The former boss of the Northeast-based ironworkers local union was sentenced to 19 years and two months in federal prison on Monday resulting from his racketeering and arson-related convictions earlier this year.
Bustleton resident Joseph Dougherty, 73, the former business manager of Local 401, was also ordered to pay more than $550,000 in restitution to businesses and other victims whose property was damaged by union members under Dougherty’s direction.
“Dougherty and his co-defendants engaged in a systematic pattern of extortions, arsons and assaults in an attempt to force non-union companies to hire union ironworkers,” the office of U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger stated in a news release. “The union’s business agents would approach construction foremen at those work sites and imply or explicitly threaten violence, destruction of property or other criminal acts unless union members were hired.
“The defendants relied on a reputation for violence and sabotage, which had been built up in the community over many years, in order to force contractors to hire union members.”
In January, a federal jury convicted Dougherty of participating in 25 acts of arson and extortion including one incident involving the Quaker Meetinghouse in Philadelphia, another at a warehouse construction site on Grays Avenue and an attempted arson of a commercial complex construction site in Malvern.
FBI agents and police made the first arrests in the case when they stopped two co-defendants at the Malvern construction site with an acetylene torch that they intended to use to damage the site, the prosecutor’s office stated. Dougherty had directed the two to carry out the arson.
In all, authorities charged a dozen union members following a grand jury indictment released in February 2014. Ultimately, 11 pleaded guilty to various offenses. All have been sentenced.
Dougherty maintained his innocence throughout the scandal and fought the charges at trial. Jurors deliberated for five days last January before convicting him of racketeering conspiracy, malicious damage to property by fire (and attempting to do so), use of fire to commit a felony and conspiracy to damage property by fire.
U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson presided over the case. ••
