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Union Facts

Novelty & Production Workers

Officials Sentenced

Office of Labor-Management Enforcement

The Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) conducts both civil and criminal investigations of alleged violations of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) and related laws.

These investigations by OLMS District Offices involve issues such as embezzlements of union funds, union officer elections, the filing of required reports by unions and others with OLMS, and the imposition of trusteeships over subordinate unions by a parent body. These investigations may result in legal enforcement actions.

DateDescription
May 1st, 2013On May 1, 2013, Stephen P. Arena, former President of Novelty and Production Workers Local 148 in Jersey City, New Jersey, was sentenced to six months in jail and six months home confinement for embezzlement of union funds. Arena has made full restitution of $193,000 to the union, but was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine to the court. In May 2012, Arena pled guilty to a one-count indictment charging him with embezzlement of labor union funds. Arena conspired with the union’s secretary-treasurer/recording secretary, David Caivano, to steal money from the union by taking unauthorized salary increases and bonuses. This investigation was conducted jointly with the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
March 21st, 2013On March 21, 2013, in the United States District Court for the State of New Jersey, David Caivano, former Treasurer of Novelty Workers Local 148 (located in Jersey City, N.J.), was sentenced to three years probation on one count of taking unauthorized loans in excess of $2,000, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 503(a) and (c). Caivano must make restitution in the amount of $110,000 to the local union. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS New York District Office and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
January 25th, 2013On January 25, 2013, in the United States District Court in New Jersey, David J. Caivano, former Secretary-Treasurer of Novelty Workers Local 148 (located in Jersey City, N.J.), pled guilty to taking unauthorized loans in excess of $2,000, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 503 (a) and (c). The sentencing is scheduled for April 2013. The plea follows an investigation by OLMS New York District Office and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
March 15th, 2002On March 15, 2002, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, John Serpico, former president of the Central States Joint Board of the Novelty and Production Workers (and a former vice president of the Laborers International Union) was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release on each of the six mail fraud counts of which he was convicted on July 16, 2001, with the sentences to run concurrently. He was also fined $100,000; ordered to make restitution of $30,000; and ordered to pay the cost of imprisonment. Maria Busillo, also a former president of the Central States Joint Board, was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment followed by three years supervised release on each of two mail fraud counts and one count of making a false statement on a loan application of which she had been convicted, with the sentences to run concurrently. She was also fined $100,000 and ordered to pay the cost of imprisonment. Gilbert Cataldo was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment followed by three years supervised release on each of three mail fraud counts of which he had been convicted, with the sentences to run concurrently. He was also fined $5,000 and ordered to perform 250 hours of community service. The charges had been brought following a joint investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office, the FBI, the IRS, and the Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector General.