Opinion ID: 574315
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Akron Construction Company.

Text: 10 Leonard Teitel and Michael Castro formed Akron Construction Company as a general contractor to supplement their existing business, Autotron Electric. They consulted Riggi before forming the new business because they wanted to avoid labor problems. At Riggi's direction, Teitel and Castro made Joseph Merlo a full partner in Akron Construction, although neither of them knew Merlo previously. Merlo was paid a salary in connection with the only job Akron Construction performed, though Merlo's only work was to show up on the job site four or five times. The check paid to Merlo was endorsed to a pizzeria which Riggi's wife and Merlo's son owned. 11 Teitel also performed unpaid work for Riggi, his friends, and associates. Riggi was convicted of two counts of extortion in connection with these activities, under the Taft-Hartley Act, 29 U.S.C. § 186(b)(1), and the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2 (1988). 12