Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-06-29
BY VICTOR RIESEL
CHAPTER w

1I1fAI 44AN !
can still recall the day in
the early Thirties when I walked
into the shabby day room of
my fathers needle trades union.
I was as close to a state of shock
as I have ever been. What hit
me was nothing physical. 1t was
the impact of passing grown
men sitting on the steps out in
the hall-weeping.
These were the days of the
mile-long bread lines. Men
queued up five and six abreast
to wait for handouts of thin
soup and even thinner bread. But
these men, silently crying, had
not been on those bread lines.
They had waited in their union
hall all day for a few hours
work. But there was no work.
The men saw weeping that
day in the stairwell in New York
could neither earn nor even bor-
row so cents so they could go
home with milk and bread for
their families.
Yet right behind me as 1
walked into the day room was
one of the unions top officials
mob protected-in a sports out
Mt. with a bag of golf clubs
slung over his shoulder. He was
my dads bitter enemy. The men
were jobless. they were weeping
out Of Illustration, the union
was constantly broke, but there
was enough money to keep the
bag man well dressed and there
was enough arrogance to keep
Haunting luxury in the faces of
the hungry jobless.
Union Now Cleaned Up
That was the meaning of the
mob then. Today that union,
under a clean administration,
has assets of over 50 million
These funds are closely guarded
and carefully administered by
honest men. The mob was long
ago purged.
But this is not so in hundreds
Of other unions across the land.
My dads small union and other
locals have grown wealthy and
the members have long since
forgotten the days when strong
men wept. Small wonder the
modern mob has its eyes on such
treasuries-and devises intricate
gimmicks to cut in on these
lush funds-and still stay with
in the law.
I've been asked to draw up
a "Rogues' Gallery" of the men
who have moved in ON the big
funds and now use the money
as their own. Such list would
insinuate that there have been
many convictions. There haven't
been. Too many times stories
such as these go round and
round on a handful of men
who have served their time
Joe Fay, William De Koning,
ST., and-yes, and who else?
Few.
The story is not of the con-
victed ones but of. the uncon-
victed unethical ones-labor Of
ficials so charged by Congress
sional investigating committees
Chicago's "CiscO Kid"
There is the "Cisco Kid" OF
Chicago. otherwise known as
Angelo Inciso., He travelled all
the way to New York from the
Windy City not too long ago to
tell me that his union was on
the up and up. Yet when the
Senate investigated him, this is
not what the probers, headed by
Illinois Senator Paul Douglas.
found.
Inciso had total control of
union funds. "co-mingling" the
regular funds with welfare and
insurance monies.
Then. among other things. he
drew out of these jumbled kitties
$1.050 for two diamond watches
and two diamond watch bands,
$1,000 for one gents diamond
rtng," and S1,100 for still an
other gents" ring. He also took
$1,000 for three money clips.
When Inciso was asked whether
he had obtained the consent Of
his dues-paying members for the
purchase of the 200 diamond
ring, he replied:
NO, because it would take me
so long TO get all my dues-payine
members together that, before
I'D get 1t done. it would be out
of STYLE"
The cisco Kid" spent money