
A crooked, mobbed-up former union official was sentenced yesterday to 11-plus years in prison by a judge who blasted him for making faces during his trial.
John Fazio sat slumped in his seat as Manhattan federal Judge Katherine Forrest delivered a rapid-fire, 30-minute tongue lashing before hitting him with the maximum punishment under sentencing guidelines for ripping off his union.
“The court notes you sat through the trial smirking and rolling your eyes,” she said. “Your demeanor showed, I believe, contempt for the legal process.”
Forrest also hit Fazio with a maximum, $1.5 million fine and ordered him jointly liable with two crooked kin for $2.5 million in restitution and $2.5 million in forfeitures.
She noted that Fazio — whom the FBI has linked to the Genovese crime family — has about $2.4 million in assets that he got by stealing from his union and selling out its members by taking payoffs from business owners for “sweetheart deals” that limited medical benefits for his members.
Forrest also said it “speaks volumes” that many members of Local 348-S of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union wrote her letters saying they didn’t even know he was their vice president.
During a marathon, five-hour court session, Forrest also sentenced Fazio’s uncle Anthony Fazio Sr. to 12-plus years in prison and identical financial penalties for initiating the long-running extortion scheme while serving as union president.
Forrest lamented that Fazio Sr., even enlisted his son, Anthony Jr., in the scam before retiring and handing him the reins of power.
“I do think your son had the potential to be a better man,” she said, blaming the elder man in part for the five-year prison term Anthony Jr. had gotten earlier.
Earlier, Fazio Sr. pleaded for leniency, saying he had wanted to plead guilty immediately after his arrest, but was forced to go to trial when his nephew refused to take part in a “global” plea deal with him and his son.
Fazio Sr. also said, “I’ve been sad my whole life” until meeting his fiancée, Nina Ferrari, who wept in the gallery.
“I’m happy now. Unfortunately, I’ve got this problem going on,” he said.
His lawyer, Joel Winograd, also handed over a check for nearly $1 million as a down payment on the money he owes.
For his part, John Fazio spoke for nearly 20 minutes, during which he whined that he couldn’t get proper treatment behind bars for his high blood pressure and a dislocated shoulder.
John Fazio sat slumped in his seat as Manhattan federal Judge Katherine Forrest delivered a rapid-fire, 30-minute tongue lashing before hitting him with the maximum punishment under sentencing guidelines for ripping off his union.
“The court notes you sat through the trial smirking and rolling your eyes,” she said. “Your demeanor showed, I believe, contempt for the legal process.”
Forrest also hit Fazio with a maximum, $1.5 million fine and ordered him jointly liable with two crooked kin for $2.5 million in restitution and $2.5 million in forfeitures.
Forrest also said it “speaks volumes” that many members of Local 348-S of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union wrote her letters saying they didn’t even know he was their vice president.
During a marathon, five-hour court session, Forrest also sentenced Fazio’s uncle Anthony Fazio Sr. to 12-plus years in prison and identical financial penalties for initiating the long-running extortion scheme while serving as union president.
Forrest lamented that Fazio Sr., even enlisted his son, Anthony Jr., in the scam before retiring and handing him the reins of power.
“I do think your son had the potential to be a better man,” she said, blaming the elder man in part for the five-year prison term Anthony Jr. had gotten earlier.
Earlier, Fazio Sr. pleaded for leniency, saying he had wanted to plead guilty immediately after his arrest, but was forced to go to trial when his nephew refused to take part in a “global” plea deal with him and his son.
Fazio Sr. also said, “I’ve been sad my whole life” until meeting his fiancée, Nina Ferrari, who wept in the gallery.
“I’m happy now. Unfortunately, I’ve got this problem going on,” he said.
His lawyer, Joel Winograd, also handed over a check for nearly $1 million as a down payment on the money he owes.
For his part, John Fazio spoke for nearly 20 minutes, during which he whined that he couldn’t get proper treatment behind bars for his high blood pressure and a dislocated shoulder.
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