Lopreato, who pleaded not guilty, has declined to be interviewed. Lopreato's friends say their support flows from loyalty and gratitude. Lopreato took the Laborers' dispirited, financially ruined Hartford local years ago and built it into a political and financial powerhouse. His critics say the support is merely the latest evidence that the Laborers are not a democratically run union, but a place with a checkered history where no one can speak out without risk of being forever blackballed. Because it's construction, union representatives have total control over hiring.
People complain frequently about blacklisting.
A federal administrative law judge concluded in 1988 that Lopreato had blackballed four union members who unsuccessfully challenged him in a union election. Dissidents in the union, who say they long have waited for federal authorities to investigate the Laborers in Connecticut, celebrated the news of Lopreato's indictment, albeit discreetly. Lopreato is still feared. One man said he was so excited at the news he dropped his morning coffee. If Lopreato is convicted, he will be barred by federal law from union activities for 13 years.