McKAY BROTHERS ON THE HOT SEAT

McKAY BROTHERS ON THE HOT SEAT

Shades of DeFries, Dodson et all!!!!

As reported in the 11-24-06 MEBA TELEX TIMES

TRIAL OF AMO'S McKAY BROTHERS BEGINS

The federal racketeering trial of the McKay Brothers, Mike and Bobby, President and Secretary-Treasurer respectively, of the American Maritime Officers (AMO) kicked off this week on Monday, November 20, 2006. Mike McKay twice rigged union elections to ensure his victory and then used members' money as his personal piggy bank, a federal prosecutor told jurors Tuesday as reported by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The accusations opened the Fort Lauderdale racketeering trial of AMO's Michael McKay, 59, and his brother Robert McKay, 56.


The McKay brothers are charged with a long list of crimes, including theft, fraud, and a conspiracy to cover up illegal campaign contributions from the union. If convicted, each could be sentenced to more than 30 years. The trial before U.S. District Judge James Cohn is expected to last about six weeks.

During the United States Government's opening statement, in addition to charges of doling out illegal campaign contributions and illegally rigging AMO union elections, Prosecutor Robert Lehner said Michael McKay used funds intended for the retirement, medical, training, and vacation benefits of union members to purchase cigars and hockey tickets and to pay for repairs to his personal boat. The brothers are also charged with obstructing justice.

With respect to the internal union election fraud, U.S. Prosecutor Lehner said Mike McKay tampered with the 1993 and 1996 elections by secretly replacing ballots cast for McKay's opponent with duplicate ballots marked for McKay.

U.S. Attorney Lehner, described several methods allegedly used by the McKays to evade rules barring unions from making political contributions, except through political action committees. As reported earlier, in exchange for making personal campaign contributions to federally elected officials, the indictment alleges the McKays would use the membership's dues money as reimbursements by paying illegal bonuses to the AMO employees and officials. According to prosecutors, the brothers pressured union employees and vendors to make donations to designated candidates for local and national office and then reimbursed the contributions out of union coffers. By reimbursing the contributors with union funds, the brothers were able to sidestep legal limits on the amount of money any entity can give to a campaign, prosecutors say. There is no indication the elected officials who accepted contributions did anything wrong. It would be inherently wrong and illegal to use a membership's hard earned dues money for such purposes.

The South Florida press reports that, during the trial, jurors will hear taped conversations secretly recorded by David Merriken, a former union official. As Director of the union's employee benefits plans, the U.S. Attorney General's office gave Merriken an immunity agreement in exchange for his cooperation. The government's case relies on the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), a statute carrying stiff penalties and often used to fight organized crime. Under the law, prosecutors present allegations they say show a pattern of criminal behavior. Prosecutors are expected to argue that the McKay brothers operated the AMO as a criminal enterprise.

David Merriken agreed to work undercover for the government when he realized he had become involved in corruption, Prosecutor Lehner said. According to the Sun-Sentinel, for 11 months David Merriken arrived for work at the American Maritime Officers union headquarters in Dania Beach with a wire taped to his chest and a tape recorder in his pocket. As a result of the wiretapping, there are some 200 tapes of recorded conversations he provided to U.S. prosecutors that will be key evidence in the federal racketeering trial. Reportedly, in 1995, McKay hired Merriken, a high school graduate with no college education, to work for the union's various employee benefit plans. A year later, Merriken became executive director of the benefit plans, overseeing funds worth roughly $1 billion and approximately 200 employees.

According to a separate civil lawsuit, Merriken became aware union officials were misusing money intended for employee benefits after he completed courses in business administration at Nova Southeastern University. Merriken brought to the McKay brothers attention that benefit funds were being misused by the AMO. The lawsuit infers that Merriken was then signaled out and harassed by the McKays. Merriken contacted Miami attorney Robert Josefsberg, who arranged a meeting with federal prosecutors, the suit states. In addition to the civil suit seeking unspecified financial damages, Merriken filed a separate suit against the union in June alleging fraud against the U.S. government.

In August and September 1999, while Merriken was secretly wearing a wire, union officials organized fundraisers for several elected officials in Florida, court documents state. Campaign finance records show that locally elected officials each walked away with about $4,000 in donations purportedly from union employees and their relatives. However, the money actually came from the benefits plans, according to court documents.

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