CARPENTERS UNION WINS INDEPENDENCE AFTER DECADES OF SUPERVISON OVER MOB TIES

 

 

  

KATHRYN BRENZEL

October 14, 2026 10:07 AM EDT

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 
More than three decades after the federal government began overseeing the carpenters’ union for its ties to organized crime, the New York City District Council of Carpenters has secured its independence.
A federal court judge in Manhattan signed off on an agreement on Tuesday that allows the district council to self-govern, following years of the union’s efforts to free itself from corrupting influences. The order replaces a 1994 consent decree put into place after the federal government sued the district council, alleging that its leadership decisions were guided in part by the Genovese crime family. That included accusations that the family was handpicking contractors to work on the Jacob K. Javits Center.
The order, signed by District Court Judge Victor Marrero, states that changes made by the union to root out corruption among its ranks has led to a “significant and positive change in the culture and processes of the District Council.”
The union and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York agree that the district council has “made substantial and sustained progress in eliminating organized crime and corruption from its operations,” according to a memorandum filed in court.
Paul Capurso, executive secretary-treasurer of the district council, said the union has transformed its culture and is very different from the union of the 1990s.
“We’ve proven that we can govern ourselves,” he said in an interview. “We’ve proven we can collectively work together. We can put policies in place.”
Self-governance has been a long time in the making. The union has created new positions, including an inspector general position to investigate allegations of corruption. Over the years, the inspector general has gradually taken on responsibilities once held by a court-appointed independent monitor, who wrapped up his duties with the union last year.
Tuesday’s order allows the union to self-police through the inspector general’s office, as well as through an independent hearing officer who will review major violations by members and through an independent integrity officer who will consider appeals of decisions by the hearing officer. Like its predecessor, the order bars union members from “knowingly associating” with members of organized crime.
The union isn’t fully free of court supervision, in that it still must abide by the rules laid out in Tuesday’s order. However, if the union can show that it is functioning well independently and that there is “no systemic corruption or organized crime influence in the District Council” in five years, it can apply to terminate the order. And nothing about the new order prevents the federal government from investigating the union in the future.
One retired union member filed an objection to the court seeking to block the order, raising concerns about imbuing the inspector general with such authority. However, the court dismissed it as “meritless.”
The road to independence was a rocky one. Along the way, the district council saw some leaders depart after allegations of misconduct, and its umbrella organization, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, took over supervision of a local member union in 2019 after its leaders were arrested on conspiracy and fraud charges. A member was also removed for being a captain with the Genovese family, while another was booted for knowingly associating with organized crime members.
The order lays out rules that the union must follow as it embarks on this new chapter, acknowledging that “the threat posed to the district council by organized crime and other corrupting influences, while substantially diminished, persists.”
Capurso said he is focused on moving the district council forward but is mindful that it needs to be vigilant.
“We’re not blind to the fact that history can repeat itself,” he said.
“I’d be the first one to tell you, every time we had this opportunity, we f***ed it up, to be blunt,” he said, acknowledging that the union had faced some setbacks as it worked toward independence. But it has made significant strides in the last 15 to 18 years and is a far cry from the district council of 1994, he said.
“People actually retire from working for the district council, and they don’t necessarily go to jail,” he said.
The district council represents more than 20,000 workers, who are members of nine local member unions. In recent years, the district council has become increasingly vocal in New York City politics, fighting real estate groups over property tax breaks, publicly pressuring City Council members and developers to commit to all-union labor as conditions of rezonings and sometimes staking out positions on issues counter to those held by its fellow construction unions.
At the same time, the city’s largest labor unions have seen their influence in elections wane, as reported by City & State. They overwhelmingly backed Andrew Cuomo’s failed bid for mayor, though some then reversed course and endorsed Mayor Zohran Mamdani ahead of the general election.
The mayor has also made lifting up workers a cornerstone of his administration, launching the Mayor’s Office of Worker Power earlier this month. The office will connect workers with unions and worker centers.
Tuesday’s order comes shortly after another federal judge in Manhattan released the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from federal monitorship after 37 years, similarly stemming from connections to organized crime. At the time, President Sean O’Brien indicated that it was “the end to the longest monitorship of any union, corporation, nonprofit, or public entity in the history of the United States.”