Former Longshoremen union boss gets 18 months for extortion plot scheme linked to the Genovese crime family
The once-powerful boss of the union representing workers at New Jersey’s docks was sentenced to 18 months in prison today for a scheme to extort Christmastime kickbacks from members.
Vincent Aulisi, 82, hobbled into U.S. District Court Judge Claire Cecchi’s courtroom on a cane and listened as his attorney urged the judge to show mercy for a man who spent his off-hours coaching high school football players.
Aulisi apologized for his crime and to members of Local 1235 of the International Longshoremen’s Association in Newark, the local he served as president from 2006 to 2008.
“I apologize to the court and to my membership,” Aulisi told Cecchi. “That’s the part I’m feeling bad about. That I let them down.”
New Jersey federal prosecutors say Aulisi conspired to get members of the local to kick up cash payments -- known as "Christmases" -- that were funneled to members of the Genovese crime family.
Aulisi’s attorney, Joseph Fusella, noted that his client never profited from the scheme but passed the money along. He said Aulisi inherited a practice that had been around for nearly three decades when he took over as president of the local.
Aulisi, who lives in West Orange, is a former high school football standout who went on to play for Kansas State, Cecchi noted. "He's given back a lot to the community," Fusella told the judge.
He worked as a high school football coach for many years and is a member of the Seton Hall Prep Hall of Fame, his attorney said.
Aulisi was arrested in January 2011 along with several other ranking members of the local as well as members of the Genovese crime family.
In February 2013, Aulisi's son, Edward, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in the extortion scheme.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/10/ex-prez_of_dockworkers_union_gets_18_months_for_christmastime_extortion_plot.html
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