Name: US Justice Department
E-mail:
Employed as: Other, non-employee, for N/A
Posted: 17 November 2009
The following article is proof that millions of dollars in FELA
(Railroad employee injury claim) do NOT go to the injured railroad
worker - they go to GREASE THE GREEDY PALMS of the Unions, Railroads,
and lawyers around the country.
This is just the tip of the iceberg - it is NOT an 'isolated'
incident.... railroad carriers, including CSX, spend BILLIONS a year
on FELA claims, about 20 TIMES that spent by comparable state workers
compensation (non-railraod FELA type) employee claims. It does not take
a rocket scientist to see this payment imbalance is VASTLY out of whack.
So, WHY IS THERE SUCH AN IMBALANCE OF PAYMENTS? What do FELA claims
cost so much more than identical state claims? For every $100 a state
system pays, FELA pays $2,000.00 For example, over the course of one
year the UP paid out $5 Billion in FELA claims (yes, $1.5 billion!!),
while state compensation programs with the same number of workers with
the same injuries paid out $300 million - by any calculation, that
difference is statistically IMPOSSIBLE - unless there is a MASSIVE
KICKBACK PROGRAM in place and running smoothly wtihout interuption.
Where does all that FELA money go - billions of dollars of overpayments
between the four big railroad - UP, NS, BNSF, and CSX?????
It sure doesn't go to the injured railroad workers.
Railroad Managers, Directors and Executives in charge of administering
FELA claims are in the absolute unchecked perfect position to take HUGE
kickbacks from Unions, and from Union appointed FELA attorneys -
everyone gets rich in this game....Unions get a kickback from FELA
attorneys, FELA attorneys get pumped up settlement awards approved by
railroad execs. Yes, you can bet that CSX FELA claims executive get
kickbacks from both FELA attorneys and Union bosses.
THIS IS WHY FELA CLAIM PAYMENTS ARE 20 TIMES HIGHER THAT STATE RUN
WORKERS COMPENSATION PROGRAMS, and is why the Railroad 'system' will
NEVER get rid of FELA - it is TOO DAMN LUCRITIVE FOR THE CROOKS TO GIVE
IT UP - at the sole expense of the stockholder AND the injured railroad
worker.
For decades we have heard about how 'fake' railroad workers' injury
claims have driven up the cost of FELA payments. Now you know its
BULLSHIT!!!!!! The whole damn FELA system needs to be investigated and
the crooks need to be cleaned out!!
Here's the blurb posted earlier by Bubba. Trust me, the BLET
president is NOT the only one getting rich off the FELA system - there
are hundreds of others who are getting kickbacks too. If the BLET's
president spills his guts to cut a deal, many more heads will roll -
and you can bet it will include a cadre of union AND railroad
executives as well as a boodle of corrupt lawyers...
If you who are reading this know of similar illegal FELA kickback
schemes, contact your local U.S. Department of Justice field office.
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BLET PRESIDENT ARRESTED ON BRIBE CHARGE ( press release issued by U.S.
Justice Department, Eastern District, St. Louis, Missouri).
Edward W. Rodzwicz, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers and Trainmen, was arrested on a federal complaint charging
him with bribery, Acting U.S. Attorney Michael W. Reap announced Oct.
13. Rodzwicz is the sitting president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), a national labor union with over 55,000
U.S.A. railroad members. It is a division of the International
Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT). According to affidavit filed with
criminal complaint, BLET
maintains a list of designated legal counsel (DLC), who are recommended
to their membership to handle injury cases under the Federal Employers
Liability Act (FELA). DESIGNATION AS A DLC GENERATES VERY LUCRITIVE
BUSINESS FOR (UNION) DESIGNATED FELA ATTORNEYS. The national president
of the BLET has final authority over the designation of FELA attorneys.
In February 2009, an internal compliance committee recommended that a
particular DLC attorney for the BLET should lose his designation, due
to alleged violations of DLC Rules of Conduct. On March 10, 2009,
Rodzwicz approached that attorney in Little Rock, Ark., and solicited a
payment from that attorney in exchange for allowing him to retain his
DLC designation. The DLC attorney contacted the Department of Labor,
Office of Inspector General. In subsequent meetings at the attorney's
office in St. Louis, and at Harrah's Casino, Las Vegas, Rodzwicz
solicited and agreed to accept a cash payment of $10,000 from the
attorney, plus the promise of an additional cash payment of $10,000
after Rodzwicz allowed him to retain his designation. Rodzwicz
accepted a cash payment from the attorney on April 28, 2009,
in Las Vegas, and he sent a letter allowing the attorney to retain his
designation on May 1, 2009. He accepted a second cash payment of
$10,000 from the attorney on Sept. 16, 2009, in Kansas City, Mo.
The complaint was filed in the Eastern District of Missouri last week
and remained suppressed until the arrest of Mr. Rodzwicz this morning
by agents with the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, at
his home in Avon, Ohio. Daniel R. Petrole, acting inspector general,
U.S. Department of Labor, stated: "Union members expect that their
officials will do what is right on their behalf. If these allegations
are proven, there has been a serious breach of the union members'
trust. My agency will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney's Office
to investigate this type of crime."
Rodzwicz, 63, was charged with one violation of 18 U.S.C. section 666,
bribery in connection with a federally funded program; and one
violation of 18 U.S.C. section 1952, interstate travel to carry on
unlawful activity. He made his initial appearance this afternoon in
Cleveland. If convicted, 18 U.S.C. section 666 carries a maximum
penalty of ten years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000; 18 U.S.C.
section 1952 carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or
fines up to $250,000. The charges set forth in a complaint are merely
accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless
proven guilty. October 14, 2009.
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