He is respected by both union members and management, and he is not nor has he ever been a member or associate of organized crime. It's our intention to appeal the order because we find it totally conflicts with the facts that were produced during the lengthy hearings. Frank Caruso, who did not attend the hearing that resulted in Vaira's decision, declined through his attorney to comment on the ruling. Efforts to reach Stanley Kravit, a labor arbitrator who represented Leo Caruso, were unsuccessful. For years, the name Caruso has garnered respect among some members of the laborers union, which began in Chicago in 1903.
Members work mostly in construction, environmental cleanup and maintenance industries.
A year ago, the Justice Department agreed to loosen its oversight of Laborers International and in return the union agreed to continue federally mandated anti-corruption reforms for at least six years. That agreement averted the threat of a federal takeover of the international. At the same time, the Chicago District Council was put under the control of a federal trustee for two years. Vaira's ruling was the result of a lengthy inquiry into charges brought against the Carusos as well as former union official James DiForti, who died last year while awaiting trial on a charge of murder. Cooley ultimately provided crucial evidence leading to dozens of convictions of top mob figures, including former 1st Ward Ald.